The Hawks ended the regular season with a 22-9 win at Oklahoma State on Sunday. This has been an unusual season so far for Iowa Wrestling.
Iowa started the season off on November 4 with a 40-0 win at Cal-Baptist in Riverside, California. The last four months have been a roller coaster of a season that is unique.
The Iowa State dual was a real big win at Ames on November 26. Iowa State seemed to have every advantage they could possibly want and Iowa still found a way to win the dual meet, 18-14.
Dual meet wins over Oregon State, Penn, and Columbia were nothing special but solid wins just the same.
The Hawks then competed in Soldier Salute on December 29-30 that provided an opportunity for wrestle offs for several weights.
Iowa came out after the first of the year on fire. Five straight dual meet wins over Big Ten opponents was impressive. Considering the situation of a young team I do not recall an Iowa team being more dominating than that stretch of wins over Nebraska, Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois, and Northwestern.
January 12 – #3 Iowa 22, #6 Nebraska 10
January 15 – #3 Iowa 22, #10 Minnesota 9
January 19 – #3 Iowa 34, Purdue 6
January 26 – #3 Iowa 36, #17 Illinois 6
January 28 – #3 Iowa 46, Northwestern 0
In five dual meets against Big Ten competition, Iowa was 40-10. Of those 40 wins Iowa scored bonus points 21 times with 12 tech falls, 7 major decisions, and 2 falls.
Iowa then dropped dual meets at Michigan (11-24) and at home against Penn State (6-29).
The Hawks closed out the home season with a 34-7 win over Wisconsin.
On Sunday Iowa defeated Oklahoma State 22-9 in front of over 13,000 fans in the third biggest crowd in 85-year history of Gallagher-Iba Arena.
A tweet from Willie Sailor stated that the Oklahoma State fans behind the bench were “bruuutal” to the Hawks. It was a hostile environment of a huge crowd that came to see the Hawks that competed against Michigan and Penn State. That team did not show up and a dominant performance was the result.
I go out on YouTube and listen to press conferences of wrestling coaches before and after dual meets to learn. Oklahoma State coach John Smith, a legend that I like learning from, helped connect the dots for me so to speak about what had happened.
Go to YouTube and type in: “I wasn’t expecting that” John Smith after Iowa
John Smith talks about how Iowa had two losses and experienced tough times in the season. They came out hungry and aggressive and got the job done.
Oklahoma State was undefeated and was on a roll all season long until Sunday.
Now it was time for Oklahoma State to use this to get ready for the Big 12 Tournament.
Dan Gable once told me that you never wanted to lose but it could be very useful as a coach.
Iowa was 12-2 this season with some impressive performances. However, all of the talk by fans is about the two losses. No complaints here. That is Iowa Wrestling.
The losses to Michigan and Penn State were painful but I am confident that the Iowa Wrestling team and entire program is better because of it. Those losses helped prepare the entire program for battles ahead.
How will Iowa do at Big Tens and Nationals? Not knowing is part of the attraction of being a fan.
Iowa Wrestling is my entertainment and I plan on being entertained.
Look forward or keep looking back as a fan, the choice is yours.
Let’s get ‘em in the middle.
Sat and Sun March 9-10 – at Big Ten Championships (College Park, Maryland)
Thurs-Sat March 21-23 – at NCAA Championships (Kansas City, MO)
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
