Click to view photo slideshow (36 photos)

———

OMAHA, Neb. — Two Iowa seniors shared the spotlight with an up-and-coming freshman Saturday night.

Brent Metcalf, Jay Borschel, and Matt McDonough each won an individual NCAA title to help the Hawkeyes to their third-straight national championship and 23rd overall.

As a team, Iowa amassed 134.5 points — 44.5 more than second-place Cornell. Iowa State finished third with two champions and 75 points.

McDonough edged Iowa State true freshman Andrew Long, 3-1, in the 125-pound title bout, effectively capture his first national championship on a takedown midway through the second period.

In the 149-pound finals, Metcalf avenged his 9-3 Big Ten championship loss to Ohio State senior Lance Palmer, besting the Buckeye, 3-2, thanks in large to a riding time advantage he generated on an early first-period takedown.

Borschel, meanwhile, left nothing to chance in his 174-pound matchup against No. 1 seed Mack Lewnes of Cornell. After taking a 2-0 lead on a first-period takedown, the undefeated senior rolled to a 6-2 win.

Senior 133-pounder Daniel Dennis and sophomore 141-pounder Montell Marion couldn’t follow suit, however.

Dennis held a 4-2 lead over Minnesota senior Jayson Ness heading into the final minute. But with under 15 seconds remaining in the match, Ness lifted and planted the Hawkeye on his back for a takedown and two-point near-fall for the 6-4 go ahead win.

Marion, though, never lead in his match with Cornell freshman Kyle Dake and fell, 7-3.

Be sure to read Monday’s edition of The Daily Iowan for more coverage of the 2010 NCAA wrestling championships, including a complete photo slide show.

— by Ryan Young

OMAHA, Neb. — Even without two crucial knee ligaments, Ryan Morningstar is a Division-I All-American.

The 165-pound senior proved that much Saturday afternoon inside the Qwest Center, finishing to his No. 7 seed without the use of his medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right leg at the NCAA championships.

Yet even though he took pride in overcoming an agonizing obstacle moments after his last collegiate match, Morningstar said he still should be vying for a national championship.

The only thing that prevented him from advancing to the semifinals Friday morning was the pain shooting through his knee during his bout with Edinboro No. 2-seed Jarrod King Friday morning.

“I know if I am on, I am pretty tough to beat,” Morningstar said. “I just didn’t have any drive off it in the quarters, so I think made a difference there. It’s pretty tough to swallow — especially in the match, knowing it was because of my injury.”

Morningstar managed to overcome the discomfort later in the day in the consolation bracket. He scored a late reversal in a tie-break period against Cornell’s Justin Kerber to clinch All-American status for the second straight season before losing in the wrestleback quarterfinals.

“I don’t know how many guys could have gone out there like Morningstar did,” Iowa heavyweight Dan Erekson said. “Few guys could accomplish that.”

Iowa head coach Tom Brands labeled the endeavor as “very gutsy.” But over the past three days he had asserted that Morningstar’s mind was in the right place.

“You’re dealt those cards, and you’re in that situation, you make the best of it,” Brands said. “And he made the best of the best of it. It’s a tribute to him and his head strength and his faith.”

As of now, however, Morningstar is unsure when he will undergo surgery to repair his appendage. He said he put off scheduling an operation over the last two weeks to focus on winning a NCAA title instead.

He is also unsure of his recovery time.

In the mean time, he is just glad he managed to avoid increased injury. In the future, he hopes to continue competing internationally.

“Without two ligaments, I mean definitely if it got hit right, I could have blown everything out,” Morningstar said. “I’m grateful that it didn’t happen like that.”

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.”

David Scrivner/The Daily Iowan Iowa 149-pounder Brent Metcalf wrestles Iowa State's Mitch Mueller during their quarterfinals match in the NCAA Wrestling Championships in the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. on Friday, March 19, 2010. Metcalf won, 16-4, by major decision.

OMAHA, Neb. — Tom Brands wants to let his wrestlers do their talking on the mat Friday night.

So far, they’ve been doing a lot of that.

Five Hawkeyes moved on to the championship semifinals — two more than second-place Cornell and third-place Iowa State, which boast three apiece. Iowa is also tied with the Big Red for the most contenders in the consolation bracket at four.

And despite leading the team title race by 19 points, Brands sees the room for error if his team suddenly becomes complacent.

“We can do better in a lot of places, but we’ve done well in a lot of places, so keep it going,” the four-year Iowa coach said. “We have one guy out and nine alive.”

Matt McDonough (125), Daniel Dennis (133), Montell Marion (141), Brent Metcalf (149), and Jay Borschel (174) all advanced to Friday night’s semifinal round and secured All-American status in the process.

Meanwhile, Ryan Morningstar (165), Phillip Keddy (184), and Dan Erekson (HWT) fell to the consolation bracket. Still viable for third place, each can still earn All-American honors with a wrestleback win Friday night.

In the consolation rounds, unseeded 157-pounder Jake Kerr became the first Iowa grappler eliminated from the tournament, losing to No. 9-seed Matt Moley of Bloomsburg, 5-1, after edging No. 11-seed Robert Erisman of Oklahoma State, 6-5.

In the 197-pound consolation bracket, Chad Beatty remained in contention for bronze with back-to-back one-point triumphs — his first match on Thursday ending in sudden victory.

But narrow wins weren’t exclusive to the Hawkeyes’ wrestleback bouts.

Marion needed 14 seconds of overtime to continue his title run. The sophomore captured a 7-5 quarterfinals triumph in sudden victory against Ohio junior Germane Lindsey after previously allowing Lindsey to knot the score on a last-second shot in the third period.

“That’s what it’s about — winning close matches,” Brands said. “Don’t make them close, but if they’re close, win them.”

McDonough and Metcalf didn’t let their matches come to that, though.

McDonough opened Iowa’s early roll with a 9-0 major decision over unseeded Virginia Tech sophomore Jarrod Garnett. The redshirt freshman scored a takedown and a two-point near-fall in the first period before tallying two more two-point near-falls in the second to effectively clinch the victory.

He is slated to face unseeded 125-pounder Cashé Quiroga of Purdue and could meet either Iowa State freshman Andrew Long or two-time Big Ten champion and top-seeded Angel Escobedo in Saturday night’s finale.

McDonough downed Long, 13-7, during the Hawkeyes’ dual meet in Ames last December and fell to Escobedo, 6-4, in the conference title match two weeks ago.

Another Big Ten championship rematch could come to fruition on Saturday.

Metcalf notched a 16-7 major decision over Iowa State’s Mitch Mueller and will match up with third-seeded 149-pounder Kyle Terry of Oklahoma in the semifinals.

Ohio State senior Lance Palmer, on the other hand, will wrestle Penn State’s No. 5 seed Frank Molinaro. Palmer managed a 5-3 decision against Molinaro during the teams’ dual meet in January.

Team standings:
1. Iowa: 73
2. Cornell: 54
3. Iowa State: 46
- Ohio State: 46
5. Oklahoma: 44
6. Oklahoma State: 43
7. Minnesota: 35
8. Penn State: 33
- Wisconsin: 33
10. Missouri: 30

Championship quarterfinal results:
125 — No. 3 Matt McDonough (I) major dec. Jarrod Garnett (VA Tech), 9-0
133 — No. 2 Daniel Dennis (I) dec. No. 10 Nick Fanthorpe (Iowa State), 4-3
141 — No. 6 Montell Marion (I) dec. Germane Lindsey (Ohio), 7-5 SV
149 — No. 2 Brent Metcalf (I) major dec. No. 7 Mitch Mueller (Iowa State), 16-4
165 — No. 2 Jarrod King (Edin) dec. No. 7 Ryan Morningstar (I), 2-1
174 — No. 2 Jay Borschel (I) dec. No. 10 Jordan Blanton (Illinois), 3-0
184 — No. 1 Kirk Smith (Boise State) dec. No. 9 Phillip Keddy (I), 6-4
HWT — No. 4 Konrad Dudziak (Duke) dec. No. 5 Dan Erekson (I), 6-2

Consolation second round results:
157 — Jake Kerr (I) dec. No. 11 Robert Erisman (OK State), 6-5
197 — No. 9 Chad Beatty dec. Joseph Kennedy (Lehigh), 2-1 TB

Consolation third round results:
157 — No. 9 Matt Moley (Bloomsburg) dec. Jake Kerr (I), 5-1
197 — No. 9 Chad Beatty dec. Matthew Wips (Pitt), 3-2

Click to view photo slideshow (26 photos)
---------

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

OMAHA, Neb. — With eight grapplers still in contention for an individual title, Iowa remains ahead in the team race with 34.5 points after the first day of competition at the NCAA championships.

Poised to capture their third straight national title, the Hawkeyes lead second-place Oklahoma State (26 points) and third-place Iowa State (24 points). Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and Wisconsin are in a deadlock for fourth with 23 points apiece.

The results are still too premature for Iowa head coach Tom Brands, though.

“I’m going to sound like a broken record here: We have to keep a good thing going,” Brands said. “We have a lot of work to do.”

For half of Iowa’s tournament roster, that involves widening the margin of victory. Five Hawkeyes won by decision Thursday night en route to Friday’s championship quarterfinals, while three others posted bonus-point wins.

Seniors Brent Metcalf (149) and Jay Borschel (174) tallied major decisions in the second round before heavyweight Dan Erekson notched Iowa’s first fall inside the Qwest Center — a first-period pin against 12th-seeded big man Scott Steele of Navy.

As a team, the Hawkeyes won 12 bouts by eight points or fewer on Thursday, including a pair of four-point triumphs by All-American 133-pounder Daniel Dennis.

But even though Iowa’s individual outcomes haven’t been overwhelmingly decisive, Dennis said he and his teammates have been controlling their matches.

Dominating may be the goal, but creeping closer to the championship finals is the top priority, he noted. And increased alertness is key in the pursuit.

“This is nationals,” the senior said. “This is what our whole year comes down to, and you fall off track for one match, chances are you’re going to be vulnerable. The focus is at an all-time high for every match.”

Only junior Jake Kerr fell out of championship contention Thursday night. The Oskaloosa, Iowa native dropped an 8-1 decision to top-seeded 157-pounder J.P. O’Connor of Harvard in the second round and is slated to face No. 11-seed Robert Erisman of Oklahoma State Friday morning in the consolation second round.

At 197, Chad Beatty is still viable for a third-place finish after losing his first-round matchup earlier on Thursday. Beatty managed a late reversal in the third period against North Carolina’s Dennis Drury to win, 5-4.

Team standings:
1. Iowa: 34.5
2. Oklahoma State: 26
3. Iowa State: 24
4. Ohio State: 23
- Oklahoma: 23
- Wisconsin: 23
7. Cornell: 22
8. Minnesota: 20
9. Missouri: 18.5
10. Central Michigan: 17

Championship second-round results:
125 — No. 3 Matt McDonough (I) dec. Anthony Zanetta (Pitt), 10-6
133 — No. 2 Daniel Dennis (I) dec. Kelly Kubec (Oregon State), 4-0
141 — No. 6 Montell Marion (I) dec. Conor Beebe (Central Mich), 10-5
149 — No. 2 Brent Metcalf (I) major dec. Kyle Borshoff (American), 20-7
157 — No. 1 J.P. O’Connor (Harvard) dec. Jake Kerr (I), 8-1
165 — No. 7 Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Alex Meade (Ok State), 3-1
174 — No. 2 Jay Borschel (I) major dec. Daniel Rinaldi (Rutgers), 10-0
184 — No. 9 Phillip Keddy (I) dec. No. 8 Louis Caputo (Harvard), 6-2
HWT — No. 5 Dan Erekson (I) pinned No. 12 Scott Steele (Navy), 2:36

Wrestle-back second-round results:
197 — No. 9 Chad Beatty dec. Dennis Drury (NC), 5-4

Championship quarterfinal matches:
125 — No. 3 Matt McDonough (I) vs. Jarrod Garnett (VA Tech)
133 — No. 2 Daniel Dennis (I) vs. No. 10 Nick Fanthorpe (Iowa State)
141 — No. 6 Montell Marion (I) vs. Germane Lindsey (Ohio)
149 — No. 2 Brent Metcalf (I) vs. No. 7 Mitch Mueller (Iowa State)
165 — No. 7 Ryan Morningstar (I) vs. No. 2 Jarrod King (Edin)
174 — No. 2 Jay Borschel (I) vs. No. 10 Jordan Blanton (Illinois)
184 — No. 9 Phillip Keddy (I) vs. No. 1 Kirk Smith (Boise State)
HWT — No. 5 Dan Erekson (I) vs. No. 4 Konrad Dudziak (Duke)

Consolation third round matches:
157 — Jake Kerr (I) vs. No. 11 Robert Erisman (OK State)
197 — No. 9 Chad Beatty vs. Joseph Kennedy (Lehigh)

David Scrivner/The Daily Iowan Iowa 165-pounder Ryan Morningstar wrestles West Virginia's Donald Jones during the first round of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

OMAHA, Neb. — Prior to Thursday morning, Ryan Morningstar didn’t know what to expect from his banged-up knee.

Neither did anybody else inside the Qwest Center.

During a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Iowa head coach Tom Brands added to the mystery, ducking and dodging Morningstar’s injury status as though he were Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder avoiding a Cliff Lee bean ball.

But a 4-2 overtime win answered the question, and the senior is using the postseason success of one recently departed Hawkeye as motivation.

“Mark Perry won a national title on a bad knee,” he said referring to his former teammate who managed a second straight NCAA championship two years ago after re-injuring his right knee in the 165-pound finals.

“Different injury, but I mean, anything can happen,” he added. “You’ve just got to give yourself a chance.”

Morningstar left nothing to chance after his first-round matchup with West Virginia redshirt junior Donnie Jones went into sudden victory overtime.

Depsite being warned for stalling early in the extra period, Morningstar shot in on Jones’ leg and quickly turned the offensive endeavor into a win-clinching takedown.

But the victory didn’t come without overcoming preliminary apprehensions, which showed in a scoreless first period. Morningstar said he saw limited mat time in practice over the past 10 days leading up to the NCAA championships and admitted to being a little timid initially.

He also acknowledge feeling some slight pain during a first-period scramble. Although, his adrenaline served as a quick pain killer.

Practically his only hindrance, he said, is the bulky black knee brace enveloping his right leg.

“It’s hard to move sometimes,” Morningstar said. “That’s the only thing I really notice when I am out there wrestling.”

Later tonight, the Lisbon, Iowa native is scheduled to face No. 10 seed Alex Meade of Oklahoma State, who beat Morningstar, 5-3, during the Hawkeyes’ dual meet with the Cowboys in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 16.

And while the All-American grappler holds a 27-6 overall record heading into the second session, he also carries a reputation for winning close matches.

Brands said Morningstar’s latest win is a testament to the seasoned Hawkeye, and it should help him mentally as he advances further into the tournament.

“I think it just reinforces what he’s about and what he believes he is about,” the fourth-year Iowa head coach said. “He learned he is pretty tough in duress … But you know, let’s save the praise for now because that’s not what he’s about — winning one match.”

Sophomore Montell Marion (141), junior Jake Kerr (157), and senior Ryan Morningstar (165) will all vie for third place at the Big Ten championships later today.

Both Marion and Kerr needed to win their first consolation bouts, while Morningstar only needed to place fifth or better.

Meanwhile, Iowa top-seeded 197-pounder Chad Beatty, who already qualified for the national meet, forfeited both of his consolation matches.

Marion earned his NCAA ticket with a 11-6 win against eighth-seeded 141-pounder Cole Schmitt of Wisconsin.

The Des Moines native broke a 6-6 tie with under 10 seconds to go in the third period on a takedown and a three-point near-fall. He will face Purdue’s No. 6 seed Juan Archuleta in the 141-pound third-place bout.

Marion defeated Archuleta, 7-5, on Saturday during the championship quarterfinals.

At 157, Kerr also clinched a spot in the national tournament with a 5-3 win over No. 6 seed David Johnson of Michigan. The Oskaloosa, Iowa native held a 5-0 advantage heading into the third period, but a third-period takedown by Johnson eliminated the shutout.

Kerr will go toe-to-toe with unseeded Anthony Jones of Michigan State. The two did not wrestler during Iowa’s regular-season road dual with the Spartans.

Junior Aaron Janssen took the mat for the Hawkeyes at 157 in the meet.

Morningstar’s consolation semifinal with No. 5 seed Paul Young turned into a thriller. The second-seeded Hawkeye broke a 3-3 tie on an escape with 30 seconds left in the third period.

An evasive Morningstar picked up a stall warning with five seconds left.

For more coverage of the Big Ten wrestling championships, be sure to read Monday’s edition of The Daily Iowan.

— by Ryan Young

Consolation Semifinals:
141 — No. 3 Montell Marion (I) dec. No. 8 Cole Schmitt (Wis), 11-6
157 — No. 4 Jake Kerr (I) dec. No. 6 David Johnson (Mich), 5-3
165 — No. 2 Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. No. 5 Paul Young (Ind), 4-3
197 — No. 7 Logan Brown (Pur) wins by forfeit No. 1 Chad Beatty (I)

Click to view photo slideshow (22 photos)
---------

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

ryan-c-young@uiowa.edu

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jake Kerr’s first match of the Big Ten championships might as well have been a two-on-one tag-team bout inside Crisler Arena.

During his postseason debút against fifth-seed Sean Nemec of Ohio State Saturday morning, he spent most of the seven minutes wrestling with his mind.

“I worry about how I feel way too much,” he said. “I need to get over that.”

Fortunately for Kerr, his brain also helped him fight off Nemec for a 5-3 win.

But anxiety could be a much more difficult opponent to overcome later tonight, too, when Kerr takes on top-seeded Colton Salazar of Purdue in the championship semifinals.

During the pair’s January matchup, Salazar escaped with a 6-4 sudden victory win in West Lafayette, Ind.

Kerr admitted nerves and the electric tournament atmosphere played a part in his mind games, which seemed to translate into static offense.

After managing two first-period takedowns for an early 4-1 lead, the Oskaloosa, Iowa native tallied his last point against Nemec on an escape just as time expired in the second period.

Kerr’s stagnant legs also allowed the Buckeye to keep the match close, something that left Iowa head coach Tom Brands mildly disgruntled.

“There were points left out there,” the fourth-year headman said. “That’s not how you win national championships, or Big Ten championships, or matches. … You don’t give guys chances.”

A chance proved to be all Kerr needed to secure his first Big Ten championship win, though.

Brands’ belly might as well have been a Magic Eight Ball Friday morning when he chose Kerr over junior Aaron Janssen, who wrestled 12 bouts for Iowa at 157.

Kerr said Brands didn’t explain his “gut decision.” But even with his status in limbo throughout the week, he added, the wait wasn’t nearly as mentally draining as it had been at times during the regular season.

“I’ve been doing good in the wrestling room, so I mean I was a little bit more at ease,” he said. “But of course, it bothers me.”

No. 1 Iowa crushed No. 4 Ohio State, 32-3, on Senior Night in front of an announced crowd of 9,149 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday. The Hawkeyes also extended their dual meet winning streak to 60 and remained undefeated at 22-0 overall (7-0 in the Big Ten).

All six of Iowa’s starting seniors earned wins, including Hawkeye heavyweight Dan Erekson and 174-pounder Jay Borschel, who managed bonus points in their bouts against the Buckeyes.

Meanwhile, Daniel Dennis (133), Brent Metcalf (149), Ryan Morningstar (165), and Phillip Keddy (184) recorded decisions in their final home matches.

Sophomore Montell Marion tallied Iowa’s lone defeat. Marion never led in his matchup against No. 2 141-pounder Reece Humphrey and eventually fell, 9-5.

The Hawkeyes travel to No. 13 Wisconsin on Feb. 21 in search of their third-straight Big Ten regular-season championship. The dual is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

— by Ryan Young

No. 1 Iowa 32, No. 4 Ohio State 3
133 — Daniel Dennis (I) dec. Ian Paddock (OSU), 3-2
141 — Reece Humphrey (OSU) dec. Montell Marion (I), 9-5
149 — Brent Metcalf (I) dec. Lance Palmer (OSU), 3-1
157 — Aaron Janssen (I) dec. Sean Nemec (OSU), 5-2
165 — Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Colt Sponseller (OSU), 1-0
174 — Jay Borschel (I) major dec. Dave Rella (OSU), 9-0
184 — Phillip Keddy (I) dec. Mike Pucillo (OSU), 3-2
197 — Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. C.J. Magrum (OSU), 6-1
HWT — Dan Erekson (I) pinned Corey Morrison (OSU), 2:52
125 — Matt McDonough (I) major dec. Ian Paddock (OSU), 9-1