Individually, the Iowa wrestling team did not produce any champions, but they did produce six All-Americans, the most of any team at the NCAA tournament. Seniors Mike Evans and Bobby Telford both received All-American honors for the third time in their careers, junior Nathan Burak and sophomore Cory Clark became All-Americans for their second time each, and sophomore Thomas Gilman and redshirt freshman Brandon Sorensen became All-Americans for the first time.

Some of the team achievements that the team had during the season were winning the B1G tournament (tied with Ohio State), winning the B1G regular season dual title, winning the Midlands Tournament (and setting a new record for points there), finishing second at the national duals, and of course placing second at the NCAA tournament. Iowa finished the regular season 17-1.

Other notable accomplishments for the Hawkeyes include sending all 10 wrestlers to the NCAA tournament (the 19th time in school history), sending a wrestler to the finals of the NCAA tournament (for the 26th consecutive year), and receiving B1G wrestler of the week honors five times (2 for Sorensen, 2 for Telford, and 1 for Evans). Iowa also had 9 academic All-Big Ten in Nathan Burak, Josh Dziewa, Jeremy Fahler, Brody Grothus, Jake Kadel, Michael Kelly, Kris Klapprodt, Phillip Laux, and Alex Meyer.

Some indidual career milestones were passed when both seniors Mike Evans and Bobby Telford passed the 100 win mark this season. Head Coach Tom Brands passed a milestone of his own this season as he became the coach with the second most duals wins in school history (he is now 163-16-1) behind only Dan Gable of course.

The fans set worked just as hard as the wrestlers to get in the history books too. Iowa led the nation in attendance for the ninth straight year by averaging 8,358 fans in its six home duals. Iowa also led the nation in total attendance with 55,390 fans. The three dual meets with the highest attendance this season also featured Iowa. These were the dual meets agains Penn State, Minnesota, and Iowa State.

The Hawkeyes will graduate five starting seniors from this season, but the future is still bright for Iowa next season as the Hawks will return four All-Americans. The team also showed its depth this year with standout performances on the varsity level from Alex Meyer and Kris Klapprodt. One thing is for sure looking ahead to next year: with depth like Iowa showcased this year, no spot is safe for next year. Iowa looks to be competitive as always and exciting to watch next season.

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The first Iowa wrestler to receive an upset was #5 Josh Dziewa who lost 6-3 to unseeded freshman Kevin Jack  (North Carolina State). Following this upset at 141 lbs came two more Iowa losses at 157 and 165 lbs. Both Michael Kelly (157) and Nick Moore (165) were unseeded and lost to seeded opponents #6 Josh Demas (OH St.) and #7 (NW) Pierce Harger respectively.

Then the next upset came at the end of the first round when heavyweight #3 Bobby Telford gave up a takedown and two nearfall points during the first period to his unseeded opponent Spencer Myers (Maryland). Telford bravely tried to battle back after scoring a takedown in the third period but could not finish on a series of shots afterwards. He ended up finishing out the match 5-7.

The final upset of the night for the Hawkeyes happened in the 149 lbs bracket. #4 Brandon Sorensen suffered a tough loss by decision after he decided to cut #13 Charles Cobb (Penn) with only 30 seconds left in the match but then could not score the winning takedown. Cobb’s escape gave him the win by decision 4-3.

Even though only eight out of the ten Hawkeyes remain (with Kelly and Moore out of the tournament) Iowa is still in the hunt for the team championship. Iowa was not the only team to suffer upsets. In fact upsets seemed to be the rule rather than the exception within the first two sessions of the NCAA Championship which seems to be the only thing that is keeping Iowa in the race for the team championship.

The third session will commence at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 20. Eight Hawkeyes are still competing with five that still have a chance at gold. Even though Iowa’s wrestling team has faced some adversity in the first to rounds, they are still in the hunt.

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This is not to say that the Hawkeyes have not been looking ahead. Even as early as the win over Virginia on Sunday head coach Tom Brands was saying, “We train with an eye on the future. That doesn’t mean we look past events, but we do train with an eye on the future.” He also added that when it comes to the national duals, “If you’re not there, then you’re not a big boy.”

“This is a big week we’ve got to do it right training-wise. We’ve got a big event coming to Iowa City this coming Saturday and Sunday. One week from today there is going to be a national dual championship crowned and we’ve got work to do before we get to that match, and first things first we’ve got to do it right this week.”

Another big consideration that comes with the national duals is the possibility of peaking. One thing that would be unfortunate would be if any of the Iowa wrestlers reached their peak performances at the national duals and then had their talents deteriorate before the Big Ten tournament or the NCAA tournament.

According to Brands though, “We’re not worried about whether we can compete or whether this is the right thing or not… peaking is a mindset; getting ready for tough matches is a mindset.”

And a big stage it is with many of the weight classes likely being previews of the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments still to come. This seriousness is not lost among the wrestlers themselves either. Even beginning last Sunday, Iowa 141 pounder, Josh Dziewa, began thinking, “We’re in the postseason now… the regular season is over. Today was the first leg of the postseason. I’m not sure who we’re going to line up against Saturday, but we’re ready to go for anybody.”

That anybody has been set by now though. Beginning at 12 p.m. Saturday the University of Iowa will take on unranked Chattanooga University in the opening bout of the quarterfinal round. Even though Chattanooga may be unranked they are not witout talent. Among the most interesting matches to watch within Iowa’s opening bout are the 125 lb match, pitting the Hawks’ #5 Thomas Gilman against the Mocs’ #10 Sean Boyle, and the 133 lb match which features Iowa’s #6 Cory Clark and Chattanooga’s #13 Nick Soto.

These great matches and others within the tournament will likely draw a respectable crowd within Carver-Hawkeye Arena come this weekend and all of Iowa City seems to be excited about the tournament. Brands shared this excitement as well when he proclaimed Sunday, “We’re excited to have it, it’s good for our fans, and we’re going to be ready to go and scrap just like seven other teams that are coming to Iowa City.”

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