Wrestling downs Gophers, 34-6

Gilman, Clark, lead Iowa to 34-6 romp of Minnesota.

In hindsight, the dual between Iowa and Minnesota was effectively in under a minute into the first match.

Thomas Gilman sent Minnesota’s Skyler Petry to the mat for his first takedown 21 seconds after the bout had started, and it set the tone for the rest of the evening.

The Hawkeyes sent the Gophers to floor time after time, early and often. Gilman pinned Petry in just 1:19, giving Iowa an early 6-0 lead. Five minutes later, 133-pounder Cory Clark also nabbed a fall and doubled the team’s lead.

“He relaxed a bit, and I’m not really a guy to relax against,” Clark said. “I felt him do it, and I hustled in to get it. Once I got in the pinning position, I got the fall. I think I caught him off-guard a little bit. I don’t think he was expecting it.”

While Minnesota did win the match against Brody Grothus — who made his second dual start of the season — Iowa rattled off the next five-straight bouts, putting the meet far out of reach, 31-3.

The Hawkeyes got bonus points in two of the five matches — a major decision from 174-pounder Alex Meyer and a first-period technical fall from Sammy Brooks at 184.

Brooks, who was pinned last week against Nebraska, came out in a fervor and did not let up in any of the five minutes it took him to get the technical fall.

“You come off a bad match, and you want to go out there and make a point,” Brooks said. “But that’s what I should be doing every match.”

Iowa did drop the next match — Nathan Burak’s 197-pound against Brett Pfarr. It was a match of two top-5 ranked wrestlers and didn’t disappoint anybody.

No. 5 ranked Pfarr struck first with a takedown late in the first, though Burak, ranked fourth, did manage to escape before the period ended. With the score 3-1 in the second after a Pfarr escape, Burak scored a takedown.

Burak got an escape early in the third, and the 11,174 fans in attendance got loud. A late takedown from Pfarr sealed the match for the Gophers, but Burak did get an escape and nearly had a takedown to win the match. With just 15 seconds left in the match, Burak managed an escape and a quick shot of his own but did not quite get points.

Iowa head coach Tom Brands asked for a challenge and got his wish, though the officials did not grant Burak a takedown.

Sam Stoll finished things off for Iowa with a win in the heavyweight bout, ta 7-3 victory over No. 10 Michael Kroells.

Iowa 34, Minnesota 6

125 — No. 2 Thomas Gilman pinned Skyler Petry in 1:19 (6-0 Iowa)

133 — No. 3 Cory Clark pinned Sam Brancale in 4:59 (12-0 Iowa)

141 — No. 7 Tommy Thorn decision Brody Grothus, 6-4 (12-3 Iowa)

149 — No. 2 Brandon Sorensen decision No. 10 Jake Short, 6-2 (15-3 Iowa)

157 — No. 13 Edwin Cooper Jr. decision over Brandon Kingsley in sudden victory, 4-2 (18-3 Iowa)

165 — Patrick Rhoads major decision Dylan Urbach, 21-7 (22-3 Iowa)

174 — No. 7 Alex Meyer major decision Nick Wanzek, 10-1 (26-3 Iowa)

184 — No. 7 Sammy Brooks technical fall Chris Pfarr in 4:59 (31-3 Iowa)

197 — No. 4 Brett Pfarr decision No. 3 Nathan Burak, 6-5 (31-6 Iowa)