Is Iowa trending up?

[johnbeerpong]

Is Iowa trending up for the first time in a long time heading into the postseason? Now i know there still are 3 meets before Big Tens so a lot can happen, but i've been pretty happy with what ive seen out of the team this last month or so. Here are some of the instances im talking about.

Lack of injuries- Im sure since I brought this up 3 guys will blow out their knees tomorrow but as it stands right now isnt this the healthiest you have seen an Iowa team this late in the year? aside from Clark being slightly banged up I think everyone has avoided the injury bug so far. It seems like every year we have 2 guys who were AA threats before injuries get banged up and do almost nothing at nationals.

Guys peaking- I know this one still remains to be seen but guys like Stoll and Cooper seem to be constantly improving. Gilman has been awesome all year. Clark, Sorenson, and Burak have had a hiccup here and there but have mostly looked like high AA threats. Grothus has shown he is right there with top 10 ranked guys this year so if he can step it up one more notch maybe he can make some noise. Id imagine he will make some big leaps with more mat time these next few weeks. Rhoads looks to be trending up even if his ceiling is low. Brooks being the only head scratcher but he still has shown he is an AA threat more than he has shown hes not this year.

Offense has picked up- Is it just me or have these guys had more offense this year. Now I'm not comparing them to what we have seen out of PSU this year but just compared to Iowa teams from the past 5 years.

Is an easier schedule the way to go?- I know Iowa doesnt have any control over their Big Ten schedule but has the easy schedule helped Iowa avoid injury? Maybe even boast the confidence a few of these newer guys?

Iowa could overachieve at almost every weight and still not knock off Penn State, but I like the direction the team is trending?

 

[Omahahawk86]

I think your right on a lot of things but the schedule has helped...no Michigan, Penn state, or tosu.

We would need a lot to fall into place to win nationals. It's not out of the question but a long shot.

 

[johnstownsteel]

As a PSU fan, I'm much more concerned about this Iowa team than I was at the beginning of the season. I have to agree with much of what the original post has to say...

 

[nitlion6]

As a PSU fan, I'm much more concerned about this Iowa team than I was at the beginning of the season. I have to agree with much of what the original post has to say...

I always figure Iowa is Penn State's biggest threat, at least until mathematically they aren't.
This Iowa team IMO is wrestling more agressively than past units and with Gillman, Clark, Sorenson, Meyer, Brooks, Burak and the reactionary heavyweight the Hawks should put up a solid team total.

 

[johnbeerpong]

As a PSU fan, I'm much more concerned about this Iowa team than I was at the beginning of the season. I have to agree with much of what the original post has to say...

Its nice to hear opinions from the other side agreeing with what I believe I'm seeing on the mat. I think we all can agree that PSU is in position to score a lot more points at nationals than it looked like at the beginning of the year also. I think most hawk fans have to like where our team is sitting right now. Once again they still might not win it, but they are in a great position to put their best possible tournament together.

To say I was losing faith in the Brands Brothers would be a total lie, but at the same time i was hoping theyd change something up to be peaking more towards the end of the year.

 

[milehighhawkeye24]

Its nice to hear opinions from the other side agreeing with what I believe I'm seeing on the mat. I think we all can agree that PSU is in position to score a lot more points at nationals than it looked like at the beginning of the year also. I think most hawk fans have to like where our team is sitting right now. Once again they still might not win it, but they are in a great position to put their best possible tournament together.

To say I was losing faith in the Brands Brothers would be a total lie, but at the same time i was hoping theyd change something up to be peaking more towards the end of the year.

The problem with being an Iowa wrestling fan is we are not happy with were we are unless we are looking down on all the other teams (that is also what is awesome about being a Hawkeye fan too!)
I think what we are seeing is an offensive increase due to some new training/conditioning methods by that new staff. It has been less than a year and I think we are already seeing dividends.

 

[shobart]

The problem with being an Iowa wrestling fan is we are not happy with were we are unless we are looking down on all the other teams (that is also what is awesome about being a Hawkeye fan too!)
I think what we are seeing is an offensive increase due to some new training/conditioning methods by that new staff. It has been less than a year and I think we are already seeing dividends.

I am interested in what the coaches have done differently as I think overall the offensive attacks seem to be much higher than the past couple years. Yes a few matches here and there but outside of maybe Meyer we look a bit different this year. A lot more fun to watch our guys being more consistent in attacking on offense.

I know Gilman has some tough guys ahead of him, but he seems like he's on a whole different level this year as he's been tearing into opponents. Excited to see what happens in the Big 10 Championships.

 

[CradleKing26]

Yes, but we haven't had much competition since our dual with Okie State at the beginning of the year. The way the schedule worked out may have a lot to do with it. Even Midlands, which was supposed to be tougher again this year, was a relatively weak field again this year.

 

[Rustys Dad]

I think Iowa is heading into tourney time in great shape ... I expect the national title to come down to Iowa and PSU ... I haven't watched a lot of PSU this year ... just read about them ... I really like Stoll and how he is progressing throughout this season ... I won't toss out stats or facts (I will leave that for you wrestling experts) ... I will just say I like the vibe of this wrestling team ... Sort of like the football team ... and basketball team ... It can come down to leadership and having the right guys in the lockerroom ... I think Iowa wrestling has that ...

 

[artradley]

Its nice to hear opinions from the other side agreeing with what I believe I'm seeing on the mat. I think we all can agree that PSU is in position to score a lot more points at nationals than it looked like at the beginning of the year also. I think most hawk fans have to like where our team is sitting right now. Once again they still might not win it, but they are in a great position to put their best possible tournament together.

To say I was losing faith in the Brands Brothers would be a total lie, but at the same time i was hoping theyd change something up to be peaking more towards the end of the year.

It wouldn't be for me. I lack the optimism of other fans on this season or the future. If PSU and Iowa wrestle to seed, PSU wins. But recent history has shown our guys are not likely to wrestle to seed, in which case we won't sniff 100 points and will be battling for 2nd/3rd.

We started the season on the outside looking in. Since then:

• Gilman, Clark, Sorenson, Burak have held serve.
• 141, 157, 165 have had no pleasant surprises other than the possibility that Brody guts it out to a low spot on the podium
• Meyer & Brooks have possibly slid a little bit
• Stoll has gone from a R12 guy to a low AA

That still leaves us on the outside, perhaps a little further out that when we started the season.

We now have enough history to see that Cael not only enjoys a natural recruiting advantage, but his guys are perhaps developing better than ours. Tarp says this is fixable, but I wish he'd share than with T&T because I don't see how.

 

[rossel 33]

trending....
125 up
133 up
141 flat... guess i'm not convinced grothus will go far...hope i'm wrong
149 up, sorensen having great season, but retherford evev more so
157 up, cooper continues to improve, but still longshot AA
165 flat, rhoads had a win against nr opponent, Paddock doesn't
seem capable of helping this season, anyway
174 flat, Meyers doing okay, but lower than at season start
184 slightly up, Brooks seems to have gotten his mojo back last match
197 flat, very good season, but hard to say trending up after minny loss
hwt way up, Stoll, more than any other guy, has had the greatest improvement

 

[johnbeerpong]

It wouldn't be for me. I lack the optimism of other fans on this season or the future. If PSU and Iowa wrestle to seed, PSU wins. But recent history has shown our guys are not likely to wrestle to seed, in which case we won't sniff 100 points and will be battling for 2nd/3rd.

We started the season on the outside looking in. Since then:

• Gilman, Clark, Sorenson, Burak have held serve.
• 141, 157, 165 have had no pleasant surprises other than the possibility that Brody guts it out to a low spot on the podium
• Meyer & Brooks have possibly slid a little bit
• Stoll has gone from a R12 guy to a low AA

That still leaves us on the outside, perhaps a little further out that when we started the season.

We now have enough history to see that Cael not only enjoys a natural recruiting advantage, but his guys are perhaps developing better than ours. Tarp says this is fixable, but I wish he'd share than with T&T because I don't see how.

I dont necessarily disagree with what you said, but my post was more intended to focus just on Iowa and not what other teams are doing. It really doesnt matter what PSU does because the Hawks can really only control themselves. If you asked me to put a number to how many points Iowa would score at NCAA's at the beginning of the year and then now I would have to say the most current number is considerably higher. To your point tho I think PSU's number is a lot higher now than at the beginning of the season also.

 

[artradley]

I dont necessarily disagree with what you said, but my post was more intended to focus just on Iowa and not what other teams are doing. It really doesnt matter what PSU does because the Hawks can really only control themselves. If you asked me to put a number to how many points Iowa would score at NCAA's at the beginning of the year and then now I would have to say the most current number is considerably higher. To your point tho I think PSU's number is a lot higher now than at the beginning of the season also.

I guess I just don't see where we're getting more points now that we would have expected last fall. 125,133,149,197 -- I expected them all to be top-3, so there's not much room for upward movement. 157 & 165 I expected few, if any, points and still do. Maybe 157 we can get a couple of points? But he just got done going into OT with an unranked guy. Meyer and Stoll, imo, are slightly down from what I had expected. Stoll is definitely up, and there is still a chance for 141 to be up; but on balance I don't see much difference now that at the start of the season.

What weights do you now anticipate more points than you did at the start of the season?

 

[NittanyChris]

As a Penn State fan, Iowa definitely scares me the most out of tOSU, OSU and Iowa. And it's not really that close.

 

[wasdt21]

I think it was 1997 we went to ncaas 3rd best

 

[johnbeerpong]

I guess I just don't see where we're getting more points now that we would have expected last fall. 125,133,149,197 -- I expected them all to be top-3, so there's not much room for upward movement. 157 & 165 I expected few, if any, points and still do. Maybe 157 we can get a couple of points? But he just got done going into OT with an unranked guy. Meyer and Stoll, imo, are slightly down from what I had expected. Stoll is definitely up, and there is still a chance for 141 to be up; but on balance I don't see much difference now that at the start of the season.

What weights do you now anticipate more points than you did at the start of the season?

Gilman- Up a spot or two. I figured with Nico coming back he would be below him, but as of right now i think Gilman is above him.

Clark- About the same

Grothus- Here is where i personally think Iowa is WAY up. When i first heard Grothus was going down I wasnt too thrilled. Being on the wrong side of a lot of heavy weight cuts myself, I wanted to see something out of Grothus before I was going to put any stock into him even qualifying for NCAA's. I know he has A LOT to prove still to make a difference, but I think he will make the most improvements from now until Big Tens out of anyone on the team with him getting some more consistent mat time. Maybe im just being too optimistic here tho.

Sorensen- I had him 3rd behind Rutherford and Tshirt. I think he is up now to 2nd.

Coop- Here is another one where i wasnt expecting anything. He has looked like a R16 guy more than 0-2/1-2 guys. Not a lock here by any means to win 2 or 3 matches but i still think its more likely he does.

Rhoads- Once again I was expecting nothing here at NCAA's coming in to the year. Still might get it but he now is looking capable of winning a match or two.

Meyer- Probably the only weight where a guy looks a win or 2 less now than at the beginning of the year. One positive tho is it seems in past years Iowa has gone into NCAA's with 3-5 guys like Meyer who are trending down. This year we only have 1 maybe 2.

Brooks- Probably just about right. Hes had a head scratcher here or there but more often than not he looks like an all american. Plus he can rack up some bonus points.

Burak- Two straight years he has looked capable of making some noise and two straight years he found himself scoring minimal points while wrestling in the 7th/8th match. Once again this was a situation where i wasnt expecting much more until he showed it on the mat. His offense has picked up a lot and I now expect him in the finals or the 3rd/4th place match.

Stoll- Unproven in college yet coming in. Knew he was a decent hand fighter with that greco background, but I thought it would be tough for him to bonus some of the lesser guys. He has now shown he can make the stand and bonus some of his early opponents along the way.

So I'd say 9/10 guys are trending up or even. Heck, from what i have seen in years past id take 9/10 guys just going in to NCAA's even with preseason expectations, but this year we have 5 or so guys who are above that. Where PSU starts to walk away in this one would be the lack of bonus out of Iowa. If Iowa hangs with them it will be because they are picking up bonus.

 

[TailgateTom]

I may be stating the obvious, but it seems like when Brooks is the more physical wrestler with his hand fighting, ties, and intensity the points are easier to come by. Plus, it doesn't typically lead to his opponent getting to his offense either. If he can keep the pace he'll be okay.

 

[moosemonster]

I think most of us are clinging to a pipe dream with Grothus. It appears he has had to cut substantial muscle mass to make 141. He's not going to rebound in the next month and dominate this class because he must continue to cut every hour. It was misguided. Sorry.

 

[edquinn06]

I think most of us are clinging to a pipe dream with Grothus. It appears he has had to cut substantial muscle mass to make 141. He's not going to rebound in the next month and dominate this class because he must continue to cut every hour. It was misguided. Sorry.

I think you are wrong here. Brody is still getting used to be on the mat and getting feels for different positions in live competition. Yes he has great training partners and has been going live in practice but its just different. Every weight in for him is good and I feel he will get stronger as he gets more used to it. We will see a better Brody come BIG's and NCAA's. I feel low AA is more realistic then champion like others where predicting.

 

[JohnBasedow]

I'm still riding the Brody train. He is improving every time out and has only had 4 matches at 141. Relaxxxx

 

[wasdt21]

none of us know how it will play out with brody, but if he didn't give it a shot his iowa career would have been over, really had nothing to lose.

 

[tiltman]

I think Rutt has a lot to do with our guys doing well right now. I think they look bigger, stronger, and in great shape! This might be why some of our guys are being more offensive because they're more confident that if their shot gets stuffed they can still recover from it. Being in better physical shape might also have something to do with the lack of injuries. This is just my opinion; I think Rutt has done an excellent job.

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

I think most of us are clinging to a pipe dream with Grothus. It appears he has had to cut substantial muscle mass to make 141. He's not going to rebound in the next month and dominate this class because he must continue to cut every hour. It was misguided. Sorry.

I haven't seen anyone claim Brody would dominate 141, but logic would dictate he'd have a shot at the podium, and I see nothing to indicate he doesn't have that chance.

Of course, we'd all like to see him win it all. Brody is one of those guys who can get on a roll. If he got hot at Nationals, I'd still give him a puncher's chance to win the title. That's admittedly unlikely, however. Still, he beat #17 Sabatello something like 6-0 and lost by a whisker to #7 Thorn. I doubt anyone would argue that Thorn isn't AA material. I agree with others that he's still knocking off rust.

It's way too early to be giving up hope for Brody. I still think he has a good shot to AA.

 

[artradley]

none of us know how it will play out with brody, but if he didn't give it a shot his iowa career would have been over, really had nothing to lose.

This.

Whether you're optimistic or pessimistic, he's doing the only thing he could do to contribute to the team. So I congratulate him on the effort alone.

 

[moosemonster]

none of us know how it will play out with brody, but if he didn't give it a shot his iowa career would have been over, really had nothing to lose.

I'm in agreement with you there.

 

[wasdt21]

I was not trying to knock you in any way moose, just adding my perspective

 

[Ihawkd9times]

the reactionary heavyweight .

Nice backanded comment. Let me guess you have only watched the Minn meet this year? I tell you what, why dont you get your HWT healthy and tell him to go upper body with Stoll and see who is the one who backs out and who creates the action.

You obviously have no clue on what Stolls wrestling style is. The game plan is to try to get the other guy into an upperbody stituation since no other HWT other than Coon would want anything to do with Sam up there. If they dont do that then drive him out of bounds when he backs up and restart and pick your spots to do what he does best. The game plans isnt dive at legs and extend himself to make Nitlion happy. You dont get that many stall calls on your opponent for backing out of bounds or have that many pins by being a counter wrestler. I think many PSU folks translate trying to grab legs as being active. You can be active in so many other ways. Stoll may not be polished on leg attacks but he is far from a passive wrestler. And when he does master some leg attacks. Good Night!

 

[dhm47]

I think it was 1997 we went to ncaas 3rd best

Moved back from Scottsdale just in time to catch the finals at UNI. Great team. Only way it could have been better if Mena would have listened to Gable and go nuetral against Guerrero.

 

[wasdt21]

not trying to live in the past or compare this years team to that team, I just hate the oh no their to good we can never beat them attitude.

 

[Gusaford]

By my lights, Brody's success will rise or fall on his ability to ride and turn guys. Looks like he's been having a little trouble getting to his patented leg ride. But I don't see that as a strength issue so much as a "get the rust off" issue.

 

[dicemen99]

From a PSU fan's perspective, change from the beginning of the season until now in terms of nationals:

125 UP - at the beginning of the season, I thought Gilman was behind Nico and Nato (in relation to finishing at nationals, not necessarily H-T-H). Now, I think he is one of 3 that might win it and as good or better bet. Nato, him & possibly Nico (still not sure where Nico is as he has not really wrestled anyone since the early season match against Dance - where he looked better than Dance but ended up losing)

133 Down, but not a ton - Clark with potential, but still plagued by same issues. 133 seems stronger this year. At the beginning of year definitely would have picked him as a finalist - much more so than Gilman - and now it is just the opposite.

141 Sideways - jury still out on Grothus to me. I've always thought he was capable of wrestling tough, but just loses too many matches to be a high AA. I don't subscribe to the cut weight and get better theory. Will have to wait until B1Gs until you get a verdict with him.

149 Up, but tempered - think Sorenson is the best wrestler on the team and will be a finalist. Tempered only in that I had him top 3 to start and Zain has been so dominate I have a hard time seeing him winning it all. Could happen, but out of 10 matches, I think Zain wins most of them

157 Up - did not think anything of all of Cooper before the season, wasn't sure he would be the starter. Still don't think he scores a lot of points, but he looks like around a #15 guy or so. Could go 0-2, but could get 2 wins - probably depends on the matchups.

165 Sideways - thought maybe there would be some potential with Paddock here, but that was a complete guess. Rhoads looks like a tough kid, but not one that will score points

174 Down, slightly - at this point, I think AA is a crapshoot with him. Thought he would be a solid AA, maybe not as high as an Iowa fan would, but definitely in the 5-8 range. He could still do that or he could not AA.

184 Down - I thought he would be top 4 definitely. Again, he could do this, but he still looks like the same guy as before and could possibly not even AA in a deep weight class with the wrong draw

197 Up - Never was sold on Burak being a top 4 guy - thought it would depend on his draw. Now I think he is solidly - despite the loss to Pfarr. Hartmann is always a wild card here, so you never know how to stack him up, but I like Burak better than anyone not named McIntosh or Cox.

285 UP - Definitely see him as a solid AA threat, which is way more than I expected from him at the beginning of year. Not sure he is a National Champ type talent guy, but could definitely see him as a 3 to 4x AA - which I didn't expect.

Definitely UPs on the development of Gilman and Stoll. Burak and Sorenson also. Some of the other guys like Clark & Brooks seem stuck in mud - but maybe that's just what they are, which is still very good - look I still think Clark is a top 4 guy, just maybe not the NC I thought he might be. Jury out on Grothus, but my expectation is that we will see the same from him at this point - tease, but not a high AA. Some good development from guys like Cooper, Rhoads, but not enough talent to work with. Not sure what to think of Meyer, but maybe just too high expectations from a couple matches and a wide open weight class.

 

[HIWILLE]

dicemen99, I'm confident enough to bet you 100 bucks that Brook finishes top 8. You up for that ?

 

[dicemen99]

dicemen99, I'm confident enough to bet you 100 bucks that Brook finishes top 8. You up for that ?

So, I just stated that at the beginning of the season I thought he would be top 4 DEFINITELY, but he looks like the same guy to me and COULD POSSIBLY not AA with the WRONG DRAW...

and you took from this that I'm saying Sam Brooks wont AA. Or more likely from your tone, that I think he is not a top 8 talent.

Some of you guys are, well...

BTW, do you think that Brooks looks better than last year? Along the lines of a Gilman, Sorenson or even Stoll? Serious question.

 

[johnbeerpong]

I think that is a very fair assessment.

 

[dicemen99]

I also stated on the BWI board that there was a scenario (when McCutcheon first got injured) that McCutcheon could be in danger of not qualifying for nationals. Would you like to bet me $100 that he will not qualify for nationals????

 

[HIWILLE]

Nope...took nothing wrong, just wanted to know if you would like some action, that's all.

 

[dicemen99]

Nope...took nothing wrong, just wanted to know if you would like some action, that's all.

Sure, if you will return the favor and take some action on the Zain-Sorenson match. By my opinion, I am giving you at least equal return. By your opinion, as a Hawk fan, the return should be even better.

Winnings paid to GG as usual.

 

[HIWILLE]

No, not interested in your bet, see how easy that was ? Now back to the original question, providing he makes it in the NCAA tourney ( injury/sickness ) yes or no.

 

[TarpHawk]

none of us know how it will play out with brody, but if he didn't give it a shot his iowa career would have been over, really had nothing to lose.

I happen to think it's the rust, not the cut, that is BG's biggest challenge. After a crappy debut at the tourney he beat a 2x NQ and wrestled tough against a top-8-ranked guy.

We will see.

 

[Azchief32]

Sure, if you will return the favor and take some action on the Zain-Sorenson match. By my opinion, I am giving you at least equal return. By your opinion, as a Hawk fan, the return should be even better.

Winnings paid to GG as usual.

I'll take you up on Sorensen/Zain...GG, will be around to help make sure you find your wallet
NCAA finals that is...if Zain doesn't make it, you owe 50 to GG. If Sorensen doesn't make it, I owe 50. Neither, then we owe bupkus. Deal?