By Courtney Baumann
What could be better than the 50th matchup between two storied NCAA wrestling rivals?
Well, wrestling in Kinnick Stadium, of course.
Iowa will face Oklahoma State for the 50th time for the first “Grapple on the Gridiron” Saturday. To add on to the excitement, the Hawkeyes will be wrestling in front of nearly 40,000 spectators.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 35,000 tickets had been sold for the event. Should everyone show up, the attendance will be record-breaking. Penn State holds the current record of 15,996.
“Penn State has the record, and I think [the record] is important to our program and our fans,”head coach Tom Brands said. “The fans are the No. 1 motivation for us because they want us to have the record and they take a lot of pride in it. It’s turned out to be bigger than what I expected.”
Breaking records is not the only purpose for Saturday’sdual meet, though.
Other than Iowa, Oklahoma State is one of the most storied wrestling programs in the country. The Cowboys have 34 team national titles and 133 individual national champions since 1928.
Facing the No. 1 ranked Cowboys in the inaugural meet of the season will also give the Hawkeyes a chance to solidify themselves individually on a national level, Brands said.
Iowa will see top-10 ranked competition in the 125, 141, 149, 165, 174, and 285 weight classes, including Alex Dieringer, who is ranked No. 1 pound-for-pound and is the preseason favorite to win the Dan Hodge Trophy.
The senior seeks his third-straight national championship.
While Oklahoma State has him locked in at 165, Iowa has yet to solidify who will wrestle the native of Port Washington, Wisconsin.
Either Patrick Rhoads or Burke Paddock will be in the lineup at that weight, but neither have much experience at the college level.
It is a similar story at 157, where it will be Skyler St. John or Edwin Cooper, Jr.
It was that way at 141 as well, until Brands announced that Logan Ryan would be filling the hole left by two-time NCAA qualifier Josh Dziewa, who graduated.
“Having a second chance is amazing; it’s a dream come true,” Ryan said. Earlier in the year, Ryan was charged with burglary, along with two others who have since left the team. Ryan was the only one to make it back.
“I literally think about it every single day, more than once,” Ryan said. “I more than appreciate things.”
Four spots that aren’t up for grabs are those held by 2015 All-Americans Brandon Sorenson, Thomas Gilman, Cory Clark, and Nathan Burak.
The sophomore, two juniors, and senior, respectively, have combined for six All-American honors over the course of their careers.
Those honors do not mean much now to the team, though. The Hawkeyes are focused on the Grapple.
“It’s getting close, you can feel it looking over at Kinnick,” Gilman said. “It’s exciting, the fans are excited, everyone is wondering how you’re doing, how you’re feeling, wondering about the weather. Everyone is getting fired up.”
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