The Big Ten Championships are a day away, and the Iowa wrestling program is going to war.
Eight of the 10 wrestlers in Iowa’s lineup are ranked in the seedings: true freshman Spencer Lee No. 2 at 125, senior Brandon Sorensen No. 2 at 149, sophomore Michael Kemerer is tied for first at 157, freshman Alex Marinelli No. 2 at 165, sophomore Joey Gunther No. 7 at 174, junior Mitch Bowman No. 8 at 184, sophomore Cash Wilcke No. 3 at 197, and junior Sam Stoll No. 4 at 285. Five of the eight wrestlers are ranked in the top three, which looks very good for Iowa.
Of those weights, 174 was the big question, and this did not sit well with wrestling head coach Tom Brands.
“Instead of picking one guy, I’d like to have it at least cut-and-dried enough where the coaches can pick the best guy,” said Brands. “In this case, though, I even said at 174 it didn’t look like there would be a wrestle-off, but how both those guys competed left us no choice, and a wrestle-off is the fairest way to do it.”
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After a relatively tumultuous season and with this aspect of uncertainty, some might think the higher weights on the team might not be battle-ready.
A prominent leader of the weights, Marinelli disputes that.
“It’s all mental,” he said. “We’re all sharpened weapons here. We’re all ready to go, so if you’re not winning, it’s on you.”
Gunther, the winner of the deciding wrestle-off at 174, agrees. He agrees because he has to.
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“Kaleb [Young] definitely pushes me,” he said. “We push each other because we were both trying to get that spot. It keeps me focused on wanting to be the best every time and getting to the top every practice. It’s time to peak. Get what you need to get, and give what you need to give.”
Focus will be key to the wrestlers’ success on the mats this weekend. For Big Tens, it’s a matter of buckling down and winning three or four matches in a row.
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“You just have to take it one match at a time,” Marinelli said. “I’ve talked with Michael Kemerer and he said, ‘You go out there, and you put on your best wrestling. After that, you can relax. If you have a bye first round, you go eat, you relax, then you go put on a show.’ You take it one match at a time and realize everyone’s human; they’re looking to do the same as you. So just put your best wrestling on the mat.”
The heavyweights will certainly need to adopt this specific mentality and focus.
Marinelli has the highest chance of coming out on top. Wilcke and Stoll, with some underdog action, could also make it. Stoll, however, has fallen this season to all three wrestlers ranked higher than him, so he isn’t so likely to triumph. Gunther and Bowman, on the lower end of the seeding, will certainly have their work cut out for them. The heavyweights have work to do if they want a gold medal.
