IOWA WRESTLING

Wrestling Mailbag: The girls’ state tournament is this week and it deserves your attention

Cody Goodwin
Des Moines Register

It’s going to be an exciting weekend of wrestling all over Iowa, and by saying that, it’d be easy to look directly at the top-ranked Hawkeyes hosting Ohio State on Friday while Oklahoma State will wrestle both Iowa State and Northern Iowa on Saturday and Sunday. That’s fair.

But don’t forget about the girls’ state wrestling tournament, hosted again by the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. Waverly-Shell Rock is hosting again, and it’s now a two-day deal, running Friday and Saturday.

That the girls’ state tournament has grown into a two-day event is yet another indication that girls’ wrestling is growing at a rate faster than many of us expected this year. According to Trackwrestling, more than 550 girls are registered and eligible to compete this year, far more than the 188 from a year ago and the 55 from five years ago.

Last season, the girls’ state tournament featured 87 girls that competed in 10 weights. The wrestling was so enthralling, the action so good, that those of us there forgot that a boys’ tournament was going on that same day, in the same gym. The girls were given a stage, and they put on a show.

Now, as many as 370 girls are registered to compete this weekend. While that’s not all of the girls who went out for wrestling this season, that’s still a lot. Consider: a single class at the traditional state tournament each February features just 224 wrestlers — 16 wrestlers at 14 weights.

So we’re going to see some large brackets on Friday and Saturday, which means more opportunities to see some great, great wrestling — including some of the best girls in the country and some of the most decorated in the state’s history

The continual growth of girls’ wrestling in Iowa has even the most casual sports fans talking. The weather should, hopefully, hold off. If you can, make the trip to Waverly. These girls deserve the same amount of attention we give the guys each February.

That’s how this movement will continue to grow. 

Now, then. Onto the wrestling mailbag. Here’s hoping the snow holds off because we’ve got a lot of big wrestling this weekend. I'm excited for it. I hope you guys are, too.

Please give me a follow on Twitter (@codygoodwin) and I’ll keep you guys up to date on all things wrestling in Iowa. Thanks so much for your help here, and for reading.

Jan. 21 Mailbag, Tweet 1

I think you can take things from each of them.

The Purdue dual taught us that Iowa has some gnarly firepower; that when the Hawkeyes get on a roll like they were that entire weekend, they’re tough to beat; that they have guys who can win big matches in a variety of ways (Kaleb Young wrestled tough to beat Kendall Coleman, Michael Kemerer and Jacob Warner poured it on Dylan Lydy and Christian Brunner, respectively).

The Nebraska dual taught us that Iowa can win tough matches. Collectively, the Huskers came in with a strategy to wrestle close matches and try to win in the end. Iowa coach Tom Brands was frustrated that half of the dual’s matches went in that direction, but he was generally pleased with the fact that his guys won eight of 10 — including four of five decided on third-period takedowns. 

In some ways, the Nebraska dual maybe resembled how guys might wrestle the Hawkeyes in the postseason more. At last season’s NCAA Championships, Iowa wrestlers went 13-15 in matches decided by three points or less. When the match is decided by four points or more? Iowa went 17-3. 

So keeping matches close is going to be a strategy other teams employ against Iowa, if only because it gives them a much better chance at winning — and that’s not just based off those numbers, either. That’s just common sense. That’s why I wrote on Saturday that the dual was a lesson in toughness. Give Iowa some credit for winning those matches against a good team last Saturday.

A lot of coaches will tell you that much of the regular season can be classified as practice on their way to the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. That’s not to say these duals and tournaments don’t carry importance or significance, because they do. Postseason seeding, the Big Ten regular season title and, as it pertains to a question like this, figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

You learn things about teams and wrestlers along the way, is the point. Against Purdue, we saw how impressive Iowa can be against a very good team through bonus points and winning big matches. Against Nebraska, we saw Iowa can win when opponents try to wrestle close. I think they were closer to their best selves against the Boilermakers than they were against the Huskers.

The trick now is learning from both so that, when the postseason hits, they’re closer to their best versions than not.

► MORE WRESTLING COVERAGE FROM THE DES MOINES REGISTER

Jan. 21 Mailbag, Tweet 2

Well, yeah. Other teams could score more points than the Hawkeyes at the NCAA Championships.

Look, I don’t think there’s any disputing that Iowa is in the driver’s seat to win the NCAA team title this year. They’re the unanimous No. 1 team in every major poll. We use Trackwrestling’s rankings, and this week, all 10 starters are ranked in the top-8 at their respective weights. There’s only ever been one team that finished a season with 10 All-Americans — Minnesota in 2001. 

But let’s not crown them just yet.

Look ahead to the next two duals if you want to see why.

Against Ohio State, there are enough matches that could conceivably go the Buckeyes’ way to make that dual interesting. I’m talking specifically 141, 149 and 197. If Ohio State can flip one more match, 6-4 sounds a lot more interesting than 7-3, at least on paper.

The same could be said for Penn State. Look at 133, 141, 165, 174, 184 and 197. There’s a lot more matches up for grabs in that dual which could dictate Big Ten and NCAA seeding and set up either team for better or for worse.

At the same time, yes, the same could be said for the Iowa State, Wisconsin, Purdue and Nebraska duals, and Iowa won those with a level of comfort that probably made fans happy. There’s also the firepower and bonus points that, say, Spencer Lee has the ability to score that maybe the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions don’t have. That’s a factor, too.

And, as it pertains to the Pirate’s tweet, yes, the Hawkeyes have to stay healthy throughout all of this. That might be the most important part of this year’s formula.

I’m not saying this to make you guys feel cautious or nervous or whatever. On paper, this is the best Iowa team since 2010, and these Hawkeyes have the ability to surpass what that team did — three national champs, five finalists, eight All-Americans, 134.5 team points.

But just because the championship window is open doesn’t mean they’re just going to walk into Minneapolis and get the trophy handed to them. They still have to go, wrestle and win it.

Jan. 21 Mailbag, Tweet 3

Spencer Lee has wrestled one match this year that went the distance — back on November 17, a 16-5 major decision against UT-Chattanooga’s Fabian Gutierrez.

Since then: 17-2 technical fall, 16-0 technical fall, pin, pin, 16-1 technical fall, 15-0 technical fall, 17-0 technical fall, then 18-0 technical fall this past weekend.

Yes, you can read that again. Take a minute. I’ll be right here.

You good? Cool.

Now here’s why you shouldn’t be worried about his conditioning against tougher competition.

By all accounts, Lee is as healthy as he’s ever been this season. Sure, he looked a little worn down against Gutierrez, but that was two months ago. In the time since, he’s allowed three total match points in folkstyle matches and, by the way, outscored his five opponents 52-6 at the U.S. Senior men’s freestyle nationals last month, wherein he won a bracket that featured six NCAA champs.

“Lee won the U.S. Open. Does anybody remember that?” Tom Brands jokingly asked at one point this season. 

Now, look, folkstyle and freestyle are different *enough* that it’s probably not fair to compare the two — folkstyle involves a lot more mat wrestling, which requires a different kind of energy, and the matches are seven minutes compared to six in freestyle. But Lee and Brands and a lot of other great wrestling minds like to say that wrestling is wrestling, and there’s an element of truth in that. 

Lee only wrestled one match that went the distance at the U.S. Senior national championships, and it was his 8-2 win over Nathan Tomasello in the finals. His gas tank looked great there, as he kept attacking, held position and looked like maybe the best wrestler in the tournament that weekend. He’s shown the ability to do that at the last two NCAA Championships, too.

If his health holds, and he continues wrestling like he has been, we’re probably going to have to start talking about Lee and the Hodge Trophy. He’s only wrestled nine matches so far, but he’s been so dominant that we’re nearing that conversation.

Jan. 21 Mailbag, Tweet 4

The Iowa-Penn State dual is the obvious choice. That’s the first of what might be a three-round heavyweight fight between these two programs — the next two being the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. Probably weird to call it a three-round fight, since the third round matters far more than the first two.

But, honestly, I’m looking forward to the rest of their home schedule for a number of reasons.

Ohio State, because we’ll get to see how Max Murin stacks up against Luke Pletcher, how Pat Lugo and Sammy Sasso clash (not only did Sasso beat Lugo last year, but I think he presents a lot of problems, matchup wise, for Lugo), how Warner compares to the title favorite at 197, among others.

Penn State, because a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena is one of the most electric atmospheres in sports, because 165 and 174 could be national title previews, because 184 and 197 will be pretty revealing, and, of course, because that dual will just mean a little bit more.

Minnesota, because Tony Cassioppi gets to wrestle Gable Steveson (I hope, at least). Oklahoma State, because that dual is always a treat and that’s the home finale and I’ll be it’s a sold-out dual, too. The other duals — Iowa wrestles at Michigan State on Super Bowl Sunday and Michigan the following week — present some fun matchups, too.

I can find reasons to get excited about all of their remaining duals. Because I’m a wrestling nerd. I encourage you all to be wrestling nerds, too. It makes these months so much more fun.

Jan. 21 Mailbag, Tweet 5

Mmm. At this point in the season, I’ll take the over on national champs, because I think they’ll have at least two, and I’ll take the under on team points, and you guys might roll your eyes or think I’m crazy but that is a lot of points.

Consider: the Hawkeyes had three champs, five finalists and eight All-Americans in 2010 … and only put up 134.5 points.

The Hawkeyes will need to produce one hell of a national tournament to hit 130. I believe this team is capable of doing that because of the overall talent, depth and firepower. But even then, the 2001 Minnesota team had 10 All-Americans and *only* hit 138.5 points — and that’s with six wrestlers finishing fourth or better.

Obviously having a few national champs would add to the Hawkeyes’ total. A champ at the NCAA Championships scores 20 points before bonus (16 points for winning, plus four for advancement). If Iowa gets two, that’s at least 40. A finalist even gets 16 points (12 for at least second, plus four for advancement) before bonus. You can see how Penn State has piled up the points over the years.

If we go purely off of Trackwrestling’s current rankings, the Hawkeyes would score 124 points, and that’s before bonus and other advancement points are factored in (there are a dozen ways to get to third, fourth, fifth, sixth place, etc.). So they’re certainly in position to hit 130 and perhaps more.

But it’s one thing to sit here and calculate it on paper. It’s another thing entirely to go out and actually do it.

Jan. 21 Mailbag, Tweet 6

This came in response to Thomas Gilman’s 4-3 finals victory over Joe Colon at the Matteo Pellicone in Rome last weekend. Gilman went 4-0 to win at 57 kilograms (125 pounds) and beat both Colon and Oklahoma State star Daton Fix along the way.

I’m guessing that when Aaron says seeded, he means at the Olympic Trials. This is based off the seeding criteria, as I understand it, on USA Wrestling’s website — something of an educated guess while full knowing that there’s still things left to be decided.

1. Thomas Gilman

2. Daton Fix

3. Spencer Lee

4. Joe Colon

5. Nathan Tomasello

6. maybe Seth Gross? who the heck knows

7. probably Nick Suriano because why not

8. no clue

I’m fairly confident in the top 4/5, at least right now, though I think you could swap Lee and Colon without much fuss. Things could change still, which might throw a wrench into the process. Follow along.

Per USA Wrestling, the No. 1 seed will be given to the wrestler who qualifies the weight. Right now, 57-kg is not yet qualified for the 2020 Olympics. The next opportunity to do this is at the Pan-American qualifier, set for March 13-15 in Canada. This is not the same as the Pan-American Championships.

At the Pan-Am Qualifier, the top two finishers at each Olympic weight will qualify their country for the Olympics. USA Wrestling has often sent the previous year’s world-teamers to do this, which means Fix, though I think there’s a reasonable case to be made that Gilman deserves a shot at doing this after beating him in Rome. We’ll see.

If the U.S. fails to qualify the weight there, the last chance is, well, the Last Chance Olympic Qualifier, set for April 30-May 3 in Bulgaria. The finalists from that tournament will qualify their countries for the Olympics. By then, the U.S. will have had its Olympic Trials, set for April 4-5 at Penn State. I imagine the winner of that will go if the U.S. needs to go that route.

So a lot is still left to be decided, and a lot can still change. Fix helped himself by making the 2019 world team. Gilman helped himself by winning in Rome. Lee helped himself by winning in Texas last month.

I don’t know if that’s the answer your looking for, because there’s a few different variables still involved in that formula, but I hope that helps at least.

Iowa's Spencer Lee has his hand raised after scoring a technical fall during a NCAA Big Ten Conference wrestling dual against Nebraska, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
Jan. 21 Mailbag, Tweet 7

Arizona State. Not because I’m a fan of Arizona State — they are a fun team to watch, but I’m not some diehard Sun Devil homer — but because there’s quite a few similarities between Arizona State wrestling and the Chiefs.

Both have won before, but it’s been a while. The Sun Devils won the NCAA Championships in 1988, beating out Iowa by 7.5 points. The Chiefs last won the Super Bowl in 1969-70, beating the Vikings, 23-7.

Both have been on the cusp of contention since then. Arizona State actually took second in the two years after winning it, losing to Oklahoma State both years. The Chiefs were one of the winningest teams in the 1990s and have been to the playoffs six of the last seven years. 

But since those wins, I’m not sure that either team has been taken all that seriously since then. The vibe has been more of a, ‘Hey, welcome to the party, but you’re not the main attraction.’

The Sun Devils finished 12th last year behind three All-Americans. Currently, they’re ranked fifth by Track and boast a strong dual lineup full of guys that can make some noise in March. Zahid Valencia is The Dude, and everybody else has a role they need to fill for Arizona State to truly contend for a trophy this season.

The Chiefs reached the AFC Championship Game for the second-straight year for the first time ever, and are back in the Super Bowl for the first time since winning 50 years ago. Patrick Mahomes is The Dude, and while he’s surrounded by other stars, they and everybody else has a role they need to fill for Kansas City to knock off the 49ers in two weeks.

Both have had big moments this year. Arizona State beat Penn State, snapping the Nittany Lions’ 60-match dual winning streak and the fans stormed the mat and now everybody is paying attention. The Chiefs beat the Titans last week and are headed to the Super Bowl and the noise surrounding Mahomes and Company is only going to get louder in the coming weeks.

Maybe some of that might be a stretch, but that was the first team that came to mind when I thought of a wrestling equivalent. Obviously Mahomes can do more for his team than Zahid can for his, and football is the ultimate team game while wrestling is predominantly an individual sport with a team aspect. It’s hard to make the full comparison.

I think a lot of people would love to see Arizona State succeed come March, because Zeke Jones is a likable guy and the lineup has some young-and-exciting talent and it’s always cool to see a team from the West compete with the rest of the country. Likewise, Andy Reid is a likable guy and the Chiefs have some young-and-exciting talent and people want to see Mahomes on the sport’s biggest stage.

The similarities are striking in that way. I hope that makes as much sense to you guys as it does to me.

Full disclosure, I gave this quite a bit of thought since I saw this question pop up on Monday because I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to go with it. The other direction I seriously considered was getting all personal and telling you guys what the Chiefs mean to me and finding a wrestling equivalent that way, but I think I’ll wait on that, at least for now.

(By the way, for those that listened to the latest podcast, my voice is still super raspy.)

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

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