Telford pushed to meet own high standards

EVANSTON, Ill. - The standards of the University of Iowa wrestling program and its athletes are very high.

You will have that from a power that has 23 NCAA Championships and just secured its 24th team title at the 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Tuesday at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Maybe that is why third-ranked heavyweight Bobby Telford has been such a good fit for the Hawkeyes. He demands more from himself than anybody else.

'I don't know if I'm a tough critic,” Telford said. 'I'm a realist. You can always be better.”

He said that very idea is important to himself, the program and his family, including his father, Bob. He was raised to never settle and to strive for the best.

'I grew up in a tough household,” Telford said. 'My dad's here. There are times where you say good job but there's always something you can do better.”

It might be why the No. 2 seed wasn't happy with simply reaching the Midlands finals for the third time with a 3-1 semifinal win over Wisconsin's third-seeded and fifth-ranked Connor Medbery.

Telford showed the athleticism and mat awareness from his days as a lighter wrestler in high school. He was able to roll through some situations in a way rare to a heavyweight. He's been in those scrambles in practice, but usually avoids them in competition.

'I've been there before,” Telford said. 'I'm comfortable there.”

Telford's reaction sheds light on his attitude. Despite a win over a highly-rated foe, he said he was 'embarrassed” and referred to himself as 'lazy” in the semifinal.

'I know what I did wrong in my preparation,” Telford said. 'I was a little too relaxed, but I definitely need to make the adjustment here and get ready to go.”

BOUNCING BACK IN WRESTLEBACKS

The Hawkeyes had 11 wrestlers finish fourth or better at this year's Midlands Championships. Seven of them overcame a setback to earn a spot in the third-place matches.

Excluding Brody Grothus, who forfeited out due to injury, the Hawkeyes rebounded to win all of their consolation semifinal matches.

'If you can't get first, come back and get third,” Brands said after Tuesday afternoon consolations. 'That's what you do. You lost your chance to be on television so now you have to be as high on the stand as you can.”

Sophomore Alex Meyer was impressive, reaching the third-place match. The former Southeast Polk prep and current 174-pound backup won five consolation matches to face Maryland's Josh Snook in the final round. He was the 10th seed.

'It wasn't easy either,” Brands said. 'It wasn't like a semifinal loss and you win a match and you're in for third. This was a long road to hoe, so you give him credit.”

149-POUND STATUS

Iowa's Brody Grothus defaulted to sixth place, following a tiebreaker loss on riding time criteria to Northwestern's top-ranked NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis. The injured was not addressed directly.

'You know if he did it's legit,” said Iowa Coach Tom Brands. 'We're not going to default out because we don't get in the finals.”

Grothus is competing for the 149-pound spot with Brandon Sorensen, who placed better here for the second straight time. The question remains on how they stand.

'I don't know,” said Brands, noting both would be on the upcoming road trip to Rutgers and Ohio State. 'Let's see how Sorensen does. Let's see how Grothus feels tomorrow. We have a road trip coming up.”

WRIGHT REACHES PODIUM

For the second straight year, Grand View will have a medalist at the Midlands Championships.

NAIA champion Brandon Wright reached the podium, joining former Viking Chad Lowman, who placed last year. Wright earned a top-eight spot at 141 pounds.

Grand View Coach Nick Mitchell said Wright had aspirations to win it but still proved he could compete with some of the country's best.

'He's wrestled solid,” Mitchell said. 'He's beat some pretty good kids.

'The kids that beat him are wrestling for third place. He was right in the match with both of those kids. It's a good tournament for him.”

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