Fresh off a 21-16 upset victory over former No. 2 Oklahoma State in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the current No. 2 ranked Iowa wrestling squad will be aiming to carry this momentum to dominate the competition in the postseason.
However, even momentum has its limits.
Iowa wrestling has a historic and famed past with head coach Tom Brands manning the helm. Brands and his coaching staff have been responsible for over 26 Big Ten champions, 13 NCAA champions, and over 104 All-Americans.
With post-season play rapidly approaching, Brands will have his work cut out for him in order to succeed in the postseason.
While the Hawkeyes boast a loaded roster, there are two bouts of uncertainty this season – the 125 pound and 141 pound divisions.
Recently, Joey Cruz has headlined as the guy for 125, accumulating an overall record of 14-9 in the regular season after facing a grueling schedule of top-ranked opponents.
While 14-9 may cut it in other wrestling programs, in order for the No. 2 ranked Hawkeyes to be successful in the postseason against top-ranked foes such as No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Oklahoma State, every bout needs to produce at the highest level possible.
Brands said it best in a post-meet interview following the Hawkeyes’ comeback 19-16 win against No. 7 ranked Nebraska.
“It’s a 10 cylinder engine that it’s running on. Pick your number,”Brands said. “We have to be running on 10 -ylinders, and that’s all I really want to say.”
Cruz has had momentous moments for the Hawkeyes as the starting lightweight, most notably taking down No. 18 Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin and No. 16 Brendan McCrone of Ohio State.
However, Cruz’s biggest trouble lies in consistency, as the Fresno, California, native got shut-out in Iowa’s dual against Army to No. 22 Charles Farmer, 8-0. Cruz also dropped the first match of the year to No. 27 Max Renteria, 6-4.
This loss by Cruz led to Brands giving Kale Peterson the start at 125 pounds for three consecutive duals in a row. Cruz will need to find a groove in the Big Ten conference tournament to give Iowa the best shot at winning a 39th conference title.
“Well, it’s more of doing it for yourself. You know you want to be better for yourself,” Cruz said. 141 pounds has also been a distinct area of improvement for Iowa with three different wrestlers taking the nod at different matches throughout the season – Jace Rhodes, Cullan Schriever, and Ryder Block.
Out of the 10 bouts for the Hawkeyes, the third bout has seen the most losses this season going 5-10 through 15 duals. Through this time frame, Rhodes has conquered one win while Schriever and Block have two wins each.
It’s unclear who Brands will start at 141, but one thing is apparent – for Iowa to compete at the highest level, the third bout has to find a way to victory.
Earlier in the season, Brands discussed the reasoning behind the different lineup decisions at the 141-pound weight.
“Schriever could have went at 141,” Brands said. “Those two guys [ Schriever and Rhodes], we have confidence in both of those guys. Rhodes was in his first Big Ten dual. Schriever has been on the mat more. And it was my call.”