OMAHA, Neb. – Iowa wrestler Matt McDonough steamrolled his first opponent in his first NCAA Championships.

In his second match, the redshirt freshman would have to overcome adversity.

McDonough’s initiation to the highest level of college wrestling was a 16-0 technical fall victory.

Even with his opponent, Oregon State’s Jason Lara, laying flat on his stomach at times, McDonough still turned the Beaver to his back four separate times.

Nine near fall points would provide massive separation for the Hawkeye. Fittingly, the match ended when McDonough exposed Lara’s shoulders to the mat for a three-point near fall.

But in his second match, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year tasted the poison he inflicted on his round one victim.

In the second period, Andre Gonzalez of Cal-State Fullerton nearly put McDonough on his back. Gonzalez scored three near fall points to retake the lead, 5-3, and the momentum the Hawkeye had snatched after giving up the first takedown.

But McDonough responded with a reversal, a move Iowa head coach Tom Brands described simply as “veteran.”

“A lot of guys when they come back they start to panic, and then they get rolled again because the referee will award three there,” Brands said. “So it was very smart, very heads up wrestling. There’s no need to panic, three near fall doesn’t beat you.”

Sure enough, three near fall points would not turn McDonough into a second round casualty.
The Marion native scored two takedowns after his backside brush with the mat, eventually winning 10-6.

His response to facing his first hardships of the NCAA Championships was more impressive than his dismantling of Lara in the first round.

As Brands pointed out, being victim to near fall points can put a wrestler into panic mode. For an inexperienced grappler, panic mode can turn into a free fall.

But McDonough swallowed any momentary fright and seized control of the match.

After his loss in the finals of the Big Ten Championships to Indiana’s Angel Escobedo 11 days ago, confidence in Iowa’s 125-pounder waned, and questions arose about his ability to respond to the devastating loss.

McDonough answered those questions in the first match, and restored confidence. The second match proved he didn’t need 11 days to overcome setbacks.

McDonough’s hardnosed wrestling and short memory will allow for a deep run in his first postseason, but his hustle and endless drive may have swung the wrestling gods to his side.

Cornell’s Troy Nickerson, the defending national champion and only wrestler ranked higher than the Hawkeye on his side of the 125 pound bracket, did become a second round casualty.

The path to McDonough’s redemption against his Hoosier foe became a little smoother.

— by J.T. Bugos