OMAHA — Matt McDonough stood at the center of the mat and raised his arms, the Qwest Center pulsating with screams and applause as the crowd recognized the national champion.
The redshirt freshman won the 125-pound title over Iowa State’s Andrew Long, 3-1, to become the first freshman to win a title for Iowa since Lincoln McIlravy in 1993.
“You go out there dreaming of it when you’re little, and as you grow, it becomes more of a reality and a goal,” McDonough said. “Now that I’ve achieved it, it’s sort of unbelievable for the time being.”
He won his bout on the strength of one takedown — significantly less offense than he racked up in his previous four victories in the tournament, in which he scored 14, nine, 10, and 15 points.
“When you’re out on that big stage, you don’t want to go do something you’re going to regret later and say, ‘Wow, if I would have just wrestled smarter and still hard but not making mistakes, I would have won,’ ” McDonough said.
After a scoreless opening period, Long put the first point on the scoreboard with an escape.
McDonough’s takedown came later in the second period, and he rode out the Cyclone until the whistle blew for the third period.
McDonough started on bottom for the final two minutes, scored an escape, then held off Long for his first national championship. It was his fourth victory over the true freshman this season.
“I couldn’t think about the clock too much, but I tried to be aware and know how much time I had left,” the native of Marion said. “It’s a jolt of excitement kind of feel, but you just have to keep your cool and keep wrestling until that last whistle blows.”
Two-time 149-pound champion Brent Metcalf said he’s comfortable leaving the program in the Linn-Mar graduate’s hands, but he noted championship success takes more than one person.
“The way that kid competes and trains, and what goes through his head, his social life, how he treats his girlfriend, everything, is on the dot where it should be,” Metcalf said. “I give him a lot of credit.
He’s a young freshman, and he’s grabbing me by the ear and saying, ‘Metcalf, let’s go do extra curls today. Metcalf, let’s go do stance motion with dumbbells in our hands.’
“He’s wired the right way, and he kept me the way I needed to be. And not that I wouldn’t have done that myself, but his being in that room motivated me.”
Coach Tom Brands has called Metcalf the alpha dog of the Iowa team, but with the three-time All-American leaving, it seems McDonough has inherited that role.
“Is he ready? He’s already done it,” the fourth-year head coach said. “I don’t know if he’s taken over the role, but he’s already done it. Matt McDonough does not care one iota what anyone thinks of him. He’s all about doing the right thing every time.
“That doesn’t mean it’s automatic, but that means that he’s a very confident customer.”
But Metcalf noted it’s not OK for McDonough to stay at his current level. He may have won an NCAA championship, the senior said, but he has to do so again at another level.
McDonough, though, wasn’t unaware he now has every 125-pounder in the country training to knock him off the top of the medal stand.
“Well, for starters, it’s not done,” McDonough said about completing his dream. “I have three more years of it. You can’t end on one championship or one match, but it’s what I’ve worked for all season. It’s a relieving thing to do.
“But I’m already looking ahead and ready to keep training and bettering myself.”