By Courtney Baumann
Iowa wrestling’s dual-meet schedule continues to gain speed this weekend; the Hawkeyes will compete both at home and on the road tonight and Feb. 5.
No. 3 Iowa will take on Wisconsin today in its third-straight Friday night home dual, then pack up its bags and hit the road for Minnesota two days later.
Though both teams are ranked — Wisconsin is No. 16 and Minnesota is No. 13 — the competition is not as highly touted as the Hawkeyes have seen over the past three weeks. Since Jan. 15, they have faced No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Penn State, and No. 4 Ohio State, coming away with just one team victory.
Just because Wisconsin and Minnesota aren’t the No. 1 or No. 2 doesn’t mean Iowa is letting up in intensity.
“The teams aren’t maybe as highly ranked, but as you know, and I say it every week, it doesn’t matter,” Iowa wrestling head coach Tom
Brands said. “We still have opponents that we gotta get ready for, and our guys are looking forward to it.
“We have some guys who look razor-sharp … and we have some guys who have work to do … Really what it boils down to is everybody’s got work to do.”
Iowa has had only one weekend so far this season in which it has had two dual meets. When the Hawkeyes traveled to Michigan, they face both the Wolverines and Spartans within three days.
After finishing up business tonight, the Hawkeyes will hop on a bus Saturday morning. The dual at Minnesota has an 11 a.m. start on Feb. 5, so they will need to be ready for weigh-in and warm-ups relatively early.
Brands hopes the setup of the upcoming weekend will be preparation for the Big Ten Tournament and the national tournament, both of which cover numerous days and require early morning weigh-ins.
“It’s a quick turnaround … It’s important to our team because the national tournament is a multi-day tournament, Big Tens is a multi-day tournament,” Brands said. “While it’s not consecutive days, it’s still how you’re getting ready and how you’re putting things together as you’re getting into Sunday from a Friday.”
Heavyweight Steven Holloway has not had much of a chance to get his feet wet at the position, but the stiff competition at the weight has forced him to dive in. So far, the redshirt freshman has faced wrestlers who were No. 10, No. 16, and No. 5 at the time. This weekend will be no different. On the slate are No. 2 Connor Medbery and No. 8 Micheal Kroells.
Holloway recently earned his first career Big Ten dual victory, against Ohio State wrestler Josh Fox, and he caught the eyes of many Iowa fans.
When it comes to his foes this weekend, he is to the point in his confidence in his abilities.
“I can do it; the crowd’s behind me,” Holloway said. “I just need to wrestle hard for seven minutes.”
This could potentially be a pivotal weekend for another Iowa wrestler, Topher Carton. He has lost three straight and wants to swing the momentum back in his corner.
He’s also been in the thick of it when it comes to competition: His last three matches have been against No. 1, No. 12, and No. 14 guys.
Carton lost the last two decisions by just 1 point.
Although he has yet to turn things his way, Carton believes this weekend — when he takes on No. 16 Cole Martin and No. 12 Tommy Thorn — could be his time.
“I think it’s something that I need to figure out myself and that it’s something I have figured out myself, on my own,” Carton said.
“The end goal is to get your hand raised, and I didn’t get my hand raised. In my mind that’s a failure … As far as the last three matches, yeah, they’re good wrestlers, but why can’t I beat them? Why can’t I win?”