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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Iowa’s 34th Big Ten championship is still in the works after the second session inside Crisler Arena.
Rachel Jessen/The Daily Iowan Hawkeye 149-pounder Brent Metcalf wrestles Penn State's Frank Molinaro during their semifinal match at The Big Ten wrestling championships in Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday, Mar. 6, 2010. The No. 1-seeded Metcalf defeated the No. 4-seeded Molinaro, 12-3.
Despite the Hawkeyes possessing 32.5-point lead with six wrestlers in the hunt for an individual title, Minnesota, sitting in second place with 104.5 team points, remains in contention.
And after a Saturday night that saw four seeded grapplers fall out of championships contention and into the consolation bracket, Iowa head coach Tom Brands knows much more needs to be done on Sunday.
“There were certain things that happened out there that cannot happen, ever,” Brands said, specifically citing a lack in hustle. “Those are things your iron out throughout the year, and when you’re doing it at this point of the year, we’re going to have conversations.”
The coach saved his most heated conversation for first-year Penn State head coach Cale Sanderson Saturday night — a pointed argument midway through the third period of the semifinal heavyweight bout.
Following an escape by third-seeded Nittany Lion Cameron Wade, referees called a timeout to allow Iowa 285-pounder Dan Erekson to secure his headgear, which had gotten knocked off during a scramble.
But Wade, apparently unaware of the stoppage, shot low on Erekson’s legs, and Brands ferociously stormed center mat, suspecting Wade had attempted to injure his wrestler.
Rachel Jessen/The Daily Iowan Iowa head coach Tom Brands points and yells at Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson after what Brands believed to be a cheap shot made by Penn State's Cameron Wade on Iowa's Dan Erekson during the heavyweight semifinal match at The Big Ten wrestling championships in Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday, Mar. 6, 2010.
After exchanging choice words with the officials, the fourth-year Hawkeye headman directed his dispute at Sanderson.
Meanwhile, Erekson waited for the match to resume and evenutaly clinched his second straight Big Ten finals appearance on a 5-2 decision.
He said he gave Wade “the benefit of the doubt,” but noted he wasn’t surprised to see Brands take action.
“He gets into it,” Erekson said. “One thing about our coaches is they believe in us, almost so much that they believe in us more than we believe in ourselves, so they have our back, and they’re behind us. They wants us to succeed. You know, they don’t want us to get hurt.”
Brands and the Iowa coaching staff also got a bit animated towards the end of the 133-pound semifinal between second-seeded Daniel Dennis and defending Big Ten and NCAA champion Franklin Gomez.
But the outcome was also a bit more favorable for the Hawkeyes.
Following a third-period takedown on the edge of the mat that gave Dennis 4-2 advantage, Gomez managed a reversal after a restart to tie the match.
Rachel Jessen/The Daily Iowan Hawkeye hwt. Dan Erekson wrestles Penn State's Cameron Wade during their semifinal match at The Big Ten wrestling championships in Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday, Mar. 6, 2010. The No. 2-seeded Erekson defeated the No. 3-seeded Wade, 5-2.
As time expired, referees awarded Dennis a point on a locked-hands call, and the second-seeded senior scored a reversal of his own to seemingly secure the win. The points, however, remained absent on the scoreboard until after the officials conferred.
Dennis said he could have done without the last-second thrills.
“It was good to come out on top of it,” he said. “But preventing that scramble would have been better, and it would have been ideal, and if I could go back, that scramble would never happened.”
He’ll have the chance to rectify his mistake Sunday afternoon when he faces top-seeded 133-pounder Jayson Ness of Minnesota.
Dennis and Erekson, as well as Matt McDonough (125), defending Big Ten champion Brent Metcalf (149), Jay Borschel (174), and Phillip Keddy (184) all could come away with individual titles.
“We can’t be yawning when we should be hammering,” Brands said. “We’ve got to be awake, and we’ve got to be full throttle.
Rachel Jessen/The Daily Iowan Hawkeye 174-pounder Jay Borschel wrestles Illinois' Jordan Blanton during their semifinal match at The Big Ten wrestling championships in Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday, Mar. 6, 2010. The No. 1-seeded Borschel defeated the No. 5-seeded Blanton, 6-0.
— by Ryan Young
Semifinal Results:
125 — No. 2 Matt McDonough (I) major dec. No. 3 Zach Sanders (Minn), 8-0
133 — No. 2 Daniel Dennis (I) dec. No. 3 Franklin Gomez (MSU), 5-4
141 — No. 2 Mike Thorn (Minn) major dec. No. 3 Montell Marion (I), 12-3
149 — No. 1 Brent Metcalf (I) major dec. No. 4 Frank Molinaro (PSU), 12-3
157 — No. 1 Colton Salazar (Pur) dec. No. 4 Jake Kerr (I), 6-2
165 — No. 3 Colt Sponseller (OSU), dec. No. 2 Ryan Morningstar (I), 3-1
174 — No. 1 Jay Borschel (I) dec. No. 5 Jordan Blanton (Ill), 6-0
184 — No. 3 Phillip Keddy (I) dec. No. 2 Dave Erwin (PSU), 4-1
197 — No. 5 Sonny Yohn (Minn) dec. No. 1 Chad Beatty (I), 7-6 TB
HWT —No. 2 Dan Erekson (I) dec. No. 3 Cameron Wade (PSU), 5-2
