Friday Night Smackdown: Iowa Wrestling Pulverizes Indiana, 35-6
by RossWB on Feb 5, 2011 9:00 AM CST
in Iowa Hawkeyes Wrestling
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PrintAnother week, another Friday night massacre for the #2 Iowa wrestling team. A week after dispatching #17 Northwestern 31-9, Iowa returned to Carver-Hawkeye Arena (and the newly-dubbed Mediacom Mat) and demolished Indiana, 35-6. It was a meet Iowa was expected to win handily, but any possible drama evaporated after Iowa wrestlers lodged bonus points in their first three wins and scored three pins in the first five matches of the meet. In all, Iowa won eight of ten matches and scored bonus points in five matches. It was a thorough ass-kicking.
In the face of such domination, it's hard to single out any single wrestler for Man of the Match honors, but a little extra recognition is certainly owed to Derek St. John and Luke Lofthouse, who each scored a win over an opponent ranked in the top-five, a feat neither man had managed to accomplish this season until last night. For Lofthouse, the win represented a breakthrough in a career that has been replete with near-misses against top-ranked competition; for once "The Leg" was able to not just get an opponent's leg -- but finish. He had four takedowns in the match.
For DSJ, the match was his third straight (and third in the span of a week) against a top-ten wrestler and he was able to finish that run with a 2-1 record, which includes last night's impressive pin over #5 Paul Young. As disappointing as the loss to Taylor was, St. John's wins over jNW's Jason Welch and Indiana's Young have been impressive and very encouraging. He's finally starting to look like the force we hoped he could be before the season started. I picked against both Lofthouse and DSJ in my preview yesterday, but I'm once again more than happy to eat a little crow. I'll think twice about picking them to lose going forward, even against nominally favored opponents.
Iowa 35, Indiana 6
125: #1 Matt McDonough FALL (5:59) Justin Brooks (Iowa, 6-0)
133: #8 Tony Ramos FALL (6:26) Matt Ortega (Iowa, 12-0)
141: #3 Montell Marion MAJ DEC (13-5) Mitchell Richey (Iowa, 16-0)
149: #14 Kurt Kinser DEC (2-0) Matt Ballweg (Iowa, 16-3)
157: #9 Derek St. John FALL (6:20) #5 Paul Young (Iowa, 22-3)
165: #13 Aaron Janssen MAJ DEC (14-5) Ryan LeBlanc (Iowa, 26-3)
174: Jake Kerr DEC (5-1) Nick Avery (Iowa, 29-3)
184: #13 Grant Gambrall DEC (5-3) Eric Cameron (Iowa, 32-3)
197: #12 Luke Lofthouse DEC (10-5) #5 Matt Powless (Iowa, 35-3)
HWT: #9 Ricky Alcala DEC (6-5) Blake Rasing (Iowa, 35-6)
Meanwhile, weight-by-weight thoughts:
125: Another match, another pin. That's four in a row for McD and five in his last six matches. He's a force of nature at this point. The match itself was utter domination from him and he did whatever he wanted -- takedowns, reversals, nearfalls. The only question was whether he'd lock up a technical fall before he could secure a pinfall.
133: Meanwhile, Ramos' steady improvement continued with another impressive win. Ortega's not a very good opponent, but Ramos absolutely thrashed him and displayed an impressive attacking attitude throughout the match. He's turning into a very nice little force at 133.
141: Less than a week after his (sort of) surprised return at Penn State, Marion made his home debut with a solid major decision win. He was sloppy at times in finishing takedowns (and allowing one against him), but he came through with a strong third period to lock up the major decision. It shouldn't be much of a surprise that he's rusty after that extended lay-off.
149: In one of the two surprise line-up choices of the night, Matt Ballweg got the nod over his younger brother Mark and struggled to a less-than-thrilling 2-0 loss. It's unclear why Ballweg the Elder got the nod here, but he certainly didn't do much to prove why he ought to keep his spot. At this point, Ballweg the Younger really does seem like the best option at this weight -- even if he is undersized.
157: Discussed above, but again: very impressive win for DSJ. The pin was no fluke or miracle, either; he was absolutely dominating Young in the match and was on his way to a bonus point win anyway. Really, really good stuff out of DSJ and I'm happy to be proven wrong for having a few doubts about him.
165: For two periods, this appeared to be on the way to being yet another ho-hum Janssen decision victory. Then the third period hit and Janssen exploded for four takedowns and an escape (and a riding time point thrown in for good measure). That's just... wow. I have no idea what got into Janssen in that period -- but it sure would be nice if it would happen more often.
174: Meanwhile, Janssen's former sparring partner at 157 and 165, Jake Kerr, got the nod at 174 because Ethen Lofthouse was apparently out of commission after having some wisdom teeth pulled earlier in the week. Like Janssen, Kerr waited 'til late to turn on the offense -- like last five seconds in the match late. But better late than never.
184: Gambrall busted out to a 4-1 lead through two periods, then had to hang on for a 5-3 win. His results have been strange this year. He's won the vast majority of his matches, but he often does so in unimpressive fashion and he seems very loathe to pour on his offense. Frankly, he's just a bit of an enigma.
197: Again, covered above but a really, really nice win for Lofthouse. He's one of the great stories on this Hawkeye team, a guy who's fought and scrapped his way to be where he is now and a guy who win through hard work and hustle rather than overwhelming natural ability. It's difficult not to admire Lofthouse, so it's nice to see all that hard work pay off with a win over a top-ranked foe. Hopefully he can continue to build on his performance going forward.
HWT: Yet another close but no cigar match for our favorite shaved bear in a singlet. At the moment, Rasing's lack of early offense is killing him in matches against good foes. He either can't get anything going at all (see: the Wade match last week) or can't get anything going until he's already dug himself a sizable hole (see: last night's match). It's frustrating to watch and he remains on the verge of turning the corner and winning some of those matches. But he hasn't had that breakthrough yet.
NEXT: A February 11th road trip to take on OMHR, currently ranked #24 by NWCA, despite being winless in Big Ten competition. It's probably pretty safe to expect another rout. On February 13 (1pm CST), Iowa returns home for Senior Day against #13 Michigan, which should be much more interesting. Frustratingly, there's currently no BTN or BTN.com coverage announced for either event right now.
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I saw a post-meet interview with Brands
and he was talking about needing to get Marion and little Ballweg in the line up. I think Matt is probably done. If they are hoping Mark will qualify for Nationals, they are going to need to get him used to that weight.
What's it take to qualify at a weight?
I remember in high school in NE, it was just a matter of wrestling at or below a weight for 2/3 of your matches.
In the past 10 years, just four team owners have not paid a luxury tax and are not on pace to pay one this year: Donald Sterling, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chris Cohen (Golden State), Bob Johnson (Charlotte).
Two owners’ teams averaged an operating income of over +$10 million per year while their teams have lost over 60% of their games: Donald Sterling and Jerry Reinsdorf.
Or something like that.
In the past 10 years, just four team owners have not paid a luxury tax and are not on pace to pay one this year: Donald Sterling, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chris Cohen (Golden State), Bob Johnson (Charlotte).
Two owners’ teams averaged an operating income of over +$10 million per year while their teams have lost over 60% of their games: Donald Sterling and Jerry Reinsdorf.
There is a formula
it has to do with record, quality wins, etc. At this point in the season, I think little Ballweg needs to place high at the Big Tens to qualify.
Yeah, I think a high finish at 149 is his only shot.
I’m not sure how many guys the B10 will get at this weight, though. They only have two in the top ten. The fact that Kinser is #14 is stunning. There’s good talent at the top of this class (Dake, Caldwell, Chamberlain, Molinaro), but it falls off a cliff pretty fast. It’s really a shame that Iowa doesn’t have a good option here because I don’t think it would be that hard to get an All-American at this weight.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Caldwell taking a year off is the most irritating thing ever.
I would absolutely love to watch him get embarrassed at Nationals this year. Unfortunately it probably won’t be an Iowa guy doing it but please, oh please, can someone wipe the mat with his face?
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood..." - Teddy Roosevelt
I completely agree
and at the same time I want him to keep Dake and Molinaro from scoring points if possible.
That is the conundrum.
Dake, Molinaro, and Chamberlain are all on teams that will be strong contenders for the team title, while Caldwell is on a team (NC State) that won’t be.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Are collegiate wrestlers allowed to wear masks?
I think you can see where I’m going and it could be amazing.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood..." - Teddy Roosevelt
Unfortunately, I think people will clue into The Masked Iowa Wrestler's identity...
when he starts tearing guys limbs off.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
He could wear another mask underneath the first one.
I’ve never seen that move not work.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood..." - Teddy Roosevelt
I'm finally getting into following wrestling.
Is there somewhere to watch the matches, even after the fact.
In the past 10 years, just four team owners have not paid a luxury tax and are not on pace to pay one this year: Donald Sterling, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chris Cohen (Golden State), Bob Johnson (Charlotte).
Two owners’ teams averaged an operating income of over +$10 million per year while their teams have lost over 60% of their games: Donald Sterling and Jerry Reinsdorf.
Unfortunately, no.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Not these particular matches, anyway.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Yes, there is.............
Check out the All Access on hawkeyesports.com. For $8.95 a month, you can see some matches and listen to others. And the bonus is that the audio feed is Grace and Ironside. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this beatdown at home in Georgia on my ’puter. I believe the video remains archived for awhile, too, so you can still see it.
Life is hard. It's really hard if you're stupid.
Rasing reminds me of myself.
I wrestled 215, but I wrestled like a mixture between a heavyweight and a lighter weight. My high school coaches were national champs in Div II at UNO many, many winters ago, and all they knew had to do was attack and get takedowns and be in better shape than anyone. I didn’t wrestle fro 7th grade through half way through my junior year, and it took me a looooong time to become comfortable at attacking.
Eventually, I did, and I ended up winning my last 14 matches my senior year, buuuutttt… the state semi-finals match (against the #1 wrestler) and the finals, I reverted to my old style, and almost lost on friggin stalling calls.
But it was fun, for about 10-12 match stretch, I was exploding for double digit points against every wrestler I faced. Something just got into me. To this day, I can’t really explain it. I hope Rasing figures out how to get that mentality. Maybe it really is just confidence.
In the past 10 years, just four team owners have not paid a luxury tax and are not on pace to pay one this year: Donald Sterling, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chris Cohen (Golden State), Bob Johnson (Charlotte).
Two owners’ teams averaged an operating income of over +$10 million per year while their teams have lost over 60% of their games: Donald Sterling and Jerry Reinsdorf.
Sooo... right now, are we referring to them as the #2 team, or is that just when they're dueling? (dualing?)
(damn, I have a lot to say about wrestling)
In the past 10 years, just four team owners have not paid a luxury tax and are not on pace to pay one this year: Donald Sterling, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chris Cohen (Golden State), Bob Johnson (Charlotte).
Two owners’ teams averaged an operating income of over +$10 million per year while their teams have lost over 60% of their games: Donald Sterling and Jerry Reinsdorf.
In a rebuilding year, no less
What should our expectations be?
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Feb 5, 2011 10:38 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
If Iowa qualifies 9-10 wrestlers and the line up is the same as it was at Penn State
I will be disappointed with anything lower than 5th and ecstatic with top 3. The tough thing about Nationals is that it is a long, grueling tournament and anything can happen. Iowa has always had an uncanny knack for coming through in that setting when many other programs fall apart.
Conditioning and mental toughness go a long way and Iowa seems to be doing well in those categories.
I think a top five finish is starting to look more and more realistic for sure.
McD, Ramos, and Marion are all wrestling well and DSJ and Luke Lofthouse are coming on strong lately. The key will be getting consistent performances out of them (and Janssen, Gambrall, and Ethen Lofthouse). If we qualify at 149 and HWT, any points we get will be gravy in my book.
That, and getting some luck, too — it would definitely help if Cornell, Boise, PSU, Minny,and Okie State would suffer some upsets.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
How do they stack up head-to-head?
If they’re even at their good weights, that could help Iowa. That’s not likely, though.
In the past 10 years, just four team owners have not paid a luxury tax and are not on pace to pay one this year: Donald Sterling, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chris Cohen (Golden State), Bob Johnson (Charlotte).
Two owners’ teams averaged an operating income of over +$10 million per year while their teams have lost over 60% of their games: Donald Sterling and Jerry Reinsdorf.
True, they should be beating up on each other, which will be exactly what Iowa needs.
This should be a much tighter NCAA tourney than last year’s edition.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
I'm interested to see how Cornell, Boise, PSU respond to being favored.
Sure Cornell had high hopes last year, but anyone who thought it wasn’t Iowa’s tourney to lose was lying to themselves. Minnesota and Okie St have won several times before and those coaches know how to handle it. In my opinion, the jury’s still out on whether Cornell, Boise or PSU can handle the pressure. It’s one thing to run fast when you’re chasing the leader, it’s quite another to set the pace and not get caught from behind.
Everyone knows God is a Hawkeye
Not rebuilding, reloading
By the time the Big Ten tournament comes people shouldn’t be just scared of this team, they should be terrified. I for one think that this team could fight its way to a title, kind of like the 2009 squad.
"I don't believe in quotes" - Karl Klug
and then check their shorts when they realize its a fresh/soph dominated lineup
Everyone knows God is a Hawkeye
I decided to go with the NWCA rankings because those are dual meet rankings.
That seems most relevant while we’re in dual meet season.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Tip of the Hat, Ross
For making BHGP my one stop spot for bat shit insanity and Brands’ shit insanity. These last few matches have been exciting and you do a great job of contextualizing(?) a sport that doesnt always make the headlines.
"GO HAWKS!" - only cure for Hawkeye Envy
I thought we agreed to stop calling Rasing a shaved bear...
PackerHawk has made that term come with a visual I do not want…
"I shoot, I score. He shoots, I score." - Dan Gable
"Shaved bear"
That is one fucking crazy Google Images search
I spent half my life's earnings on wine, women & song. The other half I wasted.
by therealCatnuts on Feb 5, 2011 7:19 PM CST up reply actions
There will be a few interesting match ups with Purdue at the upper wieghts
174 – Manuel vs Lofthouse jr
184 – Kissel vs Gambral
197 – Brown vs Lofthouse sr
HWT – Vukobratovich vs Rasing
Unfortunately for Purdue, if the dual starts at 125, it will be over long before the 174 pounders hit the mat. Also at 157, DSJ will get a good workout from Colton Salazaar, who may still be ranked in the top 25 by then and is a three time NCAA qualifier.
"You’re talking about things that are real. That’s real. In those other dual meets, it wasn’t real, but now it’s real." ~ Tom Brands regarding the Iowa State dual.
I still say Colton Salazar is a fucking Bond villain name.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
God damn Rasing
When will it happen? DSJ is getting better every match and by the end of the season I actually think he could challenge Taylor at nationals. I hope he gets to the other side of the bracket at nationals because seeing a rematch in the Finals could be epic. Seeing Cael and Brands across from each other, one with a natural phenom and the other a man who had to fight his way there would fucking make my face melt.
"I don't believe in quotes" - Karl Klug
Just a minor thing
They are both naturals… DSJ and Taylor were two of the highest recruits 2 years ago. It’s not like DSJ is like a Lofthouse the Elder
"I shoot, I score. He shoots, I score." - Dan Gable
by ClaybornSmash on Feb 7, 2011 9:02 AM CST up reply actions
True
but after this season, Taylor has proven that he has much more pure talent than anyone else in the class. If DSJ wants to make a run its going to take more than his skill level can provide.
"I don't believe in quotes" - Karl Klug
I would not say Taylor is more talented than DSJ
right now he appears stronger and more offensively minded; while DSJ has relied too heavily on his counter offense. Derek is just as talented as Taylor but needs to start forcing his offense on other wrestlers rather than letting it come to him. If you give that to Taylor he will steamroll you.
"You’re talking about things that are real. That’s real. In those other dual meets, it wasn’t real, but now it’s real." ~ Tom Brands regarding the Iowa State dual.
Re: the bracket.
Taylor is currently ranked #3 and I’m not sure he’ll be able to get any higher unless Fittery or Hall get upset before the NCAA Tourney. In that case, he’ll be on the 2/3 side of the bracket and have to deal with the 6/7 seeds. DSJ is currently 9th, which means he would be on the opposite side of the bracket from Taylor — but he’d have to go through Fittery in the quarters. It would be awesome if he could get up the 4/5 range, which would still keep him away from Taylor until the finals and delay a potential match with Fittery until the semis.
Mind you, those rankings are also from last week, so they don’t factor in DSJ’s big win over Paul Young — he should definitely move up from #9 this week.
Re: Rasing. I just don’t know about him. I feel like our waiting for things to click with him is almost like waiting for Morningstar to turn on his offense when he was here — it just may never happen. The difference being that Morningstar would at least win 90% of his super-close matches.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
I'm affraid DSJ will need a very strong run
Derek appears to be the likely #2 seed behind Taylor since he has already beaten Welch at the BT tourney and even with that may not be able to move into the fifth spot. DSJ does not have anymore tough opponents between now and the conference tourney. So, unless he beats Taylor in the BT tourney he will likely not move ahead of Fittery, Hall, Jenkins or Taylor. Dong of VTech has no real challenger in the ACC to knock him down a spot so he will likely take #5 or #6 seed. Peppelman of Harvard and Meagher of Cornell still get to wrestle each other twice before Nationals; if eather wins both bouts convincingly then they will likely take the other #5 or #6 spot. That would leave DSJ at #7 best case scenario. If the Ivy League kids knock each other off then Derek could possibly slide into #6.
If he is the 6th or 7th seed he will fall to the bottom half of the bracket and will potentially see the #2 or #3 seed before facing #1 in the finals (assuming he makes it that far). If he goes in as the 8 or 9 seed he gets #4 or #1 on his way to the finals.
"You’re talking about things that are real. That’s real. In those other dual meets, it wasn’t real, but now it’s real." ~ Tom Brands regarding the Iowa State dual.
I would rather have him at 8 or 9
I for one believe that Taylor is the true #1 wrestler in that weight class. The rest are pretenders. The fact that a lot of these guys haven’t seen St John (post Midlands) and Taylor is what is fueling the ratings.
"I don't believe in quotes" - Karl Klug
Huge match up for Marion
on Sunday. Time to see if this come back is for real.
"I don't believe in quotes" - Karl Klug
Yeah, If Montell goes into the B10 tourney undefeated,
he will likely be the #1 ranked 141 pounder in the country. But he has to get through Russell and Thorn for that to happen.
"You’re talking about things that are real. That’s real. In those other dual meets, it wasn’t real, but now it’s real." ~ Tom Brands regarding the Iowa State dual.
Whoever is the top seed at the B10 tourney (and NCAA's for that matter) will have earned it.
Unlike some weights (157) where a lot of highly ranked guys that never wrestle each other til nationals.
Everyone knows God is a Hawkeye
Having a shot at crowning 2 champions
would really boost the effort to get back to the top of the podium. I think it would require that and some other solid point contributors. I know it seems like a stretch at this point but I see a team with vastly improved wrestlers since the beginning of the season and the fact that these guys are so young tells me that getting your toes wet was the right cure. The rankings don’t really mean a whole lot unless the guys have gone head to head or there are vastly superior guys like at 125. The top 3 of that class to me are all that matters and you clould make an argument for all of those guys to win it all.
"I don't believe in quotes" - Karl Klug
Putting 2 in the finals would be big
but I think if the hawks will have a chance of a repeat NC then we need AA performances in the wrestle backs from 133, 157, 165, 184 and 197. If the hawks can keep two guys in the championship bracket thru finals and 5 other AAs then the hawks win it all. From what I have seen, Ramos, DSJ, Jansen, Gambral and Lofthouse Sr have it in them to reach AA. Seven AA’s, piece of cake.
"You’re talking about things that are real. That’s real. In those other dual meets, it wasn’t real, but now it’s real." ~ Tom Brands regarding the Iowa State dual.
Bonus points and a few points from non-AA will make the difference
I agree with the 2 champs, 7 AA formula – but I think getting bonus points along the way and getting some points out of E. Lofthouse will make the difference. If he goes 0-2 it puts a lot of weight on the others to at least get to cons. semi’s and not wrestle for 7/8. I also suspect the Saturday morning session will be a make or break session like it was in ’09.
Everyone knows God is a Hawkeye
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