Alright Hawkeye fans, this is it. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. This coming Saturday and Sunday, March 9th and 10th, our Iowa Hawkeye wrestling squad heads across the dangerous northern border, into Minneapolis, to take on the entire Big Ten Conference. For the official notes please click here. It’s been a tumultuous two weeks following the Oklahoma State dual and the laggard and lifeless results that ensued had left us in a state of...despair. Most of the country has left this team for dead, on the curbside, ready to write us off. But we ain’t done yet. As long as there’s still breath in these Hawkeye-lungs, we’re going to fight to the end. But, myself and many an Iowa wrestling fan thought this team needed a spark. Needed help. Needed…a Shakubuku. Well let’s hope it happened, because the post season is drawing nigh, the Big Ten Tournament looms, and it brought with it the full weight of the qualification consequences. By consequences I mean, the NCAA tournament allocations. Here’s a look at the automatic bids the B1G is going to receive per weight. Each one of our wrestlers, at their respective weight of course, needs to place to get a guaranteed berth. Not necessarily winning it all, which would be nice, but placing high enough that we don’t have to rely on a wildcard berth, and that is the main thing. “The main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing.” -Papa T-Rez The main thing is getting in to the NCAA’s and the only road to do that is via the B1G tournament. It goes without saying that this is the second-toughest tournament, next to the NCAA’s. Nine of the ten weights have a B1G wrestler ranked #1 nationally. The only weight where a B1G guy doesn’t occupy the top spot is 141lbs, but there are currently six B1G wrestlers in the top ten. Without further delay, let’s dive into what we have to do and how we’re going to get it done. ***The numbers are no longer their rankings, but their Big Ten pre-seeds. Also, at the time of writing this, the B1G has yet to release any official brackets. I’m basing my projections off previous formats*** 125lbs: #2 SPENCER LEE (16-2) The Competition: 9 Allocations Head-2-Head Record: Because of the Midland’s finals loss to #1 Rivera (21-1), Lee enters into the fray with the #2 seed. This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Rivera and Lee will both get a first round bye and Lee will face the winner of #7 Moisey and #10 Oliver. A win there will push him into the semis, more than likely against the #3 seed, Sean Russell, who he’s beaten twice now in his career. If all goes according to plan, which it will, Lee will get a chance at revenge against Rivera. Assuming both reach the endgame, this is probably the most anticipated final of the eight conference tournaments. Is Lee healthy? Is he ready to go? He’s coming off a devastating loss to Nick Piccininni (Okie St.), so we’re hoping he’s on a war path and ready to tear the Big Ten apart. But, Rivera stands in his way. Looking at the bigger picture, and I regrettably have to phrase it like this, but if Lee manages the upset he’s looking at a #2 or #3 seed for the NCAA. Nick Piccininni will more than likely win the Big 12, so if Lee is victorious here, Picc will jump Rivera and claim the #1 overall seed. The wild card is Ronnie Bresser (Oregon St), but personally I don’t think he has the quality wins to lift him over Rivera or Lee, even if they take another loss. So win or lose, Lee is looking at a #2 or #3, which is the same side of the bracket, so there isn’t a huge difference. A #2 looks much, much better. 133lbs: #2 AUSTIN DeSANTO (16-2) The Competition: 8 Allocations Head-2-Head Record: Austin has been one of the biggest, and IMO, most delightful surprises of the season. We all knew had the ability to climb the rankings, but we weren’t sure how high. He comes into this tournament with the #2 seed after having a perfect B1G season campaign beating: Konrath, Thornton, Lantz, Valdiviez, Duncan, Lizak, and most notably, Suriano. DeSanto will get a first round bye, then immediately face off with the winner of Thorton/ Valdiviez. ADS handled Valdiviez, 18-8 back in late January, but Thornton proved to be a bit of an early season challenge as he only beat him, 5-2. If Austin pushes through the quarters, he’ll face off once more against Nick Suriano (20-3). I won’t dive too heavily into the other side of the bracket, because #1 Stevan Micic (13-0) will inevitably be waiting Roman Bravo-Young (17-2) for his semi-final match. Fireworks are going to fly Sunday afternoon and I have no idea how this plays out. If Austin pulls this off he’s looking at a #2 seed going into the NCAA’s, assuming Daton Fix does his job in the Big 12 tourney. If he stumbles, or anyone of these guys do, all bets are off and the committee is going to have their hands full figuring out this mess. Either way, this is going to be a helluva a ride! 141lbs: #7 MAX MURIN (12-6) The Competition: 9 Allocations Head-2-Head Record: #1 Mike Carr (11-2) has wrestled sparingly so far this year, with nearly half of his matches coming at the Cliff Keen invitational back in late November. He was down and out for all of December, but since coming back on January 11, he has wrecked his B1G competition and gone 7-0, knocking off the likes of Red, McKee, Moran, Storr, and Max Murin. On the flip side of the bracket sits #2 Nick Lee (24-1) who has throttled most of his opponents this year, including a recent win against #3 McKenna. Then of course, there’s McKenna, a returning 2x All-American, who placed 3rd last year. This is an absolutely stacked weight class and Murin is going to have a tough go. He’ll face #10 Limmex first up, assuming he wins, he’ll then immediate go against Lee. If he somehow manages to get by Lee, he will face McKenna. In all honesty, I can’t see him upsetting Lee so he’ll drop into the consolations, where he will continue to have his work cut out for him. Outside of his ugly loss to #11 Luigs, Murin has beaten the guys in the bottom half of this bracket and he will need to again to get at least get ninth and an auto-bid to his first NCAA appearance. But with his struggles, this is no guarantee. Max has been right there with the elite of this group at times, but has yet to break through. I’m hesitant to say it, but if he can’t find an upset here, he probably won’t in the NCAA’s against these guys either. He needs to get it done here and at least make the semis. If he does, he’ll place no worse than fifth, if he falls in the quarters against Lee, all bets are off and he’ll have to win several matches on the backside. I don’t expect a high finish, but he should at least get ninth and another tourney in late March. 149lbs: #3 PAT LUGO (15-6) The Competition: 6 Allocations Head-2-Head Record: #1 Ashnault has run his regular season to a perfect 23-0 record. Along the way he’s beaten everyone the Big Ten has thrown at him: #2 Jordan, #4 Thorn, #5 Martin, and #3 Lugo in SV1, 3-1. A few weeks after his win against Lugo he proceeded to destroy the former overall #1 Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) by major decision, 10-2. Ashnault is peaking at the absolute worst time for the rest of the country and is without a doubt, the favorite to win this particular tournament. Sitting on the opposite of Ash is Jordan and Lugo. Jordan is 22-1 on the year and has a 13-match win streak following his loss to Ashnault back at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Jordan is a two-time AA and about as tough as they come. Lugo is sitting at 15-6, with a 7-match win streak on the line and similar to the two guys ahead of him, he seems to be peaking (at the best time for us). As you can see, there’s only 8 wrestlers to receive pre-seeds, I’m inclined to believe that the other six schools have yet to determine who they are sending into battle at this weight class. That bodes well for the top guys, especially Lugo. He’s been wrestling great as of late and I’m excited to see what he can do against Jordan in the semi-finals. They’ve met once before back in the 2017 Cliff Keen when he was wrestling for Edinboro. Jordan won that match 7-3. If Lugo wrestles to his seed and claims 3rd, he’s looking at a 7 or 8 seed for the NCAA’s, if he upsets Jordan he can push himself up even higher. Either way, Lugo is sitting fine and dandy for his 3rd NCAA appearance. 157lbs: KALEB YOUNG (16-3) The Competition: 9 Allocations Head-2-Head Record: #1 Jason Nolf is also the top wrestler in the entire country, regardless of weight. Other than an injury default to John Van Brill last year, he hasn’t lost in three years. In fact, you have to go back to his freshman season to find his only real losses of his career and both are to the former Illinois great, Isiah Martinez. Nolf is a 2x NCAA Champ for a reason and assuming he doesn’t suffer another injury this year, he’ll run through this field with relative ease. Okay, now that those painful words are out of the way, I’ll continue. The remaining 13 wrestlers in this field are decidedly, undecided. Anyone can beat anyone. Though, Berger and Deakin stand a bit taller than the rest. Berger is a 2x AA and has a 22-2 record on the season. He lost a 10-4 decision to Nolf in January, which probably feels like an accomplishment, after getting teched or majored by him on three different occasions in the past. He’s supposedly self-exiled himself from social media in an attempt to re-focus. There must be some merit to it because he’s knocked off Van Brill, Barone, Bleise, Hayes, and Young since then. He also upset Deakin, 6-3, and knocked off last year’s returning 157lbs finalist, Hayden Hidlay (NCST), 5-2. Deakin and Berger are both on the same side, so unfortunately, that makes things nearly impossible for Young to reach the finals. If my projections are correct, he’ll pull Jake Tucker (21-13) in the opening round and #4 Alec Pantaleo in the quarters. Pantaleo is tough and is 14-6 on the year with some quality wins to boot. Young is exceeding our pre-season expectations, but he’s been sporadically lethargic at times, so he needs to come out aggressive and and find his offensive early. If he wrestles the way we want him to, he’ll get a shot at Jason Nolf in the semis. Without question, that will not go our way, but it will at least get Young into a medal match and a guaranteed trip to his first NCAA’s. Poll Can Spencer Lee get revenge and upset #1 Sebastian Rivera? This poll is closed 86% Yes (267 votes) 13% No (41 votes) 308 votes total Vote Now Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Big Ten Wrestling Tournament Preview!<doc-sep>Over the last 10 days, the Iowa wrestling program entered a lighter portion of its schedule. Last Friday, Feb. 8, the Hawkeyes, ranked third nationally by Trackwrestling, trounced Maryland, 48-0, at home, marking their second shutout victory of the season. Two days ago, Iowa blew through Indiana, 37-9, to end the regular season home slate with a perfect 7-0 record. The dominance continued Sunday at the UW Field House in Madison, Wisconsin, where the Hawkeyes flexed again in a 35-2 win over the Badgers. Iowa improves to 14-0 with the win and finished its conference slate a perfect 9-0. In doing so, the Hawkeyes clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season title (top-ranked Penn State beat No. 19 Illinois on Sunday to also finish 9-0). It is the 11th time Iowa has won or shared the conference crown since 1999. It also marks the eighth time under head coach Tom Brands that Iowa has posted an undefeated conference season, and the first time since 2015-16. There’s still one dual left — the Hawkeyes wrestle at No. 4 Oklahoma State next Sunday at 2 p.m. — but if Iowa competes like it did Sunday, the Cowboys will be in for a handful. “There’s some good things that happened,” Brands said. “… Happy is a funny word with me. What’s happy? It’s about waking up every morning and doing what you need to do to be the best you can be.” The Hawkeyes took nine of 10 bouts from Wisconsin (8-6 overall, 3-6 in Big Ten), and six resulted included bonus points. Iowa accumulated more total match points (94-31) and more total takedowns (33-2) than their Badger counterparts. There is a wet blanket, of course: Wisconsin, ranked 20th nationally by Track thanks to seven ranked individuals, sat three of their better wrestlers. Connor Brown (15th at 125 pounds), Tristan Moran (9th at 141) and Ryan Christensen (18th at 174) did not compete Sunday, allowing the Hawkeyes to roll up more bonus points. Instead of Brown, Ethan Rotondo took the mat at 125, and Spencer Lee pinned him in 56 seconds. Instead of Moran, it was Jens Lantz, who wrestled Vince Turk instead of 12th-ranked Max Murin, who lost by fall against Indiana’s Kyle Luigs on Friday. Turk scored two takedowns and a set of backs to win 11-1. Instead of Christensen, it was Anders Lantz, who did not score a single offensive point against Mitch Bowman. The Iowa senior rolled up 11 takedowns and a four-point tilt to win by a 27-9 technical fall. “Those matches were well in hand and we wrestled well,” Brands said. “We have to keep getting better. Our best wrestling is ahead of us, but our best wrestling is coming out of us, also.” The dual did carry a few thrilling matches, none more so than Alex Marinelli’s bout against Evan Wick at 165. A takedown in the first gave Marinelli a 2-1 lead. Wick rode out Marinelli in the second to help secure riding time, then added a takedown in the third. Marinelli scored a reversal to force overtime, where he then scored the match-winning takedown to win, 6-4. “Alex Marinelli delivering in a big match,” Brands said. “He had his wits about him. He knew exactly what he was doing in that match. When you get in those situations, you have to know exactly what you’re doing.” After the match, Marinelli walked over and tapped the “bELIeve” that was printed on the side of Wisconsin’s wrestling mat. Prior to the dual, Wisconsin honored Eli Stickley, a former Badger wrestler who died last summer. Stickley is the twin brother of Iowa wrestling manager Moriah Stickley, who is Marinelli’s fiance. Eli Stickley had a tremendous impact on Marinelli’s life. “I’m getting kind of emotional,” Marinelli said afterward. “I dreamed about that. I told Paul Glynn after the match that I dreamed about hitting that, and it means a lot that they honored him. “He probably doesn’t want that. I know Eli is a humble guy. He’d ask, ‘Why is that on the mat?’ But he deserves it. It’s a good thing.” ► Read more:‘I wrestle for him’: Iowa’s Alex Marinelli motivated by the death of Wisconsin wrestler Eli Stickley At 149 pounds, Pat Lugo, ranked 10th nationally by Track, also needed a takedown in sudden victory to edge 19th-ranked Cole Martin, 3-1. At 184, 18th-ranked Mason Reinhardt scored a first-period takedown on 15th-ranked Cash Wilcke for a 2-1 lead, then Wilcke scored two in the third to win, 6-5. “Overtime match with Lugo, that was big,” Brands said. “Wilcke, digging himself out of a hole. He was a little stagnant. Maybe slow, maybe a funk in him or something. He got going, though, and when he gets going, he’s pretty good.” The heavyweight match between Iowa’s 5th-ranked Sam Stoll and Wisconsin’s 9th-ranked Trent Hillger was the only match to go the Badgers’ way — Hillger rode Stoll out in the third to win, 1-0. Extra curriculars following the match caused both teams to lose a point. Everybody else contributed victories of the major-decision variety. Austin DeSanto scored seven takedowns in a 21-8 win over Jens Lantz at 133. Kaleb Young scored four and racked up almost five minutes of riding time in an 11-2 win over Garrett model. Jacob Warner scored three and rode Beau Breske for more than three minutes in a 9-0 win. Afterward, both Brands and Marinelli were thinking bigger. They wanted to shut Wisconsin out, but were mostly pleased with the overall effort. A tie for the conference championship is nice, they continued, but bigger goals remain. “There’s still a lot of wrestling left,” Marinelli said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.” Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin. No. 3 Iowa 35, No. 20 Wisconsin 2 125: No. 2 Spencer Lee (IA) over Ethan Rotondo (WI) by fall, :56 133: No. 3 Austin DeSanto (IA) maj. dec. Jens Lantz (WI), 21-8 141: Vince Turk (IA) maj. dec. Michael Cullen (WI), 11-1 149: No. 10 Pat Lugo (IA) dec. No. 19 Cole Martin (WI) 3-1 (SV1) 157: No. 7 Kaleb Young (IA) maj. dec. Garrett Model (WI), 11-2 165: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (IA) dec. No. 3 Evan Wick (WI), 6-4 (SV1) 174: Mitch Bowman (IA) tech. fall Anders Lantz (WI), 27-9 184: No. 15 Cash Wilcke (IA) dec. No. 18 Mason Reinhardt (WI), 6-5 197: No. 4 Jacob Warner (IA) maj. dec. Beau Breske (WI), 9-0 285: No. 9 Trent Hillger (WI) dec. No. 5 Sam Stoll (IA), 1-0* *both teams were deducted one team point following the 285-pound match. Rankings from Trackwrestling.<doc-sep>
IOWA CITY, Ia. — Sam Stoll has won 62 matches during his Iowa wrestling career. The senior earned All-American honors last year, despite being one of the nation’s best heavyweights over the last four years — he’s currently ranked ninth nationally by Trackwrestling. Earlier this week, Stoll stood inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena and acknowledged the hard truth that his time in an Iowa singlet is coming to an end. His opportunities are fewer now, beginning with this weekend’s Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis. “I think he realizes that he’s a fifth-year senior, and there’s no recourse here,” Iowa coach Tom Brands said. “This is it. “I think Stoll probably realizes that more than he would probably like to let on.” Stoll was pre-seeded eighth entering this weekend. There is little chance that changes during the coaches’ seed meeting Friday afternoon. Even if it does, the Kasson, Minnesota native will have to navigate one of the deepest weights in the nation’s toughest wrestling conference. In a way, Stoll embodies what the fifth-ranked Iowa wrestling team is up against this weekend. It’s been a somewhat irregular season for the two-time NCAA qualifier. For the third time in four years, Stoll has dealt with a lower-body injury. After the gunshot wound episode last summer, he eased his way back to the mat. He’s wrestled just 11 times this year, with an 8-3 record. Stoll didn’t debut this season until Iowa’s dual against Iowa State on Dec. 1. He didn’t see the mat again until the Midlands Championships at the end of the month, and wrestled just twice. He returned for good midway through January, but dropped three of five matches in February. “You talk about adversity, and that’s never fun,” Brands said. “He is a tough, tough man. He’s a man’s man, and there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s grown a lot. “He’s dealt with a lot. He’s like the energizer bunny. Just keeps on going — boom, boom, boom.” ► MORE REGISTER WRESTLING COVERAGE The Big Ten boasts nine heavyweights ranked in the top-15 nationally, according to Trackwrestling. If the pre-seeds hold, Stoll could see Minnesota’s top-ranked Gable Steveson, a true freshman who’s 27-0 with 17 bonus-point wins, in the quarterfinals. Stoll needs at least a seventh-place to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. There is no easy path. In much the same way, the Big Ten tournament will reveal a lot about these Hawkeyes. They’ll finally get to wrestle against top-ranked Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan, teams they didn’t see during the regular season due to the Big Ten’s scheduling. These teams, as well as a handful more, will be Iowa’s primary competition for a team trophy two weeks from now at the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh. “We’re excited to see them,” Brands said. “We would be excited to see them again and again and again … it’s that time of the year. It’s the next thing, but they know it’s more important so things just naturally ramp up — which, it does for everybody this time of the year. “Our best wrestling has to be now. That’s not putting pressure on anybody. That’s just what you do when you’re a competitor.” The Hawkeyes inserted themselves firmly into the NCAA trophy conversation throughout 2018-19. They went 14-1 in duals and beat six teams currently ranked in Trackwrestling’s top 15. They earned a share of the Big Ten regular season crown. They won another Midlands team title, outscoring the field by 64.5 points. But the season has been rocky at times, too. Iowa shut down Michael Kemerer, a two-time All-American, in November due to injury. As many as four different guys wrestled at 174 pounds in his place. Austin DeSanto’s antics defined much of January. Max Murin and Vince Turk traded starts at 141 in February. The Hawkeyes’ biggest dual of the season, against No. 3 Oklahoma State, resulted in a 27-12 defeat. By the time Iowa takes the mat in Minneapolis, it will have been two weeks since the loss to the Cowboys, yet another team expected to contend later this month. Brands said his team moved past the loss almost immediately, zeroing in on the opportunity the Big Ten tournament represents.