The third ranked Iowa Hawkeyes won eight of ten bouts and looked dominate in downing thirteenth ranked Wisconsin, 33-8 . Five of the Hawkeye wins were with bonus points. This was an impressive and dominating showing by the Hawks up and down the lineup against a quality, nationally ranked Big Ten opponent.
The dual meet began at 184 where Sammy Brooks continued to look like a senior on a mission. Brooks was in complete control before locking in a near-side cradle for the fall in 4:54. Cash Wilcke had the most satisfying match of the night for me. Wilcke has come a long ways in the down position and he was moving much, much better tonight in defeating sixteenth ranked Mason Reinhard, 3-1. I mentioned in an earlier blog that Wilcke is a heck of an athlete and that he just needed confidence. Tonight was his biggest win to date and should add to his confidence. We really need more of that from Wilcke, and he has it to give. H-U-G-E win for Cash Wilcke.
Faraan Brantley filled in at Hwt and lost to second ranked Connor Medbery, 16-1. That is the worse match that I have seen from Thomas Gilman all year tonight and he still won 21-8. Gilman did not score any back points and just did not look sharp. Hey, Gilman has set the bar pretty high. Gilman will have to look better than tonight when he faces fourth ranked Ethan Lizak at Minnesota on Sunday. As I had thought, Phillip Laux filled in for Cory Clark at 133 and scored a solid 6-2 decision over Eli Stickley. A four point near fall in the first period was the difference. Another real tough outing for Laux in the starting lineup.
Topher Carton may have been one spot below Cole Martin in the rankings, but he dominated him on the mat with a very impressive 9-1 Major Decision. After a tough stretch in the “13-Day Gauntlet,” it was great to see Carton get back on track. Carton’s match with tenth ranked Tommy Thorn at Minnesota will be a huge matchup. Carton is definitely needed for the Hawks at nationals. Brandon Sorensen started off real fast in the first period and settled in for a solid 9-5 decision over Andrew Cone at 149 in a match that he controlled in typical Sorensen fashion. I am a broken record, but dang, this Michael Kemerer is tough!. Kemerer has taken over as the most exciting Iowa wrestler to watch. Kemerer was in a shot I swear in less than a second off the opening whistle and scored the takedown eight seconds later. Kemerer showed text book technique in sprawling when his opponent tried to do a roll through from a single leg and caught Jared Scharenbrock for the fall in just :55. I keep wondering just how good Kemerer is.
At 165, Joey Gunther lost a hard fought 3-1 decision in overtime to third ranked Isaac Jordan. Gunther always fights hard and this looked to be his first big signature win, but Jordan was able to shoot and score in overtime. Gunther now faces tenth ranked Nick Wanzek of Minnesota. Gunther needs a signature win over a ranked wrestler. I like the way that he is improving and looking tougher every match. Alex Meyer looked the best that I have seen him in Carver all year. Meyer was moving so much better tonight and really hit some nice flurries and came out on top in a 11-3 Major Decision over Ryan Christensen at 174. Meyer is now ranked eighth by Flo, and looked it tonight. I still think this guy can get on a roll at nationals and do some serious damage.
Top matches? Hard to say because there were so many matches that were huge wins. The timing of the wins at 141 and 197 could not have been any better. That is the biggest win to date for Wilcke and Carton just destroyed a higher ranked opponent 9-1. Huge wins. Brooks and Meyer looked like the hardened seniors that they are and I look for both of them to go out with a bang in St. Louis.
The “13-Day Gauntlet” was a tough stretch of competition and it looks as though the Iowa Hawkeyes came out of it as better wrestlers. I was very impressed at the huge improvement that the team has made in the down position up and down the lineup. Iowa was exploding off of the bottom on the whistle and creating scoring positions time and time again. The Hawks were also finishing their shots much better. Just an overall big improvement on technique. I know it is only February 3, but I am excited about the prize in St. Louis on March 16,17, and 18. Technically, as a team Iowa looks a lot better and this is the time of year when you want to see that technique tighten up in getting ready for the post-season. Just keep getting better up and down the lineup Iowa Wrestling.
Now it is off to eighth ranked Minnesota for an 11 AM dual meet on Sunday. The dual is live on BTN. I am hoping that we see another top performance by the Hawks up and down the lineup like we did tonight.
#3 Iowa 33, #13 Wisconsin 8
184 — #5 Sammy Brooks (IA) pinned Hunter Ritter (W), 4:54
197 — Cash Wilcke (IA) dec. #16 Mason Reinhard (W), 3-1
285 — #2 Connor Medbery (W) tech. fall Faraan Brantley (IA), 16-1
125 — #1 Thomas Gilman (IA) major dec. Jens Lantz (W), 21-8
133 — Phillip Laux (IA) dec. Eli Stickley (W), 6-2
141 — #17 Topher Carton (IA) major dec. #16 Cole Martin (W), 9-1
149 — #4 Brandon Sorensen (IA) dec. Andrew Cone (W), 9-5
157 — #2 Michael Kemerer( IA) pinned Jared Scharenbrock (W), 0:55
165 — #3 Isaac Jordan (W) dec. Joey Gunther (IA), 3-1 SV1
174 — #8 Alex Meyer (IA) maj. Dec. Ryan Christensen (W), 11-3
