The “Border Brawl” resulted in another Iowa victory Sunday night in Minneapolis, when the No. 1 Hawkeyes pounded No. 5 Minnesota, 28-9, to extend their dual winning streak to 59.
Similar to previous matches against highly ranked Iowa State and Oklahoma State, bonus points provided a vital lift. Iowa managed five major decisions and a technical fall against the Golden Gophers.
“In a dual meet like this, you have to have them, and we’re getting them early,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said in a radio interview. “You look at [Matt] McDonough and [Brent] Metcalf. [Montell] Marion puts a guy on his back and gets back points. And it went all the way up.”
The Hawkeyes dominated in many of their matches, beginning with McDonough, who never trailed in his 13-2 major decision victory over No. 6 Zach Sanders at 125 pounds.
Marion (141) exacted some revenge over Minnesota’s Mike Thorn with a 15-7 major decision.
Thorn had pinned the Hawkeye during the pair’s previous meeting, in the National Duals.
Metcalf manhandled No. 16 Mario Mason thoroughly enough that the Golden Gopher collected three stalling calls during the 149-pound bout. The last gave Metcalf a 23-8 technical fall.
Jay Borschel continued his undefeated season at 174 pounds, giving up only a reversal in his 14-2 major decision. Borschel rectified his mistake quickly, though, scoring a reversal of his own just seconds after being switched around.
At 184 pounds, Phillip Keddy showed plenty of burst in a 9-1 victory over Kaleb Young after sitting out on Feb. 12 against Northwestern.
“The thing with Keddy is when he gives himself opportunities because of his athleticism, speed, and ability to run down those angles well,” Brands said. “And he was smart controlling that match.
Sometimes, he gets a little into crazy mode and out of control, but he wrestled very well tonight. That’s a good building point and a step for him.”
Brands was also pleased with Iowa heavyweight Dan Erekson, who scored a takedown in sudden victory to win, 5-3, after a stall call tied the match, 3-3, and took the match into overtime.
“In the national tournament, are you going to get that stall call that quick? You know what, maybe,” the fourth-year head coach said. “That was good; I like seeing that because it shows we were up against adversity. Do your offense, and good things happen.”
Iowa suffered three loses in the dual with Daniel Dennis, Jake Kerr, and Luke Lofthouse all falling by decision.
Dennis lost to top-ranked 133-pounder Jayson Ness, who put Dennis in an early 4-0 hole with a takedown and two-point near-fall.
Kerr wrestled a close match with No. 2 157-pounder Dustin Schlatter but eventually fell, 4-1.
“Jake Kerr came off the mat talking to himself, and I think he realizes the guy is human,” Brands said. “You hear so much about guys when they’re younger being a national champion, but it doesn’t matter. You go out there, you battle, and good things happen. I’m not sure we battled him like we needed to in order to beat him.”
Brands called the match a “big win” for Iowa — especially considering the environment and rivalry. He didn’t bask in the glory, though.
“We talk about building this and that, but the main thing is we have to keep a good thing going, and that starts Friday night with Ohio State,” Brands said. “They’re going to be hungry and wanting a piece of us, so we have to be ready. We have a lot of guys who like it when guys come after them, and that’s a good thing.”