By Ryan Young
ryan-c-young@uiowa.edu

OMAHA, Neb. — Lance Palmer is used to it by now.

Even before he could score a takedown inside the Qwest Center, the Ohio State senior had to fend off outside shots regarding his media-fueled rivalry with Brent Metcalf.

He did so again Friday night moments after clinching a spot in the NCAA finals on a 2-0 decision.

But is there really a rivalry between the nations two top 149-pounders?

If there is, Palmer said he considers it a friendly feud.

“I don’t have any type of hate towards him,” the four-time All-American said. “It’s not like that by any means. We go out there, and I enjoy wrestling him. He’s the only one, I think, who can give me the best match that I’ve ever wrestled.”

For Metcalf, though, the rivalry is undeniable. And it encompasses a lot more than the Big Ten finals match that ended his undefeated streak 13 days ago.

Aside from the clear inter-conference connotations, the former-national champion said his competitive relationship with Palmer embodies the boarder war between their home states of Michigan and Ohio.

It also extends back to the pair’s childhood when the two budding grapplers attended the same wrestling camps as tykes.

But regardless of the long-standing ties, Saturday night’s title bout stands as a significant shot at redemption for the battle-hardened Hawkeye.

“It’s an opportunity to correct a wrong,” Metcalf said. “Been waiting the past two weeks to get to this point, and we both had to do our jobs. And we have. It’s time to go out and compete and work it out.”

In Palmer’s mind, working it out means proving that his 9-3 victory in the conference championship wasn’t the result of fortunate serendipity. Yet despite being the top-seeded 149-pounder with a 31-2 overall record, he still sees himself as the underdog in the finals.

“I guess I would still consider myself the underdog no matter what because there are people out there who say our match was a fluke before, and he won the first four, and I just got lucky in that one,” Palmer said. “If that’s the case, though, I hope I get lucky again.”

Luck may not become a factor in Saturday’s title outcome, however. Since Metcalf’s 11-6 loss to Darrion Caldwell a year ago, Iowa head coach Tom Brands said he has been covertly molding his prized pupil over the course of the season.

“There are things that we’ve done, and I talked about it at the beginning of the year, unbeknownst to him that will help him for a situation like this,” Brands said on Thursday.

Metcalf acknowledged his postseason routine has slightly changed, noting he has followed a warm-up formula similar to when he first won a national championship as a sophomore in 2008.

But whether that will have any impact on Saturday, Metcalf has no idea.

“I’m going to do the best I can,” he said. “I’m going to make sure that my body and my mind are ready to go, and, talking strategy, wrestle the same way I have. I’m not going to change everything just because I lost the last match with 40 second to go on my own offense.”