Three-time All American and two-time National finalist Cory Clark will lead the Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling team this season.
The 2015-’16 season will never be forgotten by Iowa Wrestling fans. The season began on November 14th with the Grapple on the Gridiron in Kinnick Stadium that drew over 42,000 fans to crush the all-time attendance record. That was a day that will never be forgotten as Iowa defeated Oklahoma State. The Hawkeyes then went on to host the Big Ten Wrestling Championships and the Olympic Trials. That was a banner year to be an Iowa Wrestling fan. It is past time to move on to the next edition of Iowa Wrestling. The 2016-’17 Iowa Wrestling schedule will again provide some outstanding entertainment for the home fans.
There are only six home dates on the schedule so far for the upcoming year, but did they ever make them count. The Hawks open up the season at the Grand View Open in Des Moines on November 5th. It will be interesting to see if Iowa sends their entire squad to this. The home opener for Iowa is the Iowa City Duals on Friday, November 18th. There have been rumors that there were some real top teams that had shown interest in being apart of the Iowa City Duals. I will get more information on that as soon as the teams are released.
Carver will be rocking on Saturday, December 10th when Iowa State comes to town. The Iowa-Iowa State dual meet is something you look forward to every year. I am also looking forward to the road dates at Purdue and South Dakota State. Former Iowa Hawkeye Tony Ersland of Humboldt, Iowa is a damned good coach and he will have Purdue as a much improved team. Purdue’s Recruiting Class of 2016 was ranked as high as sixth in the country and that is a very good sign for a program on the rise. I was very impressed by the job that Chris Bono and his staff did last year in Carver with their South Dakota State team. Look for another entertaining dual between Iowa and SDSU. Purdue and SDSU are two teams I will be watching for marked improvement from this year.
It is a right of passage for Iowa Wrestling fans to follow the Hawks at the Midlands that is always held right before New Year’s. You can always count on some very tough matches, especially now with the rise of North Carolina State as a national power. Iowa hits a weekend roadtrip to kickoff the Big Ten season at Michigan and Michigan State. Michigan should have a very tough lineup this year that matches up really well with Iowa. Michigan State is in the first year of a new coaching staff and that can sometimes provide some surprises.
Over the last twenty-five years, the biggest rival for Iowa Wrestling has been the Oklahoma State Cowboys. You can always count on a great dual meet with a John Smith coached team. Okie State should be ranked very high and this dual will more than hold its own with the lofty expectations that comes with this dual meet every year. With the Cowboys being in the Grapple on the Gridiron last year, I look for the Okie State fans to be a little extra ornery for this one.
Oh my, you go from a road trip to Stillwater, OK and return home the next weekend to host…Penn State!. It’s hard to believe that some people actually leave Iowa for a warmer climate in the winter. Who could leave this? Cael Sanderson and Penn State have been the program to beat for the last six years and will be again this season. Penn State should be everyone’s top ranked team heading into the season. The official date has not been set, but I am hoping for a Sunday. That will ensure a bigger crowd with more high school wrestlers, parents, and fans being able to make it. The Big Ten Network is calling the shots on that.
The following weekend the Hawks welcome in former Hawkeye All-American Tom Ryan and his Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State beat Iowa for their first ever NCAA team title in 2015 and also placed ahead of Iowa last year. Ohio State will once again have a very loaded lineup. Hey, I told you these home dates were short on numbers, but big on firepower. A three week run in the heart of an Iowa winter and we are at Okie State and then return home for Penn State and Ohio State. What more could you ask for?
The Hawks make it three weekends in row with a home dual meet when they host Wisconsin. The match at Hwt will be worth the price of admission alone. Former Iowa Hawkeye three-time NCAA champion Barry Davis always has a tough team for the Hawks to face. The Hawks then travel to Minnesota the next weekend. It is hard to tell what Minnesota is going to have for a team this year, or even who their coach will be. I am hoping Coach J Robinson is back in his old spot as the head coach very soon and the Gophers get back to wrestling.
The Hawks travel to Indiana and return to face Nebraska on the final weekend of the Big Ten season. The match at 184 lbs. will be the most entertaining for the Nebraska meet. Iowa-Nebraska is always a tough and entertaining dual meet.
Iowa is participating at the NWCA National Duals, but the schedule has not been made out at this time. I am sure that Iowa will be picked to host at least one dual meet.
The Big Tens will be held at the University of Indiana in Bloomington, IN on March 4-5. Assembly Hall is famous for basketball, but the rafters will be ringing from a Big Ten wrestling crowd. I do not know what the biggest crowd in the history of Indiana Wrestling is, but the Big Ten’s should challenge or surpass that record total.
And for the grand prize of them all. The 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships will be held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO on March 16-18. This is a great facility and town to have the NCAA’s at and I am sure we will see another great crowd as well. I would not be disappointed to see the NCAA’s held at this location every year. It is a great place to see an NCAA National Tournament.
It is August 10th and hot and muggy as always. Yet I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the schedule for yet another edition of Iowa Wrestling. I always hang up the schedule in at least two places right away. Why? Because it is great to be an Iowa Wrestling Fan. Go Hawks!
* I will keep you up to date with official announcements of exact dates, times and broadcasting of dual meets as they are released.
2016-’17 Iowa Wrestling Schedule
Nov. 5 (Sat) at Grand View Open
Nov. 18 (Fri) Iowa City Duals
Nov. 27 (Sun) at Purdue
Dec. 2 (Fri) at South Dakota State
Dec. 10 (Sat) Iowa State
Dec. 29-30 (Th/Fri) at Midlands (Evanston, IL)
Jan. 6/8 (Fri) at Michigan State
Jan. 6/8 (Sun) at Michigan
Jan. 13/15 (Fri/Sun) at Oklahoma State
Jan. 20/22 (Fri/Sun) Penn State
Jan. 27/29 (Fri/Sun) Ohio State
Feb. 3 (Fri) Wisconsin
Feb. 5 (Sun) at Minnesota
Feb. 10 (Fri) at Indiana
Feb. 12 (Sun) Nebraska
NWCA Nation Duals – To be determined
March 4-5 (Sat/Sun) Big Ten Championships – Bloomington, IN
March 16-18 (Th-Sat) NCAA Championships – St. Louis, MO
