Of Iowa's seven 3x champs, three were from Iowa. "Never reliant on in-state talent" depends on the definition of "reliant," but that's a lot of points. Iowa's last 3x champ from in-state was Tom Brands.
In State Recruiting
- Thread starter relishingwinning18
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this has been 💯 evident for over a decade now and proven in 2021. Recruiting is the issue. Also, Gable didn't win with a bunch of projects. that's a myth. He got the best to come to Iowa. Just like Cael. a handful of guys over achieving is a great story but it isn't everyone. His teams had the best in the sport. They came here because of what he built. It's nonsense to argue otherwise.
Gable did have guys like Lewis, McIlravy Alger, Kistler, Williams that were top P4P guys but man he had a lot of Brands, Steiners, Fullharts, and especially Whitmers that were not. The great recruits often won multiple titles but the merely good ones sometimes did too. That’s what never happens anymore. Spencer was a can’t-miss.
It hardly happens anywhere ever anymore. How many less teams in D1 are there plus these kids are scouted so much better. There is a huge consolidation of talent
Exactly, way more wrestlers back then and no social media, plus more multiple sport athletes. It was a lot easier to find a diamond in the rough than it is now.
all i know is that 1) Iowa has been uber consistent for 25 years and 2) i don't recall a time when their lineup was 50% or more native Iowans.
obviously there's some argument over the term 'rely,' but from where i sit they haven't relied on in-state talent and they don't have to.
if the point is that it's easier when there are more studs in your back yard, well, duh.
obviously there's some argument over the term 'rely,' but from where i sit they haven't relied on in-state talent and they don't have to.
if the point is that it's easier when there are more studs in your back yard, well, duh.
Iowa needs needs to recruit the best guys in the country, the entire country
No matter how you parse words, Geography matters in a big way. It is just simple common sense that it is way easier to recruit top talent the closer that talent is to your location. Proximity alone does a ton to swing a decision your way. But, that doesn’t even factor in them growing up being a fan or having an entire family that is….
With the SEC not having wrestling tOSU and PSU are by far the biggest names across all sports and just so happen to have the most rich youth wrestling environments. On top of that, they are located perfectly to reach out to several other top states without going far.
If you don’t see the built in advantages those 2 programs have in recruiting you are in denial or have an agenda…
Now, that doesn’t mean Iowa or even OkState don’t have the name recognition and history to be competitive. But, they have to work considerably harder to focus on bringing in kids from far away, who may simply not want to go far from home…
With the SEC not having wrestling tOSU and PSU are by far the biggest names across all sports and just so happen to have the most rich youth wrestling environments. On top of that, they are located perfectly to reach out to several other top states without going far.
If you don’t see the built in advantages those 2 programs have in recruiting you are in denial or have an agenda…
Now, that doesn’t mean Iowa or even OkState don’t have the name recognition and history to be competitive. But, they have to work considerably harder to focus on bringing in kids from far away, who may simply not want to go far from home…
Iowa's last 10 National champs. Spencer Lee, Cory Clark, Matt McDonough, Derek St John, Tony Ramos, Brent Metcalf, Mark Perry, Cliff Moore, Steve Mocco, and Eric Juergens.
Edit: I forgot Jay Borschel. so 6/11 since 2000 have been Iowa boys.
This is also since 2000. exactly 1/2 of those champs are from Iowa.
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Iowa kids no longer bale hay & straw, pitch shit, do chores carrying buckets of feed and water, run trap lines, etc. etc.
My kids throw a tantrum if you take away their cell phone for playing too many games. Ok, I don’t have kids. I throw a tantrum.
I might still have some hay dust in my lungs from stacking hay bales up in the barn loft some 60 years ago or so.
I don’t miss my hay baling days. The stacking in the barn was brutal on a nice, steamy day lol. Definitely a good way to stay in shape and develop a good work ethic. Lot of detassling as well. Wearing long sleeves and pants stunk, but overall not too bad.
Nothing made me happier than when I was called to work and it was straw instead of hay.
I still have nightmares about moving the alfalfa bales to the loft. That said, years of moving hay - not year-round, but multiple times a year - and grain paid dividends of still being in solid shape years and years later. Tom and Terry should get the boys out to a local farm ASAP.
Just as good was splitting wood - no splitter for me. Good cold weather was the best time to do that job. We had a wood burning furnace that was replaced, not surprisingly, with oil the year I left for college. Hmm?
i loved detassling good way to meet girls from other towns, stacking hay and picking melons not so much
Many of our athletes do plenty of wood splitting…. Not a lost art in our room.
After a hard day in the hay mound, I could lose 10 lbs of water weight. I walked around at 120 lbs back then. Too bad that was summertime and out of season. I worked on two different dairy farms from about 13 to 18 years old. I worked hard, saved up a lot of money, and was in by far the best shape of my life. Not many better ways to build a work ethic back in the day.
2021 team was not Iowa native heavy, but Brands other National Championship teams were. 7/10 starters from Iowa in 2008. 5/10 starters in 2009. 6/10 starters in 2010.
Big Ten Finish: 1st
Head Coach: Tom Brands
125: Charlie Falck, 6th
133: Joey Slaton, 2nd
141: Dan LeClere, NQ
149: Brent Metcalf, 1st
157: Ryan Morningstar, NQ
165: Mark Perry, 1st
174: Jay Borschel, 3rd
184: Phil Keddy, 6th
197: Chad Beatty, DNQ
285: Matt Fields, 5th
Big Ten Finish: 1st
Head Coach: Tom Brands
125: Charlie Falck, NQ
133: Daniel Dennis, 7th
141: Alex Tsirtsis, NQ
149: Brent Metcalf, 2nd
157: Matt Ballweg, DNQ
165: Ryan Morningstar, 3rd
174: Jay Borschel, NQ
184: Phil Keddy, 4th
197: Chad Beatty, NQ
285: Dan Erekson, 4th
Big Ten Finish: 1st
Head Coach: Tom Brands
125: Matt McDonough, 1st
133: Daniel Dennis, 2nd
141: Montell Marion, 2nd
149: Brent Metcalf, 1st
157: Jake Kerr, NQ
165: Ryan Morningstar, 7th
174: Jay Borschel, 1st
184: Phil Keddy, 8th
197: Chad Beatty, NQ
285: Dan Erekson, 7th
(I'm aware Charlie Falck went to Apple Valley. He is from Strawberry Point, Iowa.)
2007-08 Season
NCAA Finish: 1stBig Ten Finish: 1st
Head Coach: Tom Brands
125: Charlie Falck, 6th
133: Joey Slaton, 2nd
141: Dan LeClere, NQ
149: Brent Metcalf, 1st
157: Ryan Morningstar, NQ
165: Mark Perry, 1st
174: Jay Borschel, 3rd
184: Phil Keddy, 6th
197: Chad Beatty, DNQ
285: Matt Fields, 5th
2008-09 Season
NCAA Finish: 1stBig Ten Finish: 1st
Head Coach: Tom Brands
125: Charlie Falck, NQ
133: Daniel Dennis, 7th
141: Alex Tsirtsis, NQ
149: Brent Metcalf, 2nd
157: Matt Ballweg, DNQ
165: Ryan Morningstar, 3rd
174: Jay Borschel, NQ
184: Phil Keddy, 4th
197: Chad Beatty, NQ
285: Dan Erekson, 4th
2009-10 Season
NCAA Finish: 1stBig Ten Finish: 1st
Head Coach: Tom Brands
125: Matt McDonough, 1st
133: Daniel Dennis, 2nd
141: Montell Marion, 2nd
149: Brent Metcalf, 1st
157: Jake Kerr, NQ
165: Ryan Morningstar, 7th
174: Jay Borschel, 1st
184: Phil Keddy, 8th
197: Chad Beatty, NQ
285: Dan Erekson, 7th
(I'm aware Charlie Falck went to Apple Valley. He is from Strawberry Point, Iowa.)
FWIW
The hometown of 3 of 10 wrestlers in the current Iowa lineup is Iowa. If Nelson Brands were to somehow return to the lineup it would be 4 of 10. Iowa has 3 wrestlers from Iowa border states.
The hometown of 3 of 10 wrestlers in the current Penn State lineup is Pennsylvania. Penn State has 1 wrestler from a Pennsylvania border state. Penn State has 3 wrestlers in their lineup from Iowa border states.
The hometown of 3 of 10 wrestlers in the current Iowa lineup is Iowa. If Nelson Brands were to somehow return to the lineup it would be 4 of 10. Iowa has 3 wrestlers from Iowa border states.
The hometown of 3 of 10 wrestlers in the current Penn State lineup is Pennsylvania. Penn State has 1 wrestler from a Pennsylvania border state. Penn State has 3 wrestlers in their lineup from Iowa border states.
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That’s where you are wrong. When Iowa was winning championships, they could rely on in state talent getting them over the top. They no longer can.
Best club in the state is not "playing the long game". By the time these kids get to college, they already have a lot of miles on their body. Needs to change if Iowa would like to compete with surrounding states at producing collegiate talent. Iowa doesn't have an AWA like Wisconsin, Pinnacle like Minnesota, etc. Just my opinion.
baling and stacking hay was always a brutal treat But splitting and stacking wood by hand was an amazing workout for a young wrestler. Seems like shoveling snow worked out pretty well for the Brands boys recently !
How good the wrestlers are kind of matters.
Psu- guys born and raised..Kasak-1, Haines 2, Star-1, guys who wrestled entire highschool career in Pennsylvania, Lilledahl-7, Bartlett-3.
Iowa, Ayala -3, Schriever UR, keuter-11.
Very different.
The narrative matters. If it were just as easy to recruit and win in Iowa, Cael would have stayed at ISU. If people can't see how much more PSU had to offer, they aren't very observant...
Local recruits are literally the FOUNDATION of any DI team. Yes, you still need to recruit from all over to truly reach the top, but relying on 3 to 6 starters per year coming from in-state can take so much pressure off. This is especially true if you don't have to put all the time, travel and resources into landing them.
I don't understand why ANYONE is arguing otherwise. It isn't a knock against PSU that they benefit from where they are located. This argument is sort of like blaming a 5'6 guy for being short, while ignoring he can't control his height, while also ignoring that you also did absolutely NOTHING to earn being 6'3"....
Exactly, and not just local recruits, but in this, national championship level recruits, some 5 time national champions!!! Lol
Another factor to consider is if Iowa State could actually perform this year, there would be three top ten teams from the state of Iowa. I don't believe any other state even has two. And yes I know that Iowa State isn't in the top ten right now but with their talent they probably should be. That alone makes recruiting a little bit harder when you are competing against others for local talent.
That's not true for all Iowa kids. Farm chores are still the same .
I don't necessarily agree with this. Damn near all the big clubs across the country are doing the same thing, going to the same tournaments, etc.
Also FWIW - Iowa's premiere clubs are still relatively young. It's only been the past couple of recruiting cycles where those guys starting to have an impact at the collegiate level.
But blaming the clubs for the development stall once they get to college is a bit... odd.
by my count Gable had 29 individual champions.
14 from Iowa
15 from other:
3 from NJ
2 from ND
2 from SD
1 from CA
1 from CO
1 from OH
1 from NY
1 from MD
1 from MN
1 from ILL
1 from MT
14 from Iowa
15 from other:
3 from NJ
2 from ND
2 from SD
1 from CA
1 from CO
1 from OH
1 from NY
1 from MD
1 from MN
1 from ILL
1 from MT
It is hard to be reliant on Iowa high school talent these days, because it is no longer top tier.
Using @smalls103 Big Board data from 2013 - 2024 this is what the distribution of Top 10 (green) and Next 10 (red) talent looks like.
If you want to win titles, you need top 20 kids. And there just aren't enough of those coming out of Iowa anymore.
Using @smalls103 Big Board data from 2013 - 2024 this is what the distribution of Top 10 (green) and Next 10 (red) talent looks like.
If you want to win titles, you need top 20 kids. And there just aren't enough of those coming out of Iowa anymore.
I stand corrected. There just aren’t nearly as many since the demise of the family farm. Meaning 240 to 400 acres. Rotating crops and raising animals outdoors
My nephew is a 16 yr old die hard farm kid. Everything he does involves the farm, crops, cattle, and his tractor.
He even quit wrestling because it was cutting into his "choring time" haha
The kid knows what he wants and what he wants to do.
He even quit wrestling because it was cutting into his "choring time" haha
The kid knows what he wants and what he wants to do.
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