Three Hawkeyes, ISU’s Gadson advance to semifinals

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Three University of Iowa wrestlers and Iowa State's Kyven Gadson remain in the running for gold.

The Hawkeyes remain in second place after the third session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Friday at the Scottrade Center. Iowa has 47 ½ points, trailing Ohio State by 17 entering Friday night's semifinal round.

Iowa's Thomas Gilman and Mike Evans won overtime bouts, while Cory Clark added a decision to secure All-American finishes.

Gilman overcame a 5-1 deficit to Virginia Tech's third-seeded Joey Dance, scoring a late takedown and rideout to erase riding time that forced overtime. Gilman recorded the winning takedown with 21 seconds left in the sudden victory period, earning the 7-5 win.

'It's a combination of being mentally tough, better shape and wanting it more,' Gilman said. 'Sometimes when it gets tough, some guys are OK with going the other way. It might be a pride thing with me. I wasn't go to go that way. I was going to get the takedown. It feels good.'

Evans took on Minnesota's Logan Storley for the seventh time in their college career. Evans scored an escape in the first tiebreaker period for a 2-1 win. It was his fourth straight over Storley. Evans also notched his third straight top-six finish at the NCAA tournament.

'Me and Storley have tough battles,' Evans said. 'We hate each other. There is a little bit of that, but at the same time he has good counter offense, I have good counter offense. He's good at exploding (and) so am I.

'It's touch and go. You have to pick your battles. Wear the guy down with your hands with pressure.'

Evans faces Penn State's second-seeded Matt Brown.

Clark handled Iowa State's Earl Hall, 7-1, at 133 in a matchup of 2014 All-Americans.

'I came out ready to go,' Clark said. 'I was a little nervous but that happens. That's just something normal that happens to everybody. I thought I wrestled pretty well, other than I kind of quit going to my attacks a little bit at the end. I definitely can't be doing that, so that's the one thing I can improve on coming up this next match.'

Clark faces Penn State's Jimmy Gulibon, who beat Clark, 8-5, in the final seconds during a February dual.

'Keep wrestling all the way to the last whistle,' Clark said of what he learned from the previous bout with Gulibon. 'How I shut down a little bit in that last match is how Gulibon caught me off guard at the end. Just build and keep building. Don't worry about what the score is and wrestle whether I'm ahead by three or ahead by 10 or down by three or down by 10, wrestle the same way.'

Iowa has four remaining in consolation competition, including freshman Brandon Sorensen at 149, Sammy Brooks (184) and heavyweight Bobby Telford, who faces University of Northern Iowa's Blaize Cabell that will decide which becomes an All-American.

'We just have to keep winning,' Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. 'You keep winning matches and the ideal way to win is to open it up and do the things you do best and score a lot of points.'

Gadson continued his roll through the 197-pound bracket. He dropped Iowa's Nathan Burak, 12-2, to reach his first NCAA semifinal. Gadson, a two-time All-American seeded third, has a technical fall, pin and major decision in his first three matches.

'I felt all right,' Gadson said. 'I think I could have been a little more aggressive early on. The right type of aggressive anyway.

'It is another bonus-point win over the guys on the other side of the state, but there can be some improvement for tonight.'

He is not satisfied with just reaching the semifinals and locking up a third straight medal. The goal is for the path to lead to a national title. The mission isn't accomplished yet.

'Not if I don't what I do tonight,' Gadson said. 'That will put you right back in the wrestlebacks. I didn't come here to wrestle more than five matches.'

Iowa State's second-seeded Michael Moreno posted his third period after an opening round loss, placing Iowa State in 12th with 26 points.

UNI lost both quarterfinal matches. Ohio State's Bo Jordan pinned Cooper Moore at 165. Cabell fell to Northwestern's second-seeded Mike McMullan. The Panthers are tied for 29th with nine points.

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