Loder wrestling well heading into NCAA tournament

CEDAR FALLS - Ryan Loder hasn't had much experience with a losing record.

So, the University of Northern Iowa red-shirt freshman became frustrated by his 3-4 start to this season. Loder decided he had enough and turned his season around.

"I've never been even close to that type of record my whole life," Loder said. "It was tough to get over that. I'm glad it's over now. I can just wrestle and not think about wins or losses and just do what I've been doing."

He's been doing a lot of winning since then. Loder has won 20 of his last 23 matches and claimed the sixth-seed at 184 pounds of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Competition begins Thursday morning and extends through Saturday night.

"I think it will be pretty good," Loder said of his first NCAA appearance. "The last couple months have been good for me just getting better."

First-year Panthers Head Coach Doug Schwab credited Loder (27-9) for a strong season. He has turned some heads as the wins mounted.

"He's doing a good job," Schwab said. "He's not flashy, but he's winning. To win as a freshman, that's huge."

Loder's turnaround was keyed by the ability to win close matches. A fifth-place finish at the Midlands Championships, where he posted a 6-2 mark, provided a boost of confidence.

"At the beginning of the season I was losing the close matches," Loder said. "It helps your confidence a lot when you can finally get that one-point win and finish up the match on top. It helps you mentally."

Loder said working on those situations in practice helped him succeed in tight matches. Schwab said he has noticed an increase in confidence from a mix of mat performance and training. Schwab said it was as simple as Loder deciding he was going to come out on top.

"To me it goes back to making a choice, making a choice I'm good enough (and) I'm going to find a way to win this match," Schwab said. "I think he made the choice I'm sick of losing these matches to guys I definitely could be beating."

Loder's last match before the NCAA tournament could be indicative of his progress. Loder lost to Wyoming's two-time All-American Joe LeBlanc, 6-5, in a dual to close the regular season. Loder avenged that loss, the only one in his last 15 matches, with a 4-3 decision in the West Regional finals.

Loder said he was hesitant to initiate offense in the first contest, but opened up and forced his style in the rematch.

"It was really big," said Loder, who praised UNI assistant coach Randy Pugh and workout partner Brice Wolf for helping him improve in practice. "He's a great wrestler. For me to beat that caliber of wrestler, it helps my confidence going into the national tournament. If he can do it I can do it, too."

Loder is an accomplished wrestler. He was 32-5 last year during his red-shirt season. Loder, 19, from Granite Bay, Calif., was a four-time freestyle All-American as a prep. He's developed a strong leg attack and has done well in the bottom position to complement his strong ability to ride. Schwab said others told him about Loder's potential when he took over the program last May.

"I kept hearing Loder, Loder, Loder. This guy is going to be for real. He's going to be good," Schwab said. "He's had a good season but we want to cap it off the right way."

Regional title was nice, but Loder, who opens with Hofstra's 17th-ranked Ben Clymer (21-8), said nobody remembers a regional champion and that is not the goal of training. He doesn't accept losing, so you can guess what is in his sights in Philadelphia.

"There's only one place I'll be happy with, so that's No. 1," Loder said. "I can't be satisfied with anything else."