The Tom Brands-led Iowa Hawkeyes won six of 10 matches on Saturday to defeat Iowa State, 20-15, in front of an NCAA record-setting crowd of 15,955 (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)On Saturday night in front of a record-setting crowd (15,955) at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Morningstar, ranked No. 9 at 165 pounds, brought the Hakwkeye faithful to its feet by scoring an upset that may not have been as big as the one he pulled two seasons ago, but proved to be much more significant in the dual outcome.
With the Hawkeyes leading the dual 11-8 at the intermission, Morningstar came out and won a tight, tactical match, 2-0, against returning All-American Jon Reader of Iowa State to give the Hawkeyes a 14-8 lead with just four matches remaining. The Hawkeyes went on to win the next two matches following Morningstar's key victory to win the dual 20-15.
"I felt like maybe it was bigger win when I beat (Trent) Paulson just because I was a freshman and I was obviously a lot bigger underdog," said Morningstar, who improved his record to 9-0 this season. "But I feel like I've grown now and I should be winning matches like this. I belong here. I should be winning matches like these matches every time I step on the mat. Yeah, it's a great win. It's a big win. It shows where I'm at. But I have a lot to build off of … and a lot to accomplish this year."
Iowa won six of the 10 matches, but only Brent Metcalf (149) picked up bonus points for the Hawkeyes. Metcalf proved why he's best pound-for-pound wrestler in college wrestling. The Hawkeye junior, who won the Rev Wrestler of the Year and Dan Hodge Trophy last season, put on a takedown clinic from start to finish and completely dominated a shell-shocked Mitch Mueller, 26-10, earning the technical fall at 6:14.
Metcalf, who improved his record to 9-0 this season, was pleased with the team's performance in the dual, but feels like the Hawkeyes still have a ways to go.
"I think it was a pretty good job," said Metcalf. "I think we need to get to the point where we're not winning anymore … and where we're really separating ourselves from the rest of the country and from maybe a rivalry like this."
Iowa State's Nick Fanthorpe was too much for Iowa's Joe Slaton (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)"Coaching error big time," said Brands of his decision to go with Slaton over Dennis. "I went with the guy who had done it before. Actually, Dan Dennis warned me about that earlier in the week. He caught me in the shower and we talked pretty one-on-one about it. If Daniel Dennis would have made that call, he would have been the guy."
Also picking up wins for the Hawkeyes were Charlie Falck (125), Alex Tsirtsis (141), Jay Borschell (174), and Phil Keddy (184).
Falck, who is ranked No. 3, got things rolling for the Hawkeyes. He used a first period takedown and second period reversal to defeat No. 7-ranked Tyler Clark of Iowa State, 4-2.
After Fanthorpe's victory over Slaton at 133, Tsirtsis got the momentum back for the Hawkeyes as he scored a victory over Iowa State's No. 1-ranked Nick Gallick. With the score tied at two late in the third period, Tsirtsis picked up a reversal as time expired to win the match by a score of 4-2 and excite the Hawkeye fans. The Cyclone coaches argued the controversial call to no avail.
Iowa State's Cyler Sanderson dominated Iowa first-year starter Matt Ballweg, 22-9, at 157 pounds. The Cyclone All-American attacked early and often and nearly picked up the technical fall, but couldn't add the additional takedown he needed and had to settle for the major decision.
Cael Sanderson and Iowa State will see Iowa again at the Midlands later this month (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)The Cyclones closed out the dual with victories by Jake Varner (197) and David Zabriskie (285), but it was too little too late as the Hawkeyes held on for the 20-15 victory.
"This was great preparation for us," said Iowa State coach Cael Sanderson. "Obviously, things didn't go quite the way we wanted. But we learned a lot about our team tonight. We have to give Iowa credit. They did a nice job. They won the close matches there. Some of those key matchups. But we're just going to keep plugging away and keep moving forward."
Related:
Rev Audio: Tom Brands
Rev Audio: Brent Metcalf
Rev Audio: Ryan Morningstar
Rev Audio: Mike Zadick
Rev Audio: Cael Sanderson
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