By Pete Ruden
The past three duals have not been an easy task for the Iowa wrestling team. In a 12-day span, the No. 3 Hawkeyes took on No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Penn State, and No. 4 Ohio State.
The next two duals should be a little easier for Iowa, though not by much. On Friday, Wisconsin, ranked No. 16, will roll into Carver-Hawkeye for Iowa’s third-straight home dual. After that, the Hawkeyes will hit the road to Minneapolis to do battle with No. 13 Minnesota on Feb. 5.
“We learned a lot the last three weekends, and now we’re looking forward to Wisconsin and Minnesota,” head coach Tom Brands said. “It’s our first two-dual weekend in a while, and that’s something that we have to look forward to as well.”
More mat time will help Iowa. The experience will without doubt help the freshmen on the roster, as the season turns into the postseason.
“The more practice, the better,” redshirt freshman Joey Gunther said. “[We’re] getting better every weekend, test[ing] myself every weekend. Get ready for the Big Tens and NCAAs.”
Clark’s (maybe) back
To the surprise of many, senior 133-pounder Cory Clark sat out the meet against Ohio State in which he was slated to wrestle No. 1 Nathan Tomasello. Clark, who is ranked No. 4 at his weight by Intermat, is once again listed in the probable lineup for this weekend’s duals.
Still, Brands said, Clark is day-to-day but ready to go.
“His workouts have been good, his workouts have been strong. Everybody wants to know why he didn’t wrestle and if there’s a panic, and that’s not the case at all,” Brands said. “He wanted to go. I’m sure his family wanted him to go. I know the Iowa Hawkeye wrestling fans wanted to see that match. I wanted to see that match … It was the right call at the time from where I sit.”
While Clark has missed a few matches this season because of a shoulder injury, it is unlikely he will stay out until the Big Ten Championships. After getting an adequate amount of rest, repeating as an All-American and winning a national title, not an injured shoulder, will be on Clark’s mind.
Carton on the comeback
Senior 141-pound Topher Carton is set to take on No. 16 Cole Martin of Wisconsin on Friday, followed by No. 12 Tommy Thorn of Minnesota. Those matches stick out for a reason — they are quite winnable.
However, Carton’s last three matches have been winnable as well. Each one was decided by 3 points or fewer, with one of them being against Oklahoma State’s No. 1 Dean Heil.
A big key in Carton’s defeats has been his inability to wrestle and take down opponents in the third period.
With more talented teams on the schedule, he will have a chance to show what he can do.
“The goal is to get your hand raised, and I didn’t get my hand raised. In my mind, that’s a failure. In this program’s mind, that’s a failure,” Carton said. “My job at 141 pounds is to wrestle, and compete, and get my hand raised, and put points on the board for the University of Iowa.”
