By Pete Ruden
For Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands, accountability is as important as anything for his team. With Iowa ranked as high as No. 2 in the country in some polls, Brands is looking for the wrestlers to take ownership in what they do.
“That’s a word I use a lot, ownership; and if you’re going to define it and have a clear understanding of what ownership is, it’s not about wearing the insignia as a member of the Iowa wrestling team or as a guy who broke the lineup,” Brands said. “It’s about ownership of the weight class where you’re competing for the top spot, every time, every time out.”
After finishing last season with a 16-1 record and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the Hawkeyes have the capability to take the next step.
Iowa lost three NCAA qualifiers but return six, including five All-Americans – Thomas Gilman, Cory Clark, Brandon Sorenson, Alex Meyer, and Sammy Brooks. The other qualifier was sophomore Sam Stoll.
197 Battle
The one All-American the Hawkeyes lost is Nathan Burak, who occupied the 197 weight class for three years. Brands said Burak represented the program in every positive way through the way he lived his life.
Now with Burak gone, the team has to find a way to replace him. With Sam Stoll out with an injury, redshirt freshman Steven Holloway has taken over heavyweight duties, leaving the battle of 197 to redshirt freshman Cash Wilke and sophomore Mitch Bowman.
Both had to move up to the weight class —Wilke wrestled at 184, while Bowman was at 174.
“It’s been a little bit of a change, but you kind of realize when you got some bigger guys, you got to not really change what you do, but kind of understand that it’s not the same as the weight class you’ve been wrestling,” Wilkes said. “I kind of use my speed and agility and finesse a little more than I did in my other weight class.”
When Stoll returns, it will likely be Wilke and Holloway battling it out for the vacant spot.
Injury update
Stoll was having a good season last year until he started having issues with his knee. He was ranked No. 7 in the country at 285 and earned a berth to the NCAA Championships. Stoll was done for good after his injury from the National Duals Championships Series came back in the opening round of the NCAAs to effectively end his season.
Brands said Stoll’s timeline to return is day-to-day. He said Stoll is practicing and making progress, but he isn’t ready to go right now.
With Holloway moved up to Stoll’s weight class for the moment, Stoll wants to compete, but he also wants to make sure that he is at 100 percent before coming back.
“There’s a hurry as far as I want to get out there and compete, but I also got to do what’s right for me,” he said. “I got to do what’s right for my health. I don’t want to come back too soon and not be ready to go. I want to come back, I want to be ready to go better than I was last year at this time of the year.”
Older guys lead the way
Last season, seniors Thomas Gilman and Cory Clark and junior Brandon Sorensen were all runners-up at the NCAA Championships.
Seniors Meyer and Brooks also added to that by finishing eighth.
All of those upperclassmen have done their jobs, which is a good way to lead many of the younger athletes who flood the team.
“We’re planning to lead just by going out there and doing our jobs first,” Meyer said. “That makes it easier for these guys that haven’t been around as long to see what they’re expected to do. That’s, I think, the best way to show them, and support them, and improve our team as a whole.”
