The Hawkeyes will face four dual opponents today, including Maryland.
By Jordan Hansen
Historically, the Iowa City Duals have brought in lower division teams or schools that are just getting their wrestling programs going.
While it’s still mostly true this year — Iowa Central is a junior college, Grand Canyon is a transitory Division-1 program, and Cornell College is a Division-3 school — the Hawkeyes will also wrestle Maryland, which will serve as both team’s Big Ten opener.
Iowa adding a Big Ten school to this dual isn’t a symptom of the expanding conference, or to open up a later date, but an attempt to make the Iowa City Duals a stronger event.
“The fans were complaining that the Iowa City Duals weren’t as tough as they wanted them,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said. “Now, we have a Big Ten opponent.”
Maryland shouldn’t pose much of a challenge — the Hawkeyes rolled the Terps, 33-3, last season — but even so, it adds a bit of intrigue to the meet.
With Iowa having topped flowrestling.com No. 2 Oklahoma State last weekend at Kinnick Stadium, it’s obvious that the competition level at right out of the gate has been much higher this season. Cowboy head coach John Smith said after the meet that he liked preparing early for high-quality opponents.
Iowa 125-pounder Thomas Gilman had a similar belief.
“The preparation is no different; there’s just a sense of awareness and urgency that’s definitely higher,” he said. “The energies just a little bit higher.”
With four duals in a row today, the Hawkeyes will need every bit of extra energy they can get, though it’s likely that not all the starters against Maryland will wrestle the other three duals.
Iowa is still trying to figure out things at 141, 157, and 165, with the duals a good chance to get several wrestlers on tape. Logan Ryan (141), Edwin Cooper Jr. (157), and Patrick Rhoads (165) all lost to ranked Cowboy wrestlers, and the Iowa City Duals would seemingly be a good place to get a bit of their confidence back.
However, notes handed out at Iowa’s media availability on Wednesday suggested that Skylar St. John (157) and Burke Paddock (165) may see some mat time over the weekend.
“I feel like I’ve done a good job in the practice room of holding my spot,” Cooper said. “I feel like I’ve done good work in practice, and now I just need to prove it out there.”
Regardless, it took until after the Midlands Championships last season for the coaches to figure out the 149-pound spot, Iowa’s biggest source of contention last year.
With meets against Iowa State, South Dakota State, and Rutgers coming before the Midlands in December, it could be some time before the coaching staff decides on a concrete lineup.
However, each of those is still a ways off, and the team refuses to look past any specific dual, even if it is against four programs Iowa will likely handily beat.
“Every time we step on the mat, we have to be ready,” Gilman said. “We’re Iowa, so everyone’s going to give us their best shot.”
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