It was a good weekend for Iowa Wrestling. The 2017-18 edition of Iowa Wrestling kicked off the season at the Iowa City Duals in Carver Hawkeye Arena and several of the younger wrestlers competed at the Lindenwood Open in Missouri.
In the duals, Iowa topped Iowa Central CC 48-0, Buffalo 33-6 and North Dakota State 38-6. Iowa won 27 of the 30 matches wrestled and scored bonus points in 20 matches. A few thoughts on each weight:
125 – True freshman Justin Stickley went 1-2 on the day. He is scrappy and fought hard.
133 – Phillip Laux won the two bouts he wrestled against Iowa Central and North Dakota State. Laux looked much better in his second match against NDSU. Paul Glynn dropped a hard fought 2-0 match to fifth ranked Bryan Lantry of Buffalo.
141 – Vince Turk impressed me more than any other wrestler on the Iowa team. Turk looked like a redshirt sophomore that was past ready to get into competition. Turk was aggressive in all three matches and the results showed with two tech falls and a major. Very impressive debut for Vince Turk.
149 – Brandon Sorensen was consistent as always with a tech fall, fall, and major.
157 – Michael Kemerer is a bad man with two first period pins and a tech fall. Kemerer will only get better as the season goes on as he gets used to the added bulk that he has put on during the off season.
165 – Kaleb Young made his Iowa Hawkeye debut and looked good. Young won by a tech fall and major over Iowa Central and Buffalo before defeating 20th ranked Andrew Fogarty of NDSU, 3-2. 165 looked to be a good weight for Young.
174 – Joey Gunther looked good with two majors and a decision. I really believe Gunther can be a force by the end of the season.
184 – Mitch Bowman picked up a fall and two decisions for a good day.
197 – Cash Wilcke showed glimpses of his explosiveness in picking up a major and two decisions.
Hwt – The much anticipated return of Sam Stoll at Hwt was great to see with two pins and a decision. I thought Stoll showed some real guts in defeating 20th ranked Jake Gunning, 3-2, SV2. Stoll is still wrestling himself back into shape and showed some real heart in gutting out that win. The conditioning will come and Sam Stoll with be a major force at nationals in March.
Overall a good day for the Hawks on Friday. But on Saturday a true freshman stole the headlines yet again as Jacob Warner continues to impress. Warner competed in the Lindenwood Open on Saturday in the Open division as a true freshman to see where he stacked up with national level competition at 197 in D-I. Well, he stacks up pretty darned good. In the finals, Warner defeated third ranked and two-time All American Willie Miklus of Missouri, 16-7. Warner worked Heavy Hands as effective as any true freshman that I have ever seen. Heavy Hands is a cornerstone of Iowa Wrestling and something they recruit for so that is a big statement. Warner was named FloWrestler Wrestler of the Week.
That result took me back in time to an all-time performance by a true freshman in my Iowa Wrestling past as a fan. I immediately thought of Lincoln McIlravy beating All American Torrae Jackson of Iowa State in the semifinals of the 1992 Northern Open. McIlravy is the best true freshman that I have ever seen in my 36 years of going in the Iowa Wrestling room. This performance by Warner is even better than what I saw McIlravy do at the Northern Open.
Nobody built up Jacob Warner as an incoming recruit more than I did. As I said after he ran through a tough field in the Iowa wrestle offs at 197, Warner’s performance is leaving me shaking my head in amazement.
I am now hoping we see Warner compete at Midlands. Even so, I hope they keep the redshirt on him this year. The Hawks will get good points out of 197 this year from Wilcke. Warner’s future is off the charts.
Also at the Lindenwood Open in St. Charles, MO, Connor Corbin won the freshman-sophomore division at 197. Danny Murphy (141) and Myles Wilson (184) placed second.
The Hawks return to action on Friday at home against 17th ranked Rider in Carver Hawkeye Arena at 7 PM.
