Panthers good start could be a sign of the future

PHILADELPHIA - The start of the national tournament could be a sign of what is in store for the University of Northern Iowa wrestling program.

The Panthers won two of their three first round matches Thursday at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center. The early performances from David Bonin, Ryan Loder and Christian Brantley could become the building blocks for next season, according to first-year head coach Doug Schwab.

“It would be nice if we were 3-0 in the first round. I'd feel better,” Schwab said. "We can build a lot of momentum with these three guys for the next season. We got all three of these guys coming back.”

For the three here, however, next year doesn't begin until late Saturday night. They still have goals that need to be accomplished before next season.

“We don't want these guys to be content with just making it to the national tournament,” Schwab said. “That's not going to do them any good and it's not going to do the program any good.

“I don't think they're OK with just being here. We make sure to remind them to not be OK with being here and get yourself as high on the stand as possible.”

Bonin and Loder took a step closer Thursday. Bonin, a sophomore at 157, fell behind early in his NCAA debut Binghamton's Matt Kaylor before scoring a 5-4 victory. Bonin trailed 4-1 early in the first after surrendering two takedowns, but managed to tie the score 4-4 by the end of the period. He scored an escape in the second and that was the difference.

“He's going to wrestle a full seven minutes. That's what we ask of these guys every time and they do it.”

Schwab took over for Brad Penrith who was fired last April after the Panthers finished 40th at the 2010 NCAA Championships, and Bonin bought in immediately after the coaching change.

“From Day one I've been on the job that kid has been in the room,” Schwab said. “That's paying off."

Loder, a red-shirt freshman seeded sixth at 184, used an escape and takedown in two 30-second tiebreaker periods for a 4-2 win over Hofstra's Ben Clymer. They wrestled to a 1-1 tie, which remained that way through one-minute sudden victory period. In the first tiebreaker Clymer escaped for a 2-1 advantage, but Loder immediately shot to score a takedown to claim the lead and added another escape for the difference.

“Loder the big thing that he did was that kid escaped and he picked up his pace right now and went on attack,” Schwab said. “He just needs to do it earlier instead of waiting until the tiebreaker. He needs to do it in the first minute of the match, score and open things up that way.”

Schwab said the pair was a little tight, battling nerves from making their debut on college wrestling's biggest stage. He said they could represent themselves better, but winning and advancing is the main objective.

“Sometimes that first one is a tough one to get out of the way,” Schwab said. “They got that out of the way and they're ready to roll.”

Brantley, a junior who is making his third NCAA appearance, lost a 3-1 overtime decision in sudden victory to No. 8 seed Tony Nelson of Minnesota.