Hawkeyes win regional dual wrestling title [with three videos]

AMES, IA. — Ethen Lofthouse walked back to the center of the mat Sunday with 13 seconds on the clock, victory comfortably in hand and his team well on its way to a win.

There are times in wrestling that require a late takedown for a dramatic comeback or an extra score for vital team bonus points. But this was one of those instances when a last-second takedown would be nice to appease the coaches demanding more points from the corner and carry a practice room lesson to the competition arena.

After a flurry of action, Lofthouse finished one more shot — his eighth takedown of the match — with one second remaining to secure a technical fall in fifth-ranked Iowa’s 22-14 victory against No. 16 Oregon State in the Mat Mayhem regional final in front of 2,028 at Hilton Coliseum.

“You hear Tom and Terry (Brands) bark every single day about getting that takedown and it’s all about responding,” said Lofthouse, a 21-6 winner against John Tuck at 174 pounds. “It comes from the room and it transfers into these matches. It’s getting to that point in the season where those points are crucial — for the team and for yourself.”

The Hawkeyes (13-3) didn’t need Lofthouse’s late takedown, but it represented something coach Tom Brands wants to see duplicated as Iowa preps for the last three events of the season.

“We’ve got to finish better,” Brands said. “We’ve got to finish matches better. If we can start doing that, then we’ll be feeling better — I will be.”

The Hawkeyes advanced to the inaugural final four under the tournament’s new format, while Iowa State and Northern Iowa each thumped Wisconsin and lost to higher-seeded opponents. Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Oklahoma State, which defeated Ohio State on Sunday night, will wrestle Feb. 19 at Stillwater, Okla.

The Hawkeyes beat Brands’ former school, Virginia Tech, in the semifinals and Iowa’s former coach, Oregon State’s Jim Zalesky, on the way to the title. Iowa won six of 10 bouts in Sunday’s regional championship dual, highlighted by technical falls from Lofthouse and 133-pounder Tony Ramos, along with Montell Marion’s 6-4 overtime victory against No. 4 Michael Mangrum at 141 pounds.

“There are times when I’ve been ahead and I think it showed that I took it down a notch instead of cranking it up another level,” Marion said. “Today was a very good start for me.”

Iowa, however, lost the last two bouts and a pair in the middle, and those outcomes weren’t sitting well with Brands afterward.

“I’m irritated right now because we’ve got good momentum going and we get ambushed and we get beat up and we don’t finish matches very strong,” Brands said.

Iowa State (4-13) won a season-high nine dual matches, Andrew Sorenson avenged his only loss of the season against Ben Jordan at 165, and the Cyclones whipped Wisconsin 36-3 in the opening round. But four bonus-point defeats sunk the Cyclones in a 27-12 loss to Oregon State.

“Bonus points are killing us,” said Iowa State coach Kevin Jackson.

His team picked up victories from Chris Spangler, who won for the first time since suffering a concussion on Dec. 29, and Jerome Ward, who won his season debut.

“We can’t allow that in the future. We’re going to move forward toward the Big 12 knowing we have some individuals who are capable of doing well at the Big 12 and NCAA tournament, it’s just going to take a little bit longer to tie the whole team into that mentality.”

Fourth-seeded Virginia Tech edged Northern Iowa 20-17 in the opening round, but the Panthers (8-6) prevailed in the marquee match of the dual.

Sophomore Joe Colon hammered Devin Carter 13-3, taking the top-ranked 133-pounder to his back twice on his way to a major decision.

“It’s a huge confidence booster — a huge confidence booster,” Colon said.

“To beat the No. 1 guy in the nation that bad, you already have your mind set that I can contend for the national title, but now it really opens your eyes that I’m right there with those guys too.”

Print Friendly

Tags: wrestling

Category: Wrestling