Establish the Foundation for 2020

[OldHawkFan]

After some time to marinate On the highs and lows of the B1Gs, it started to sink in what a relatively young team we have.
Yes, I had a clear understanding this wasn’t going to be Iowa’s year, but I was hoping that guys would be a bit more willing to open up their offense and just wrestle to score. Wrestling tight may be understandable when it’s your first goround at the toughest Conference Championships in the nation.

I do think that it was a good learning experience and that Nationals is a huge opportunity to lay the foundation for next year.
Yes, I also know that this year is not over yet. I will be cheering for our Hawks with realistic expectations and optimistic belief that 3-4 guys can wrestle above their seeds.

I still believe Lee will win it all, Bull has been a beast and pleasure to watch, DeSanchize tenacity is infectious, he will battle to the end, win or lose.
Max is a tough nut, a guy you want on your team, will probably be in every match, just needs to find a way to finish matches. Maybe his win over Carr will propel him forward. Lugo wrestled himself into shape and is now showing us the wrestler he can be, Young has transformed from a solid spot in the lineup to a legit AA contender and a NC candidate next year. Warner has come on strong and will only grow as he gets stronger and develops some offense.
I’m also happy for Sammy Stoll. I hope he is the story everyone will be talking about at Nationals. Win or lose he deserves his shot and I’m glad he got it.
This all being said, I’m hoping we gain experience and confidence at 33, 41, 49, 57, 84 and 97. If so, next year could be special...
IOWA 2020
125- LEE (1-2)
133- DESANTO (1-4)
141- JRENT (3-8)
149- LUGO (1-4)
157- YOUNG (1-4)
165- BULL (1-4)
174- KEMDOG (1-4)
184- $ (5-8)
197- WARNER (1-4)
285- CASSIOPPI (3-8)

 

[NLhawk62]

Great post!

I agree with most of it. There are three things I question though.

Bull’s floor is 3rd, or maybe even 2nd. No way does that guy lose twice in one collegiate tournament ever again if he remains healthy. He’s an animal and the best wrestler on the team right now. The dismantling of 2 time NCAA champ is proof of that.

I think Kem could finish anywhere from 1-8. Too many question marks being up two weight classes and coming off an acl tear. Guy’s super talented but we’ve all seen in sports how season ending injuries can derail a career.

What’s 141 going to be like? Is Murin going to take the next step and be in the AA conversation. Or is JRent going to take the spot and be a top 5 guy out of the gate. I’m pretty optimistic but we’ll have to wait and see.

Over/under is definitely 8 AAs though if everybody stays relatively healthy. Might be a little optimistic but Iowa will have the horses and the depth at each weight class to win it all.

 

[Auger]

I've been optimistic for a while. I think the next two years look very promising for Iowa. I don't know if we have the horses to pick up all the bonus points the team will need to stay with PSU and Ohio St. Everytime PSU loses a ton of once in a generation talent they seem to replace it with once in a generation talent. They are bonus point beasts. I think Iowa closes the gap and makes things interesting over the next couple years but overall we come up short. Iowa is just too far off from PSU when it comes to tournament wrestling.

 

[CumberlandHawk]

I've been optimistic for a while. I think the next two years look very promising for Iowa. I don't know if we have the horses to pick up all the bonus points the team will need to stay with PSU and Ohio St. Everytime PSU loses a ton of once in a generation talent they seem to replace it with once in a generation talent. They are bonus point beasts. I think Iowa closes the gap and makes things interesting over the next couple years but overall we come up short. Iowa is just too far off from PSU when it comes to tournament wrestling.

I believe Iowa had the most bonus points at NCAAs last year. Ot might go down some this year with Kem out and Stoll struggling, but I think we will get plenty next year.

 

[24 so far]

I've been optimistic for a while. I think the next two years look very promising for Iowa. I don't know if we have the horses to pick up all the bonus points the team will need to stay with PSU and Ohio St. Everytime PSU loses a ton of once in a generation talent they seem to replace it with once in a generation talent. They are bonus point beasts. I think Iowa closes the gap and makes things interesting over the next couple years but overall we come up short. Iowa is just too far off from PSU when it comes to tournament wrestling.

We can make a serious run at them the next couple of years for sure, which we haven't done in a long time. But until we take them down, yeah, it's just talk. Get head to head matchups and win the majority of those, and that's when it will happen IMO.

We are gaining, but we have to have good health too, which seems damn near impossible anymore. IF we stay healthy, we will have no "holes" in the lineup on paper IMO.

But our horses have to show up and set the tone. We've got the guys that can do just that if their health is good. Exhibit A = Alex Marinelli. Big knee brace and all, he's been explosive.

Injury and illness derailed this years team, which should have been the year to prove the gap is closing, wasn't meant to be apparently. If our luck doesn't change in that department, we have no shot with the slush funders reloading.