It’s here, everyone, it’s here! Well, almost. At 9 a.m. Saturday in Decorah — everyone’s favorite town built in a crater — Tom Brands and company will lead their team into the initial matches of the 2016-2017 season. It’s a nice ease into the new campaign, and one that the Hawkeyes should dominate.
The Hawkeyes competed in this tournament in 2013 and 2014, crowning 22 individual champions before taking last year off to best Oklahoma State in the Grapple on the Gridiron, which was 364 days ago. Memories.
It’s a way to get the mainstays like Gilman, Clark, and Sorensen a different look, and give the freshmen a taste of official action. We’ll likely see Michael Keremer rock an Iowa singlet, and get debate material for weights up in the air like 141 and 165. Is it time to give Vince Turk the drivers seat? What kinds of chances are Topher Carton and other upperclassmen going to get? How will Marinelli look—Steven Holloway, too. Will we have a good looking Skyler St. John or Perez Perez sighting?
Hopefully 197, which Brands left ambiguous at media day a week and a half ago, will clear up because I honest to God can’t tell who it’s going to be there. The only obvious of the large guys, Sam Stoll, probably won’t wrestle, so seeing what’s happening with that part of the room should be fun.
How to follow, participants, and loose ends
Trackwrestling will be on top of all the happenings. Unfortunately, that and Twitter look like the only options. From the handful of Hawkeye affiliates around the state I took a peek at, I couldn’t find anything. Here’s a list of said affiliates, if you want to check your location.
Twitter accounts to follow: @IowaWrLive, @Hawks_Wrestling, @Andy_Hamilton, @kjpilcher, @IAwrestle, @hagertony, @RossWB, and, as always, @BHGP. Who’d we miss?
Teams scheduled to wrestle, broken out by division. D-I: Iowa. D-II: Minnesota State-Mankato, Upper Iowa. D-III: Buena Vista, Coe, Cornell, Loras, Luther, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Simpson, St. John’s, UW-Lacrosse, UW-Whitewater, Wartburg. NAIA: Waldorf, William Penn.
One last housekeeping note — the IC Duals are Friday, Nov. 18 at 9 a.m. in CHA.
Before you’re on your way, we wanted to touch on the future Hawkeyes that put the pen to paper on National Signing Day.
The Register had a nice column, focused heavily on Spencer Lee and Jacob Warner, worth a few minutes. It gives us background on a class with two future Hawks, while reminding us how tough of a game recruiting is. There’s only so much we can gather and expect by watching and following a class of kids, the majority of whom are unable to buy cigarettes, before we see them in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Nothing’s guaranteed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hope like hell these youngsters lead Iowa back to where it should be atop college wrestling.
The big dog Aaron Costello was the third signee to received official Twitter honors from the wrestling office. Is Eustice the head tweeter? Am I doubting the greatness of Hawkeye Sports Info? Anyone have intel here?
Pennsylvania native Max Murin officially joined in on the fun right after this post originally published. He projects at 141 or 149 at the collegiate level.
Jason Tsirtsis was granted another year of eligibility Thursday. Not recruiting related, but, whatever.