Midlands notes: Iowa’s Sam Stoll back in action

EVANSTON, Ill. — Iowa heavyweight Sam Stoll returned to the mat.

After nine months away from competition, Stoll stepped to the line with just one solitary kneepad after extended rehab from knee surgery for an injury that knocked him out of the NCAA tournament in March.

Stoll opened with two wins in the opening session of the 54th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Thursday at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Third-seeded Stoll surrendered the first points in his 8-3 victory over Grand View NAIA national champion and former West Delaware prep Dean Broghammer.

'I like how he gave up the first takedown and came back and won that match,' Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. 'These guys aren't pushovers.

'He's looking good.'

Stoll recorded a 5-1 win over Buffalo's Jake Gunning in his first match. Stoll seemed sure-footed and confident in the neutral position. He was dominant on top, amassing 3:13 in riding time against Broghammer.

Stoll has been wrestling in practice, but competition shape is a different beast. It will improve with each bout.

'You can see his shape is off a little bit,' Brands said. 'It's not shape, like he's not fit. It's more like I haven't wrestled a match in a long time. I definitely like Stoll where he's at.'

Coming in, Brands said they may not wrestle Stoll the entire tournament. They have taken a cautious approach to coming back, even though Stoll has said he's been wanting to compete for some time. The course of action is yet to be determined.

'We'll see what the game plan is,' said Brands, who hadn't yet talked to Stoll. 'He's cooling down and then we'll get a game plan.'

HEFTIER HATHAWAY

Oregon State's Jack Hathaway advanced to the 141-pound quarterfinals Thursday afternoon. The junior and former Iowa City West prep improved to 11-3 before the quarterfinal round.

'I feel tired,' Hathaway said with a laugh. 'I feel good.'

He has to be happier with his season. As a freshman 133-pounder, Hathaway was an NCAA qualifier with a 27-12 record. He bumped up to 141 last season and struggled against stronger competition, posting a 15-14 mark.

'I was just too small,' Hathaway said about his first season at 141 that ended with a 15-14 record. 'Going into every match, I was probably as technically sound as anyone, but it's tough to have any offense when everyone is pulling you around like a ragdoll.'

Hathaway is bigger and more defined physically, returning to Iowa to work in a state park and focusing on weight training.

'I worked hard for the summer,' Hathaway said. 'It was all about getting bigger, getting properly sized for 141 so I'm not getting manhandled every match.'

Hathaway, seeded 13th, opened with a 5-4 win over Harvard's A.J. Jaffe and a 9-0 major decision over South Dakota State's Henry Pohlmeyer, a former Johnston prep. Hathaway set his goal to be on the podium, if not win the whole thing.

'(It will take) a lot of grit,' Hathaway said. 'It's something I can do.'

YOUNG GUNS

Many have their eyes set on freshmen Alex Marinelli and Kaleb Young, who are wrestling unattached at 165. Both reached the quarterfinals Thursday.

Marinelli, who has been a source of conversation about pulling his redshirt to move into the starting lineup, pinned SIU-Edwardsville's Clayton Bass and then topped North Dakota State's No. 8-seed Andrew Fogarty, 10-6, setting up a match with Illinois' top-seeded NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez.

Iowa Coach Tom Brands caught some of ninth-seeded Marinelli's action, including a moment in the second period when he surrendered some easy points that allowed Fogarty confidence to remain in the match.

'That's something he's going to have to realize that he's going to have to wrestle complete matches,' Brands said. 'To him, it's probably not a big deal, because I was winning. I knew I was going to win. I can get to him and take him down at will.

'Those are big points and who knows what happens when you hustle the whole match. Who knows? Especially him, with the kind of scoring potential he has all the time. He threatens his opponents all the time.'

Young beat two seeded wrestlers, topping Arizona State's No. 14-seed Jacen Petersen and then Oklahoma's third-seeded Clark Glass. Both were 3-2 decisions.

'Gritty,' Brands said. 'He gave up an early stall call in that match and he had to get going. Won a counter takedown and picked it up the way the way he needed to pick it up. He needs to score off those shots and we can probably get to him more. Maybe better setups and not so much down on the mat but good job. Gritty.'

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