Top 10 UI male student-athletes for 2009-10
Iowa's Jay Borschel battles Cornell's Mack Lewnes in the 174-pound championship match during the NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Qwest Center in Omaha. (Justin Hayworth/The Register)
It just looks that way based on the Press-Citizen’s list of the top 10 UI male student-athletes for the 2009-10 school year.
To say that the list is dominated by wrestlers and football players is like saying Betty White dominates television these days.
The Iowa wrestling program under coach Tom Brands has won three consecutive NCAA titles and soared back to where it was under former coach Dan Gable, meaning in another stratosphere.
The wrestling team leads the way with five student-athletes, including the top four spots on the list. The football team has four student-athletes on the list, but that doesn’t include tight end Tony Moeaki, offensive lineman Dace Richardson or cornerback Amari Spievey, even though all three of them made first-team all-Big Ten.
Star hurdler Ray Varner also didn’t crack the top 10 even though he was a Big Ten champion in the 400-meter hurdles and second at the Drake Relays.
Perhaps the most telling thing about the list is that senior wrestler Brent Metcalf isn’t ranked on top. But that’s only because he lost one match this past season, whereas his teammate, Jay Borschel, didn’t.
In this case, you can’t say nobody is perfect because Borschel was from start to finish. His perfection has earned him the top spot on the list.
Jay Borschel, sr. wrestling: The former Linn-Mar star capped a 37-0 senior season by defeating Cornell’s Mack Lewnes 6-2 in the NCAA title match at 174 pounds. Lewnes had not allowed an offensive point in 40 previous matches. Borschel also rallied from a 9-3 deficit in the final three minutes to defeat Virginia’s Chris Henrich 10-9 in the NCAA semifinals.
Brent Metcalf, sr., wrestling: The Davison, Mich., native won an NCAA title at 149 pounds and compiled a 36-1 record. His only blemish was a loss to Ohio State’s Lance Palmer in the Big Ten title match. But he avenged that loss by defeating Palmer in the NCAA title match.
Metcalf scored bonus points in 30 of his 36 matches as a senior. He also finished his career as a two-time NCAA champion and with the second highest winning percentage in school history.
Matt McDonough, fr., wrestling: Another Linn-Mar graduate and the only freshman on the list, he won an NCAA title at 125 pounds and compiled a 37-1 record. McDonough is the first Iowa freshman to win an NCAA title since Lincoln McIlravy in 1993. He also scored bonus points in 28 of his 37 victories.
Daniel Dennis, sr., wrestling: He came 10 seconds from winning a national title at 133 pounds before Minnesota’s Jayson Ness scored four late points to win a 6-4 decision. A native of Ingleside, Ill., Dennis also finished runner-up at the Big Ten Tournament and he compiled a 22-4 record as a senior.
Pat Angerer, sr., football: The Bettendorf native led Iowa in tackles (145) for the second consecutive season and was named first-team all-America by the Football Writer’s Association of America to complete an incredible turnaround as a Hawkeye. He has been hampered by injuries and thought about quitting football midway through his college career.
But he stayed the course and now ranks as one of the best linebackers in the history of the program. The Indianapolis Colts thought enough of Angerer to select him in the second round of the NFL draft in April.
Adrian Clayborn, jr., football: The St. Louis native made first-team all-Big Ten and capped his junior season by also being named the most outstanding player at the Orange Bowl. His decision to return for his senior season now has Clayborn ranked among the top prospects for the 2011 NFL draft as a defensive end.
Bryan Bulaga, jr., football: He overcame a thyroid condition that caused him to miss two games early in the season to become Iowa’s sixth offensive lineman to win conference lineman of the year accolades.
A native of Crystal Lake, Ill., he decided to skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft and was taken in the first round by the Green Bay Packers.
Tyler Sash, so., football: The Oskaloosa native led Iowa with six interceptions and finished third on the team with 85 tackles from his safety position. He also joined Angerer, Clayborn and Bulaga as first-team all-Big selections by the coaches and the media.
Dan Erekson, sr., wrestling: The Eagle, Idaho, native won his second Big Ten title at heavyweight this past season. He also finished seventh at the NCAA championships and compiled a 16-2 record after missing the first half of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle.
Kurtis Muller, jr., baseball: The center fielder from Sun Prairie, Wis., was the driving force behind Iowa’s late-season surge that resulted in a berth in the conference tournament. He made second-team all-Big Ten and the Big Ten all-tournament team. He also led Iowa in 10 statistical categories, including runs (57), hits (83), triples (6) and stolen bases (30).
Honorable mention: Tony Moeaki, football; Amari Spievey, football; Dace Richardson, football; A.J. Edds, football; Ray Varner, track and field; Matt Byers, track and field; Steven Willey, track and field; Barrett Kelpin, golf; Will Vasos, tennis; Mike Jiang, gymnastics.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football, Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball, Uncategorized, Wrestling
