Hawkeyes dominate Ohio State, 33-3

IOWA CITY - The gold rush turned into a black-and-gold blitz.

Fans were encouraged to wear gold to support the University of Iowa wrestlers Saturday. Many of the 8,976 fans who filed into Carver-Hawkeye Arena did, and witnessed a dominating performance. The eighth-ranked Hawkeyes won nine of 10 bouts, earning bonus points in four, to drop Ohio State, 33-3, Saturday in a Big Ten dual.

Iowa (9-0-1, 2-0 Big Ten) controlled the meet from the opening bout. Wrestling at a higher pace with more aggressiveness was stressed with the Hawkeyes individually. The common theme was for them to attack.

“The overriding essential in wrestling is doing what you do best,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. “It's attacking and putting pressure on opponents and scoring points. I don't know how to do that without across the board attacking."

Heavyweight Blake Rasing was a prime example. Rasing took a shot off the opening whistle against Zach Stolarsky and pressed the action, notching a 12-1 major decision.

Even though he didn't score on that opening move Rasing said he set the tone for the rest of the match. He scored a takedown in the second, adding two back points off a quick tilt. He also scored a takedown in the third, but dictated the pace, forcing four stall calls against Stolarsky for four penalty points.

“Getting better every week,” Rasing said. “We've been working on getting going from the beginning instead of waiting around. I think I did a better job of that.”

Rasing's result is a product of understanding what he does best and how he's applied it in practice.

“He showed it out there,” Brands said. “The key is to continue to go forward and embrace every challenge that is ahead of him and do the same thing."

Matt McDonough followed Rasing's win with a pin at 125. McDonough built a 15-4 lead before decking Bo Touris in 4:37, giving Iowa a 16-0 lead.

McDonough scored at will as need many of his teammates. The Hawkeyes owned a major advantage in match points (85-28), takedowns (28-4), nearfall points (7-0) and riding time (6-0).

Brands said it doesn't matter whether Ohio State (2-6, 1-2) is not as strong as in recent seasons. The Hawkeyes showed traits of what it will take to be successful against anyone. Now they have to do it each time out.

“We have to be tough like that on our opponent,” Brands said. “It needs to be consistent.

“In a way we haven't done it all year, but we need to be bullies in those tough matches. If we can be bullies in those tough matches then we got a team.”

Brothers Mark and Matt Ballweg posted consecutive major decisions with each tallying three takedowns and an escape in the third period for bonus points. Mark Ballweg beat Randy Languis 10-2 at 141.

Matt Ballweg scored takedowns in the first and second before his final period onslaught for a 12-3 win over Mike Fee at 149. His victory gave Iowa a 27-0 lead and sealed the win with three matches left.

Brands called the victory an important performance for the senior. He started a little sloppy, but became sharper.

“He got crisper as the match went on,” Brands said. “That's important. He's a senior so we want that success.” 

 Ethen Lofthouse, ranked 14th, capped the win with a 3-1 victory over No. 12 Nick Heflin. Lofthouse scored a takedown late in the final period. It is his second straight win over a higher-ranked opponent. He was happy but not satisfied.

“I felt good, but at the same time there's a lot of room for improvement,” Lofthouse said. “There's a lot of room to score more points.

“Everyone's tough in college. You have to make the difference, scoring a lot of points breaking people.”

Brands said that Lofthouse needs to open up offensively. Lofthouse shouldn't rely on one takedown to be the difference in a match.

“He's a pretty good athletic specimen," Brands said of Lofthouse. "So, let things fly. More attempts.”

Iowa's Tony Ramos also scored a win against a ranked foe. Ramos, ranked 16th by Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine,  used takedowns in the first and third periods for a 5-2 win over Ian Paddock, ranked 11th by W.I.N., at 133.

Grant Gambrall kicked off the dual by dropping C.J. Magrum, 10-3, at 184. Luke Lofthouse followed with a 6-4 decision over Peter Capone at 197.

Brands said the team showed some improvement against the Buckeyes, even if it was a team the Hawkeyes should have handled. Ethen Lofthouse said a big focus in the room was wrestling at a higher tempo in order to score often and separate themselves from the competition.

“We picked it up this week,” Lofthouse said. “Now, we have to pick it up next week and keep picking it up every single week.”

Iowa travels to Evanston, Ill., on Friday to face Northwestern before going to State College, Pa., to take on top-ranked Penn State on Sunday, Jan. 30.

184 pounds - Grant Gambrall (I) dec. C.J. Magrum, 10-3 (2,1); 197 - Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Peter Capone, 6-4 (1,1); Hwt. - Blake Rasing (I) major dec. Zach Stolarsky, 12-1 (2,0); 125 - Matt McDonough (I) pinned Bo Touris, 4:37 (5-0); 133 - Tony Ramos (I) dec. Ian Paddock, 5-2 (2,0); 141 - Mark Ballweg (I) major dec. Randy Languis, 10-2 (4,0); 149 - Matt Ballweg (I) major dec. Mike Fee, 12-3 (5,0); 157 - Derek St. John (I) dec. Sean Nemec, 9-3 (4-0); 165 - Colt Sponseller (OSU) dec. Aaron Janssen, 5-3 SV (2,1); 174 - Ethen Lofthouse (I) dec. Nick Heflin, 3-1 (1,0)

Takedowns - OSU 4, Iowa 28. Reversals - OSU 0, Iowa 1. Escapes - OSU 20, Iowa 9. Nearfall points - OSU 0, Iowa 7. Penalty points (awarded) - OSU 0, Iowa 5. Riding time points - OSU 0, Iowa 6. Total match points - OSU 28, Iowa 85.