How does Iowa stack up with the nation’s best in wrestling?
By James Geerdes
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Iowa has long been regarded as a wrestling powerhouse, and this year seems to be no different.
Last season, Iowa concluded its season with a fourth-place finish at the NCAAs, but after losing three All-Americans — Sammy Brooks, Cory Clark, and Thomas Gilman — it was unknown where Iowa’s squad would be this year. And head coach Tom Brands admits that.
“We’re excited about that,” Brands said. “There’s a lot of exciting things for fans to be paying attention to and looking toward, but it’s also about a lot of unknowns.”
But nearly three weeks of wrestling has shown that Iowa is still strong.
Senior Brandon Sorensen and sophomore Michael Kemerer anchor the middle of the Hawkeye lineup with such guys as Cash Wilcke, Sam Stoll, Joey Gunther, and others filling in solid rolls. But where does it stack up against the nation’s other top programs?
Big Ten’s top dog
Always a crowded wrestling conference, the Big Ten is again packing talent this year. And so far, Penn State is sitting at the head of the pack.
The thorn in Brandon Sorensen’s side that is Penn State’s Zain Retherford returns for his senior campaign at 149 pounds, looking for his third national championship. Sorensen is 0-4 against Retherford and will get the opportunity to wrestle him at least once and possibly three times this year.
All in all, Penn State returns five defending champions, all six of their All-Americans, and the Nittany Lions have won six of the last seven team titles. To be clear: Penn State is good.
The Nittany Lions take on fifth-ranked Lehigh on Friday in a dual meet that has potential to shake up the current rankings.
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Big Ten contenders
Joining Penn State atop the Big Ten’s top dogs list are Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota.
The second-ranked Buckeyes return three former individual national champions and have 10 athletes in all weight classes ranked in FloWrestling’s top 12.
Lehigh has one upset this year over then-No. 4 Michigan. But prior to that, the Wolverines edged out No. 11 Arizona State, 21-18. Michigan is returning six All-Americans and has eight ranked wrestlers.
Minnesota has seven of its wrestlers ranked by InterMat and is 2-1 with a loss to No. 3 Oklahoma State.
National contenders
The Big Ten may hold five of the top-10 spots on Intermat’s national rankings, but don’t ignore other programs. Oklahoma State and Missouri both are strong.
The Cowboys, one of the top winning programs in college-wrestling history, beat sixth-ranked Minnesota on Nov. 18 in a convincing 30-3 team score.
They also return two-time national champion Dean Heil at 141 pounds, whose winning streak stands at 50 bouts.
Missouri has posted a 6-0 record so far this season. The fourth-ranked program topped No. 10 Virginia Tech, 22-12, No. 15 Illinois, 20-17, and Virginia, 18-15.
Three weeks of college wrestling has hardly shifted the team rankings, but the season is still young.
Iowa will take on No. 15 Illinois in Carver-Hawkeye at 7 p.m. Friday.
