The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Learning to be the heavy

Ohio+States+Josh+Fox+grapples+with+Iowas+Steven+Holloway+during+the+Iowa+v.+Ohio+State+Wrestling+match%2C+in+Carver-Hawkeye+Arena+in+Iowa+City%2C+Iowa++on+Friday%2C+Jan.+27%2C+2017.+The+Hawkeyes+beat+the+Buckeyes+with+a+team+score+of+21-13.+%28The+Daily+Iowan%2FAnthony+Vazquez%29
Anthony Vazquez
Ohio State’s Josh Fox grapples with Iowa’s Steven Holloway during the Iowa v. Ohio State Wrestling match, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. The Hawkeyes beat the Buckeyes with a team score of 21-13. (The Daily Iowan/Anthony Vazquez)

By Courtney Baumann

[email protected]

When Steven Holloway arrived in the Iowa wrestling room last year, he expected to be a 197-pounder. He wrestled his entire redshirt season there, posting a 16-6 record.

With that spot vacant this season after three-time All-American Nathan Burak graduated, perhaps Holloway would be the one to take it.

But things change.

Holloway is still in the lineup, but Cash Wilcke handles the 197 duties. Holloway is at heavyweight.

The Burlington native began this season filling in at the position while Sam Stoll finished recovering from a knee injury, which ended his season last year right before nationals.

Unfortunately for Stoll and the Hawkeyes, the sophomore only saw the mat for the Midlands Championships and three dual meets this season before tearing an ACL.

So, instead of cutting weight and maybe going back to 197, Holloway was thrust into heavyweight once again. He insists it’s really not the roller coaster it seems like.

“To me, it’s just been pretty steady. I come in and wrestling is my job. You just go in and put in work every day, and everything will take care of itself,” Holloway said. “I would’ve liked to go down and wrestled lighter guys, but it doesn’t matter how big they are.”

At his last weigh-in, Holloway saw 220 pounds on the scale. Heavyweight caps out at 285 pounds, so there could be a large difference between Holloway and some of his opponents. He and the coaches are taking that in stride. Right now, their goal is to raise his weight by five pounds for the next weigh-in on Friday.

“Building up to heavyweight has been a long journey, and I’m still going toward it,” Holloway said. “Basically, my program is just eat. [Ben] Berhow, the heavyweight coach, gets on me about that. Every time he’s in my ear, ‘Just eat, eat, eat past the point of fullness.’ ”

Because he is lighter than most of the wrestlers he faces, the focus for Holloway is avoiding the bottom spot. Getting ridden will be where he can really feel the difference, and that will tire him out quickly during matches.

While being smaller than some competition could be a disadvantage for Holloway, there are positives, too.

One thing in particular that could help Holloway is his agility and quickness, things that come with being 50 to 60 pounds lighter than the competition.

It worked against Ohio State, when Holloway won his first Big Ten dual match over Josh Fox.

“He realizes that the holds he hit can work on anybody no matter what the body looks like,” Iowa wrestling head coach Tom Brands said. “How big the body is, how big the hips are, how big the legs are, how big the belly is, it makes no difference.”

Wrestling at heavyweight is something Holloway’s teammates recognize as a fantastic chance as well.

During the Penn State meet, just hours after Stoll’s season-ending injury was announced, Iowa 133-pounder Cory Clark noted the greatness of the opportunity Holloway is being given.

“We’ve got a guy getting a step in, proving himself, and figuring something out about himself,” Clark said. “I hope Holloway can embrace this and really realize what’s in front of him, because I know five years from now he’s going to be looking back and wishing that he would’ve realized that when he had the chance to.”

Though he may not yet understand the extent of how to do it, Holloway knows he needs to embrace the opportunity.

“I agree with that. It’s my chance to go out there and shine and show why I’m wrestling here and why they picked me to wrestle at Iowa,” Holloway said. “Nothing’s changed, it’s just keep working hard and wrestling hard.”

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