Iowa wrestlers will be busy over the next couple of weeks, with the spring semester starting and their season heading into full swing.
The No. 2 Hawkeyes have four dual meets scheduled over a span of 14 days — three at home against Purdue, Minnesota, and Indiana and one at Nebraska.
Including the three previous dual wins against Illinois, Northwestern, and Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes will rack up six duals during the month of January.
They said they are not worrying about what is to come; they are taking it one meet at a time.
“Big Ten duals are important for seedings. We emphasize that, and our guys know that they have postseason ramifications,” head coach Tom Brands said. “But it’s the next event on the calendar, and we get ready to go.”
Iowa has yet to lose this season. The team has posted an 11-0 overall record, 5-0 in the Big Ten.
Seven Iowa wrestlers — Thomas Gilman, Cory Clark, Brandon Sorensen, Alex Meyer, Sammy Brooks, Nathan Burak, and Sam Stoll — are ranked in the top 10 of their weight classes.
That could have something to do with their have combined for a 99-6 record this season. All six losses came to ranked opponents.
Redshirt freshman Sam Stoll has recorded a 14-2 record so far, with losses to seniors Austin Marsden (No. 5) and Nick Gwiazdowski (No. 1).
“I’m feeling good; I’ve had some decent success in the first part of the year,” Stoll said.
However, he knows there is a lot of season left ahead.
Even though the team only look forward, there is a lot of success this season that it can look back upon.
A highlight of Iowa’s season so far came at Northwestern Jan. 10, when the team posted a record-breaking 54-0 win.
Five pins, a technical fall, and two forfeits — one medical — were recorded.
While the Hawkeyes do not see Northwestern as a huge obstacle, putting up that many bonus points proved, in their minds, that they do not overlook opponents.
“We’re still getting ready, and we’re still putting points on the board,” junior Gilman said. “We’re still wrestling hard, and intense, and fast every time we’re out, whether it’s Northwestern or one of the best teams in the country.”
That was the second time Iowa traveled to Evanston, Illinois, this season, the first being for the Midlands Tournament on Dec. 29-30, 2015.
Iowa’s schedule has worked out in its favor so far this year. The farthest the team has had to travel so far was to Champaign, Illinois, when the team ground out a 26-12 win.
The Hawkeyes will only have to get on a plane once, twice, should they make it to nationals in New York City.
“It’s a close to home schedule,” Brands said. “We’ll take it … But wherever we’re going to compete, we have to compete.”