All wrestlers are extremely competitive when it comes to their sport. However, Iowa’s Bobby Telford, Mike Evans, and Tony Ramos have found a way to increase and reward that competitiveness on the mat.

Head coach Tom Brands said Tuesday that the grapplers have a competition in regard to who can finish with the highest pin total at season’s end. Outside of the pride that comes along with besting one of your opponents and teammates and scoring extra points for the team’s final score, Evans and Ramos jokingly put a friendly wager on the table.

If Ramos, who recorded 14 falls in 2012-13, breaks the pin record, he said he would get the opportunity to shave Evans’ head. But after a brief negotiation, the offer was taken off the table.

But when Evans mentioned the other side of the bargain, he jokingly explained what Ramos would have to do in the event of a loss.

“The offer was if he breaks the pin record, he gets to shave my head,” Evans said before pausing and carefully choosing his next words. “And if he doesn’t, he uh — he can’t consummate his marriage for the first three months.”

Wager or no wager, Telford played down the competition in the room before he threw a sarcastic jab at Ramos.

“Going back to the pin thing, it’s fun. Anything I can beat Ramos in — I don’t care if it’s tic-tac-toe or anything — because it’ll shut him up for about 20 seconds,” Telford said.

Brands appreciates depth

The Hawkeyes dominated at the Luther Open, sweeping all 10 weight classes in the elite bracket of the tournament. However, one weight class featured four Iowa wrestlers in the semifinals.

Ethen Lofthouse defeated Sammy Brooks in the 184-pound championship bout, while Jeremy Fahler beat Alex Meyer in the third-place matchup. Brands likes to see this competition between his four student-athletes at the weight class. In addition to 184, the emergence he saw at the Luther Open on Nov. 16 from Michael Kelly.

“We’re deep, and we like being deep, and we want to be deeper. That’s what I meant with 149 … I think we have a guy that emerged,” Brands said about Kelly. “That clarifies a little bit, but that’s not done. Go out, and continue to show us that you want to be the guy and are the guy with the way you wrestle.”

Hawkeyes to send wrestlers to Joe Parisi Open

Brands announced Tuesday that Iowa will have some of its grapplers head to St. Charles, Mo., to wrestle in the Joe Parisi Open on Saturday at Lindenwood University.

Because the Iowa City Duals on Friday only have a small number of spots to fill, the eight-year head coach and his staff decided to give other Hawkeyes an opportunity to compete.

“We’ll have 10 or 13 or 15 here to cover all the weights, and we have some guys that are dinged up,” Brands said. “So those guys we’ll keep home and put them in uniform on the bench to cover weights, and then we’ll send our other guys to Lindenwood.”