As far as I am concerned, the start of classes at the University of Iowa is the official start of a new Iowa Wrestling season. Well wrestling fans, classes started yesterday so the 2018-2019 Iowa Wrestling season has started.
The “Offseason” starts at the end of the NCAA’s in March and ends with the start of classes. In all of my years of following Iowa Wrestling, we just ended the greatest offseason that I can remember. I have never seen that type of excitement from recruiting. Between recruits and transfers, there is a lot to be excited about. Iowa Wrestling had incredible momentum throughout the entire offseason. Now it is time to move on to the next phase.
I mentioned in my podcast last week that this was always a great time of the year. The locust are being heard and it is still hot and humid in August, but it is a new beginning. A new year for Iowa Wrestling.
Here is a list of what I keep an eye on at this time of year.
- This is the time of year when you get your first look of the incoming freshman. There is always talk of how good the recruits really are. The most impressive true freshman that I can remember making an immediate impact in the Iowa Wrestling room over the years was Lincoln McIlravy in 1992. The Destroyer, as I call him, was amazing right out of the gate. It was very easy to see how special McIlravy was right away.
- The huge improvement that last year’s incoming recruits is always easy to see on that one year anniversary of them being in the program. They no longer look like they are right out of high school. The transformation that you see Iowa wrestlers make in that first year never ceases to amaze me. They go from struggling to get a takedown to making their presence felt that they are a serious contender for a varsity spot for the upcoming season.
- How much the wrestlers grew since the end of March. There is always at least one surprise of a wrestler that hit a growth spurt and jumped up a weight class or more. This is the time of year that I am reminded that wrestlers in their late teens and early twenties can grow a lot in five months.
- Seeing which Iowa Wrestlers made huge strides in their wrestling is always great to see. It is like Iowa Wrestlers put in all of the brutal work and then BOOM!. They make a huge stride in the room from being good to being “The Man.” That improvement can hit in a hurry and in the matter of a couple of weeks the pecking order will change in the room as the next superstar emerges. There is always a buzz in the room as you see which wrestlers emerge and take their performance to the next level.
- The overall buzz of excitement that you feel, a vibe if you will, that comes from the team. There is an added sense of urgency in the Fall as the wrestlers are finding where their place is in the program.
- What will the lineup be for Iowa Wrestling? What weight is everyone going? Fans like us will be asking those questions quite a bit this time of year. Looking ahead to wrestle offs, there will be some great matches to see who earns the privilege of wearing the Black and Gold singlet of Iowa Wrestling.
I can remind myself that it is still August. However, the live action of the 2018-2019 Iowa Wrestling season cannot start soon enough.
Let’s get ‘em in the middle.
Go Hawks!
