Max Murin, Iowa men’s wrestling headed to Big Ten Championships
The Hawkeyes will travel to Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on the rest of the conference on Saturday and Sunday.
Iowa’s 149-pound No. 12 Max Murin wrestles Illinois’ Christian Kanzier during a wrestling dual between No. 2 Iowa and No. 21 Illinois at State Farm Center in Champaign, IL on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. Murin defeated Kanzier, 9-3, by decision. The Hawkeyes defeated the Fighting Illini 36-3.
March 3, 2022
Iowa men’s wrestling head coach Tom Brands tried his best to keep his Tuesday press conference as short as possible.
He opened his meeting with reporters in a matter-of-fact, no-nonsense tone.
“We are excited about the Big Ten Championships,” Brands said. “We have our 10 best guys and [I’m] not going to spend a lot of time here today answering a lot of detailed questions. We know what’s next, you know what’s next. Questions will answer themselves.”
What’s next for the Hawkeyes is the 2022 Big Ten Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s first session will begin at 10 a.m. Wrestlebacks and semifinals will start at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, respectively.
Sunday’s action will begin at 11 a.m. with medal matches and conclude at 3:30 p.m. with championship finals.
All 10 of the wrestlers Iowa is bringing to Lincoln were pre-seeded sixth or better in their respective weight classes. Official tournament seeds and brackets will be released Friday afternoon.
“They’re getting themselves ready to go with some vague looks at who they could [face] and just getting ready,” Brands said of his wrestlers. “I think this is a sport where you’re better off when you focus on yourself. And that’s always been our philosophy.”
As their coach suggested, seniors Alex Marinelli and Max Murin are just going to focus on the basics this weekend and control what they can control.
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“Definitely being aware of my opponents, but not dwelling on it,” Murin said. “I’m focused on myself and what I do and what I’m good at.”
Marinelli’s simplistic strategy has worked before. The 165-pounder is a three-time Big Ten Champion.
“The Bull” is one of three Hawkeyes that will be defending individual league titles this weekend. At the 2021 Big Ten Championships, seniors Jaydin Eierman and Michael Kemerer stood atop the 141 and 174-pound podiums, respectively.
Murin entered last year’s conference championships as the No. 2 seed at 149 pounds, earning a double-bye. Then, in his first match, Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett eliminated Murin from championship contention via 11-6 decision.
“I’m extremely grateful to be able to compete at Big Tens again,” Murin said. “I mean, not a lot of people get another chance at stuff that they didn’t have success in. So, I’m definitely grateful and blessed. I got another chance. So, I’m just gonna go out there and, you know, right the wrong.”
The Hawkeyes have rarely admitted the importance of the events they’ve wrestled in this season. But ahead of the Big Ten Championships, Murin and Iowa are changing their tune.
“I mean this is what we’ve been training for all season,” Murin said. “So, I mean, this is exciting. This is what all the hard work’s been for. So, it’s just exciting. Now, is the easy part. We’ve been doing all the hard training all year. So, now it’s just laying out there and just competing and having fun, and, I mean, that’s the fun part.”
