ANN ARBOR — Iowa men’s wrestler Real Woods won the Big Ten individual 141-pound title on Sunday. The Hawkeyes placed second as a team in the Big Ten Championships, totaling 134.5 team points to Penn State’s  147.

In the championship bout, the top-seeded Woods was slated against Nebraska’s No. 3 seed Brock Hardy. Woods, a Stanford transfer, faced Hardy in the Hawkeye-Cornhusker dual meet at Iowa City this season and won, 6-4. 

Sunday’s rematch was just as tight a finish, with Woods emerging with a 2-1 victory. 

“A lot of pride in what I did,” Woods said during media availability following his podium ceremony. “Planned to come out on top coming into this tournament and I did. But also a lot to learn from.” 

Scoring a quick two-point takedown in the opening seconds of the first period, Woods never scored again. Late in the match, he found himself in tight positions against Hardy. The Cornhusker received a stalling point, but couldn’t tie down Woods for a takedown. 

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At one point in the third period, Hardy had snatched Woods’ leg, but the Hawkeye relied on hand fighting to fend off the attack.

“My mindset is, ‘I need to find a way out, any way I can,’” Woods said. “Really try to focus and analyze what I need to do, what position I’m in, to figure my way out.” 

Woods’ bout featured multiple stoppages as a result of coaches’ challenges, including one from Nebraska that eliminated an extra takedown that would have pushed Woods to four points. 

“I take pride in being composed and staying composed in all scenarios, and I think that’s something I’ve developed as a life lesson,” Woods said. “In those matches where the intensity is high, the emotions are high, and everything is a little chaotic, you know, I take pride in staying composed and being focused on what I can control.” 

Conference championships are a familiar scene for Woods. Over the course of three years at Stanford, he cruised to two Pac-12 titles in his sophomore and junior season. In the four matches he wrestled during those conference championships, Woods recorded three major decisions and a pin in 1:57. 

Woods has continued such dominance at Iowa, only conceding 15 points during his debut regular season in the Big Ten, going 13-0. 

“Absolutely, [wrestling in the Big Ten] has been just as I expected, if not more fun,” Woods said. “Just having that competition week after week, I think that’s important in my wrestling personally, because it makes me step up to that level, step up to that standard.” 

In his first Big Ten Tournament match, Woods pinned his opponent, Purdue No. 8 seed Parker Filius in 2:08 seconds. In the next round, the New Mexico native escaped Michigan State No. 4 seed Frankie Tal Shahar with a 3-0 victory. With his win on Sunday, Woods has set a new career high with 16 straight victories. 

“Woods persevered,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said. “He’s had two matches with [Hardy] and [the referees] took a lot of points off the board … he’s a cool cucumber, he’s a cool cat. His teammates love him, we love him, the fans love him.” 

After his match, Woods made sure to sign autographs for young fans, even asking around for a marker when one of the kids didn’t have one. Having qualified for the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 16-18, Woods hopes to deliver the ‘Real Deal’  to the Black and Gold faithful. 

“I’m excited for the next two weeks,” Woods said. “To develop what I need to develop and make those small improvements I need to make just in time to put on a show.”