David Scrivner/The Daily Iowan Iowa 197-pounder Chat Beatty wrestles Oklahoma State's Alan Gelogaev during the first round of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. on Thursday, March 18, 2010.
OMAHA, Neb. – The Iowa wrestling team won nine of its first 10 matches during the first session of the NCAA championships to seize a 5.5 point team lead.
The Hawkeyes are in first with 21.5 points, while Oklahoma State sits in second with 16. Central Michigan, Lehigh, and Wisconsin are all tied for third with 15 points.
Iowa head coach Tom Brands said it’s premature to talk about the victories because the Hawkeyes are about more than just winning one match.
“I think any time you’re winning this time of year it’s good. We want to separate ourselves,” Brands said. “I think one thing as a team we’re worrying too much about what the other guy is doing a little bit. We have to do what we’re good at — hitting holes and not look for the other guy. There are a lot of pluses and positives, and we just have to keep those going.”
The Hawkeyes’ lone loss came at 197 pounds. Chad Beatty fell to Oklahoma State’s Alan Gelogaev, 4-2, in the first tiebreak period.
Beatty and Gelogaev entered overtime tied at 1, and after a scoreless sudden victory period, Gelogaev started down in the tiebreak. The Cowboy escaped before getting a takedown in the waning seconds of the first tiebreak period to take a 4-1 lead.
Beatty managed an escape in the second tiebreak period, but couldn’t score a takedown to knot up the score.
Beatty wasn’t the only Hawkeye to go into overtime, though. Iowa 165-pounder Ryan Morningstar beat West Virginia’s Donald Jones, 4-2, in sudden victory.
Morningstar’s first two points came from escapes, but the Lisbon, Iowa native struck first in overtime to secure the win.
With a smile, Brands said Morningstar is doing what he does best: winning close matches.
Jake Kerr didn’t need extra time to provide a thrilling finish, though.
The 157-pounder faced Arizona State’s Tejovan Edwards and found himself in a 7-4 hole early in the second period. Kerr gained two points on escapes before scoring a takedown with 1:02 left in the match to snatch an 8-7 lead he didn’t relinquish.
“Just coming into this tournament is really motivating and gets you pumped up,” Kerr said. “That win felt awesome getting it, but it wasn’t the way I wanted to win it. I had to get the jitters out of me. But I pulled it out, and now I can start working on the next match.”
Brands was happy with Kerr’s performance, but now expects his grappler to improve in subsequent matches.
“It’s topsy-turvy with him, and as long as he’s hustling, he can still hit holds,” the fourth-year head coach said. “Bottom line is, you get the win, but you have to build on it. You don’t get the win and continue to squeak by and hang out and do it all over again. Separate yourself and that’s what he’s doing. Every win is a situation where you can grow.”
Session II begins at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
- By J.T. Bugos
First Round Matches
125 – No. 3 Matt McDonough (I) tech. fall Jason Lara (Oregon St.), 16-0
133 – No. 2 Daniel Dennis (I) dec. Kevin Smith (Buffalo), 6-2
141 – No. 6 Montell Marion (I) dec. Cole VonOhlen (Air Force), 11-8
149 – No. 2 Brent Metcalf (I) major dec. Trenton Washington (UNI), 15-6
157 – Jake Kerr (I) dec. Tejovan Edwards (Ariz. St.), 8-7
165 – No. 7 Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Donald Jones (WV), 4-2 SV
174 – No. 2 Jay Borschel (I) dec. Scott Giffin (Penn), 7-1
184 – No. 9 Phil Keddy (I) major dec. Michael Salopek (Virginia), 11-3
197 – Alan Gelogaev (Ok. St.) dec. No. 9 Chad Beatty (I), 4-2 TB
HWT – No. 5 Dan Erekson (I) dec. Clayton Jack (Oregon St.), 11-6
