Hawkeye wrestlers ready to reload

IOWA CITY - Tom Brands and the University of Iowa wrestling team accept their latest challenge.

They know turnover is a part of college athletics, and the Hawkeyes will have to overcome that very dilemma for the 2010-11 college wrestling season.

The Hawkeyes will need to replace eight starters from last year's squad as it attempts to win a fourth straight Big Ten and NCAA team title and extend its school record 61-match dual win streak.

"There's a lot of excitement that is going into this season because of that turnover, and when you're talking about excitement, it's not always about having a high-powered team coming back," Brands said during his team's media day press conference. "Actually the fans are almost contrary to that. They want to see the new guys on the mat, so to speak."

The Hawkeyes, ranked as low as 11th in preseason polls, graduated seven seniors who started last year, including six All-Americans and two national champions in Brent Metcalf and Jay Borschel. How those big shoes get filled depends on how the wrestlers trying them on progress and their mentality in the room and in competition.

"We like our guys," Brands said. "They know how to wrestle. I'm not making a prediction, but the unknown is the toughness factor when it's time to get tough. And that's a big part of wrestling, especially in this program where you make your living being tough."

The top returner on the team is defending national champion Matt McDonough. The red-shirt sophomore captured the 125-pound NCAA crown last year, posting a 37-1 record and earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.

That performance can be a guide for wrestlers stepping in the lineup this year. Brands said the program can thrive with individuals contributing and training in similar fashion but it's not a "cookie-cutter" process.

"There's a lot of correlation there," Brands said, "but there's also a lot of individuality where it's going to look different."

The vision is the same for McDonough, even if the hunter is now the hunted and he said he knows the target is fixed to his back.

“The things I'm doing in the room are the same,” McDonough said. “My objective's the same. The way I train is the same. I'm going out there. It's not just about national titles. It's just about performing the best I can and living up to my own expectations and that may be the top (of the) podium.”

McDonough has been thrust into a leadership role, but it's one he accepts freely. Even as he ascended the college wrestling ranks as a freshman on a senior-dominated team, McDonough showed leader-by-example qualities.

“It's a process to take that leadership role from being a freshman and being the youngest guy in the lineup by essentially four years and then jump into a role where I'm thrown into a leadership role," McDonough said. "I'm still a lot more leading by example if there's anything to do, but once that season comes there's a lot of things that are beneficial and doing the best I can to help other guys get where I was.”

The cupboard is far - like light years - away from being bare. Senior s Jake Kerr and Aaron Janssen return with varsity experience after alternating at 157 until kerr received the nod for the Big Ten tournament. Kerr was fourth at the Big Ten meet, qualifying for the NCAA meet and ending with a 13-11 mark. Janssen was 12-4 overall.

Red-shirt sophomore Nate Moore filled in at 133 pound when Daniel Dennis suffered an ankle injury. Moore went 9-6, and should contend for a spot at 133 with red-shirt Tony Ramos, who was 12-0, claiming three open tournament titles last year. Tyler Clark, an NCAA qualifier for Iowa State in 2009, is eligible and could contend for a spot at 133 as well.

Luke Lofthouse will look to replace Chad Beatty at 197 pounds. Lofthouse filled in admirably last season when Beatty missed extended time with a broken foot, going 19-13. Heavyweights Blake Rasing and Jordan Johnson saw varsity action in the first half of last season. Rasing, who took Iowa State national champ David Zabriskie into overtime, seems to be the front-runner for that spot after a 9-9 record last year.

“Yeah we're going to be younger but we're still going to be talented,” Janssen said. “We're still going to be loaded.”

Red-shirt freshmen Derek St. John and Ethen Lofthouse had solid first seasons. St. John, who won the 157 wrestle-off at the start of the season, placed fifth at the Midlands Championships amd finished with a 26-4 mark.

Grant Gambrall, a red-shirt sophomore, went 22-6 overall at 184, including a sixth-place showing at the Midlands.

The Hawkeyes also welcome in the top recruiting class from last year, including Josh Dziewa of Pennsylvania and Mike Evans of New Jersey, Moore of Iowa City West and heavyweight Bobby Telford, Waverly-Shell Rock three-time state champ Jake Ballweg and Cedar Falls two-time state champ Michael Kelly.

Lofthouse said inexperience isn't a factor. The Hawkeyes have competed at the highest levels of the sport their entire career.

“In our minds, there's not any real disadvantages,” Lofthouse said. “There's not any real issues with inexperience because these guys have wrestled our whole lives. All it comes down to is us going out and wrestling the way we're supposed to wrestle, how we're supposed to wrestle, how we train to wrestle and at the end of the day if you do that then you're going to have your way, you're going to be successful and you're not going to have the issues of being young and inconsistent.”

Brands said there may be pitfalls and weaknesses and the team started addressing those weeks ago. Even though many are unproven, their training with individual titles in mind.

“There are a lot of guys that are hungry and want it,” McDonough said. “It's also one of those things where as the season starts it's like a switch flips once you get in that competition and live battle you can smell the blood.”

Members of the team insisted preseason rankings don't affect their motivation. The goal isn't to be on top at the start but when the season concludes in March in Philadelphia.

We're motivated either way,” Lofthouse said. “That's the coaches. They're so beneficial in that way that they keep us focused and motivated on the task that we're going for. It's not being ranked first. It's not being No. 1 ranked in October. It's being on top of the podium in March at each individual weight class. If you do that then the team race is going to take care of itself.”