It is time to take a look at the second half of the Iowa Wrestling season. The Hawks have a two week break from Midlands until their next competition. Iowa will travel to Minnesota for a dual on Sunday, January 13. The meet will be televised by BTN at Noon. Minnesota is much improved and there will be some very good matches to look forward to. Iowa will return home on the 18th with a home duel against Rutgers. As with Minnesota, there will be some very good matches to look forward to in this dual meet.
The Hawks then go on the road to Illinois, Northwestern, and Nebraska. The Northwestern dual meet certainly went up in anticipation after Midlands, Illinois was a very close dual last year, and Nebraska is always a tough dual. Iowa will then host Maryland on February 8 and Indiana on February 15 before closing out the Big Ten season at Wisconsin on February 17.
In the past, Iowa would always face Oklahoma State in early January. This year, the Hawks close out their dual meet season by traveling down to Stillwater to take on the Cowboys on Sunday, February 24. That will be a barn burner of a dual meet. As they usually are between Iowa and Oklahoma State. Big Ten’s and the NCAA’s are a week later this year. Big Tens are on March 9-10 at Minnesota. And then the Big Show. The 2019 NCAA Championships will be in Pittsburgh, PA on March 21-23.
Iowa peaked at Nationals last year and I am looking for that again this season. Iowa showed up at Nationals last year and wrestled their best by leading the country in bonus points. I look for Iowa to get healed up and peak at the right time. Big Tens is nine weeks from this weekend, Nationals are eleven weeks from tomorrow. There is a lot of livin to be done in that time period. I have faith that Iowa Wrestling will use that time wisely and be ready to go when the titles are on the line.
Seeing the improvement of Iowa wrestlers leading up to nationals is one of my absolute favorite things about being an Iowa Wrestling fan. I expect to see that same type of improvement take place and for Iowa Wrestling to be a force in Pittsburgh on March 21, 22, and 23.
Iowa Wrestling schedule:
at Minnesota – Jan 13
RUTGERS – Jan 18
at Illinois – Jan 25
at Northwestern – Jan 27
at Nebraska – Feb 3
MARYLAND – Feb 8
INDIANA – Feb 15
at Wisconsin – Feb 17
at Oklahoma State – Feb 24
at Big Tens (Minneapolis, MN): March 9-10
at NCAA Championships (Pittsburgh, PA): March 21-23
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
