A Winner Is You! 141

by RossWB on Nov 19, 2009 12:15 PM CST in Iowa Hawkeyes News

Come January, when the Iowa football team again goes into hibernation for another nine months, what's a Hawkeye fan to do? You could pay attention to our historically awful basketball team... or you could give a little time to the two-time defending national champion, #1 ranked wrestling team. It is the one winter sport we're really, really good at, after all. In the spirit of our Assume the Position series for football, we bring you A Winner Is You!, a weight class-by-weight class breakdown of the Iowa wrestling team, counting down from the weight class we have the most confidence in to the weight class we have absolutely no clue about.

As soon as the paperwork gets filed, we're totally going to unleash this hellbeast on the rest of the country.

What We Already Know
Options, oh, we have options. Or we should have options, anyway. The primary option at this point is Dan LeClere (SR), who manned this spot two years ago, going 22-11, finishing 5th at the Big Ten Tournament, and making an abrupt exit from the NCAA Tournament. LeClere sat out most of last year while dealing with nagging injuries and the re-emergence of Alex Tsirtsis. But Tsirtsis is gone now and LeClere should get the first crack at replacing him. At times, LeClere can be almost as maddening to watch as Ryan Morningstar, but he has the talent to do more than that... it's just a matter of putting it all together at the right time. But what if he's not the answer? Well...

Who Else Is An Option
If LeClere isn't the man to beat, then there are a couple of other very good options in Joe Slaton (SR) and Montell Marion (SO). Slaton was a force at 133 lbs., picking up a runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament two years ago, before injuries and weight-cutting issues kept him largely out of action. Unfortunately, while his injuries have healed and the move up to 141 lbs. has alleviated his weight-cutting problems, he has new issues to deal with that will prevent him from competing until second semester. In addition to his legal woes, Slaton is also academically ineligible this semester. Slaton's either going to wind up being a testament to perseverance and overcoming life's challenges or a case study in wasted potential. Marion went 10-3 last year and has plenty of talent; in fact, he beat LeClere in the recent wrestle-offs, 11-7. He may have the greatest upside of any of the options at this class; like Slaton, though, he's burdened by some off-the-mat issues. Like Slaton, he's reportedly out until second semester. So LeClere has the position to himself for the first six weeks or so and he has a chance to cement his spot with a series of strong performances. Regardless, there should be some pretty heated battles in the practice room among these guys; may the best man win.

Who Are The Major Threats
The biggest threat at this class, both within the Big Ten and nationally, is probably Ohio State's Reece Humphrey (SR), who was a runner-up at both the the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament last year at 133 lbs. He's moved up a class to replace fellow Buckeye J Jaggers, a two-time NCAA Champion at 141 lbs. He's got the talent and the experience to be a major obstacle here. Aside from Humphrey, the main threats may be Iowa State's Nick Gallick (SR), West Virginia's Brandon Rader (SR), Maryland's Alex Krom (SR), and Arizona State's Chris Drouin (JR). LeClere went 2-0 against Gallick two years ago; Slaton beat Gallick the year before that. Slaton also beat Humphrey two years ago (when both were at 133 lbs.). LeClere went 1-1 against Drouin two years ago.

What We Reasonably Expect To Happen
Well, it's not like LeClere and Tsirtsis set the bar too high with their performances in the last two NCAA Tournaments -- a pair of early exits and very few team points. Just managing to get any team points would be a nice boost to the three-peat quest this year. Whoever winds up landing the spot here should stand a good chance of picking up points, though. Slaton is inexperienced at 141 lbs., but it's a more natural weight for him and he's proven to be an elite wrestler in the past (see: his NCAA runner-up finish at 133 lbs. two years ago); if he can move past his various issues and get focused, he could be a serious threat at 141 lbs. LeClere was inconsistent as the main man at 141 lbs. two years ago, but he has the talent to make a run -- perhaps a year on the sidelines has improved his focus. Marion is even less experienced than either Slaton or LeClere, but he is prodigiously talented and may be the safest bet here, given LeClere's past struggles and Slaton's many issues. Like we said earlier, though, no matter who winds up being the man here, if they can get any points at the NCAA Tournament they'll represent an improvement on what we've gotten out of this weight class the last two years.

Previous entries in the series:

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Comments

Jaggers was a jag off

by fivewords on Nov 19, 2009 2:51 PM CST reply actions

I figured that went without saying when the dude goes by a one letter first name.

by RossWB on Nov 19, 2009 4:12 PM CST up reply actions

J Leman would like a word, sir.

by The Mexican't on Nov 19, 2009 5:00 PM CST up reply actions

His mullet and superior patriotism trump the one-letter name thing?

Yeah, I’m grasping…

by RossWB on Nov 19, 2009 5:28 PM CST up reply actions

Not to nitpick, but...

Though Tsirtsis’ tournament was VERY disappointing, he actually scored a few team points (going 2-2).

I can’t wait to see who ends up on the mat for the Hawks at this weight come Big 10 season. You’re right, LeClere will have ample opportunity 1st semester to take over this weight for the season. Midlands will play a big role in determining who’s the guy here. Prior to the season, I didn’t think Slaton had a chance at being here for the Hawks considering the obstacles he faced. He looked good this past weekend in winning the Nichols open (1st place, won all his matches by 7+ points). Both he and Marion should be competing at the Kaufman-Brand Open on Saturday and will see some quality guys.

This one is tough, but I’m going with Marion to win the spot.

by twade70 on Nov 19, 2009 3:11 PM CST reply actions

Thanks.

I had a feeling I was wrong about Tsirtsis, but it was late when I was writing this and I ran out of gas before double-checking what he did at NCAAs — I fixed that bit.

The format of this series would almost suggest that I save this weight for last, since it may be totally in flux by Jan. 1, unless LeClere looks great or external incidents continue to trip up Marion and Slaton. It’s awful nice to have three good options to be considering, though — whoever winds up emerging from this pack should be a pretty strong contender. (Which is a lot more than you can say about 157, which is every bit as muddled, but far less likely to produce a great option, assuming DSJ takes a redshirt this year.)

by RossWB on Nov 19, 2009 4:11 PM CST up reply actions

Enigma

First, T-shirt’s entire career at IOWA was disappointing with the potential that kid had coming out of high school. He never put it together consistently at the college level.

As for this year, who knows? LeClere is winning big in the first two duals today, but it is against lesser competition. I don’t know that Slaton will ever wrestle for the Hawks again. He would sure waste what was a very promising career, if that happens. Marion is the wild card. He could be special or not. I do expect AA from this weight class, regardless of who comes out of the mix.

Life is hard. It's really hard if you're stupid.

by Bluzmn on Nov 20, 2009 12:46 PM CST reply actions