Thomas Gilman and Cory Clark got things started, and Nathan Burak and Sammy Brooks got them finished.
By Jordan Hansen
With all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Iowa wrestling team’s season-opener in Kinnick against Oklahoma State, starting off the meet strong was the key.
As it turned out, finishing strong was just as important.
The Cowboys decided not to draw, which allowed two of Iowa’s best wrestlers — Thomas Gilman and Cory Clark — to come out immediately and set the tone of the meet. They responded well, and Gilman posted a 9-1 major decision victory over seventh-ranked Eddie Klimara.
“It’s a full-time job for me to get my teammates fired up and to blaze that trail for them,” Gilman said. “I could have gone out there and got a decision and won by 1 or 2 points, but I want to do it for myself, my teammates, and my fans.”
Gilman pulled away in the second period, turning what was a close match into the eventual major decision. Getting bonus points out of that match was huge, and Clark nearly did the same minutes later, beating Gary Wayne Harding, 8-2.
The importance of winning the first two matches and leading 7-0 going into the 141 match cannot be understated. Iowa had trouble through the middle weights — Sorensen at 149 was the only winner between 141 and 174 — but the 7-point head start Gilman and Clark had given the Hawks proved too much for the Cowboys to overcome.
Oklahoma State did lead 13-10 after the 174 match, but a technical fall by Sammy Brooks and a decision by Nathan Burak pushed the score to 18-13.
“I’d say Gilman and Brooks won the meet for us,” Burak said, despite his having the final points for Iowa. “I’d give them the credit; they got us the bonus points, and that’s what we really needed in that dual.”
More than likely, this dual will be the closest one for the Hawkeyes until the National Duals in February. Iowa misses out on Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan — the three other teams in the Big Ten that could give Iowa real trouble.
However, if the Hawkeyes’ performance against Oklahoma State is any indication, the team will lean on points early and late to win. While this could very easily change as the team’s middle-weight wrestlers gain experience and get better, it seems, at least right now, the Hawkeyes can’t afford a letdown from Gilman, Clark, or any of the other wrestlers with experience.
“I feel like I could have given even more on my part,” Clark said. “There was definitely a few times where I felt I could have picked up my pace and attacked.”
Obviously, the team would have taken the win in any method possible, but with the way Clark, Gilman, and the other returners performed, the Hawks have to feel good about where they are early in the season.
Facing one of the best teams in the nation so early in the season was a good proving ground for the Hawkeyes, and they most certainly passed.
“That ‘W’ is important,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said. “But there is a lot to talk about with the team as far as moving them forward.”
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