Who: #2 Iowa vs. #12 Iowa State
Date: November 29th, 2014
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Iowa City, IA Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Radio: 800 KXIC AM
TV: The dual is live statewide on Mediacom connections (MC22). Rob Brooks, Dan Gable, and Mike Duroe will have the call live.
Online:A BTN Plus video stream is available online at btn2go.com.
Twitter: [twitter-follow screen_name=’IAWrestle’ show_count=’yes’ text_color=’00ccff’][twitter-follow screen_name=’hagertony’ show_count=’yes’ text_color=’00ccff’][twitter-follow screen_name=’RossIAwrestle’ show_count=’yes’ text_color=’00ccff’]
Saturday night the Iowa Hawkeyes will host the Iowa State Cyclones in Carver-Hawkeye Arena with both teams putting their unbeaten dual records on the line. Iowa leads the all-time series 62-16-2 (31-5-1 in CHA) and has taken home the last 10 meetings. Iowa head coach Tom Brands was the leader in nine of those 10 straight victories and has never lost to Iowa State since taking over the reigns of the program.
Gary Kurdelmeier will be the honorary captian Saturday night. Kurdelmeier is best remembered for when he led Iowa to its first NCAA Championship in 1975. 40 years since that first title, the Hawkeyes have accumulated 23 team titles, which is more than any other school in that time frame. (Oklahoma State – 7, Penn State – 4, Minnesota – 3, Iowa State – 2, and Arizona State – 1).
#2 Iowa Hawkeyes 3-0
125- #4 Thomas Gilman
133- #4 Cory Clark
141- #5 Josh Dziewa
149- #9 Brody Grothus or Brandon Sorensen or Edwin Cooper
157- Mike Kelly
165- #5 Nick Moore
174- #4 Mike Evans
184- #9 Sammy Brooks
197- #6 Nathan Burak or Kris Klapprodt
285- #3 Bobby Telford
#12 Iowa State Cyclones 4-0
125- Kyle Larson
133- #14 Earl Hall
141- John Meeks
149- Gabe Moreno
157- Luke Goettl
165- #3 Mike Moreno
174- #6 Tanner Weatherman
184- #18 Lelund Weatherspoon
197- #3 Kyven Gadson
285- Quean Smith
Weight-by-Weight Breakdown
125: #4 Thomas Gilman (8-0) vs Kyle Larson (7-1)
This will be Gilman’s first time on the mat in the Cy-Hawk series and he comes in as a big the favorite on paper. Now there has been talk that Iowa State is planning on mixing some things up. We don’t know if that is at 125 pounds or not but a true freshman hangs in the background ready to wrestle. Nathan Boston redshirting is more likely so I doubt we see he on the mat today. Then again we all know Jackson has no problem testing true freshman. If he is running on a test, this isn’t the meet to do it with Gilman’s resume.
133: #4 Cory Clark (7-0) vs #14 Earl Hall (7-1)
This may be one of the best matchups of the entire dual as it is one of the few weights where both teams have returning All-Americans. Making this even more fun is that both of these wrestlers are up from 125 from a year ago. Last year in the dual Clark led most of the match, but faltered late and ended up winning by just a single point, 8-7. Clark later took out Hall 10-4 at the NCAAs so he currently leads this series 2-0 and based off the matches I have wittnesed this season, I still think Clark has the edge. This will be Clark’s first official Division I match of the season, but I don’t think that will be much of a factor. Hall on the other hand is coming off a tough loss in East Lansing, Michigan, where he fell to Javier Gasca 5-3, so I expect him to have an additional motivation to win this match to get back on the right track.
141: #7 Josh Dziewa (8-0) vs John Meeks (1-3)
Seeing John Meeks on the mat is something high school wrestling fans have wanted to see for a long time. We all know how the experiment went Meeks true freshman year so many fans have put that past them and expect big things this year. Meeks has not gotten off the start the Cyclones wanted going 1-3 in duals. His spot could be in jeopardy as Dante Rodriguez has impressed a lot of people in the early season schedule going 9-1. Like Nathan Boston at 125 pounds he also is a true freshman. Will Jackson shake things up?
149: #9 Brody Grothus (10-1) or Brandon Sorensen (9-1) or Edwin Cooper (7-3) vs Gabe Moreno (9-0)
And the speculation for who Tom Brands is going to start at this weight will continue at least another meet as he lists all three wrestlers Grothus, Sorensen, and Cooper as potential starters against the younger Moreno. Gabe Moreno had a very hot and cold season last year at 141 but he did post three wins over ranked opponents Ugi Khishignyam, Nick Lester, and Joe Spisak. Moreno will bring an unbeaten record in to Carver Saturday night and if he can get a win over any of the Iowa wrestlers listed at this weight, it will be a very solid win on his resume. As for the Hawkeye trio, the only thing that feels certain is that Cooper is the one trailing since he has yet to notch an official win over his teammates, but the fact that Brands lists all three shows that he is still in the race though. If it is Brody Grothus on Saturday he would make Iowa an instant favorite with four wins over the top four All-Americans from last year on his resume. If it is Sorensen I would not go out and declare either wrestler a favorite over the other. One thing is for certain the move from 141 to 149 has suited Moreno well, so this weight will be a good battle.
157: Mike Kelly (8-0) vs Luke Goettl (8-1)
Here is a rematch between two seniors looking to gain some national recognition. Goettl beat Kelly last year up at Ames 4-2. Kelly has four falls on the season and carries an undefeated recorded. Kelly has a 28-3 career record at 157 pounds so the Hawkeyes hope he can continue those winning ways. Goettl had a 14-15 overall record last year and went 8-8 in dual competition. Goettl failed to get a birth to the NCAA Championships last year after qualifying his freshman and sophomore season. This will be a barn burner until the end.
165: #5 Nick Moore (7-0) vs #3 Mike Moreno (8-0)
If it’s not the Clark-Hall bout, this is the match that fans from both sides have circled as the main event. Moreno and Moore have developed probably the best head-to-head rivalry over the past few years and Saturday night a lot will be on the line. With the series now tied at 2-1 in favor of Moore, and Moreno in search for his first dual victory in the series. Believe it or not in terms of cumulative match points in their three meeting, Moore only leads 9-8. That is how close these two are in terms of talent. This match will in a likelihood be the highlight of the dual and being a traditionalist, I would like to watch it coming out of the break (meaning the dual starts at 125).
174: #3 Mike Evans (7-0) vs #6 Tanner Weatherman (8-0)
This matchup on paper is towards the top of the most anticipated matches, but Evans has handled Weatherman the last two times by major decision 10-1. Both are veterans in the Cy-Hawks series so don’t expect Weatherman to back down. Weatherman is looking to make an All-American run this year and what a start it would be to knock off Mike Evans.
184: #8 Sammy Brooks (7-0) vs #18 Lelund Weatherspoon (8-0)
This is another great rivalry brewing between these two teams that fans are looking forward to. Sammy Brooks wrestled Gadson at 197 in last year’s dual, but he spent a majority of the year filling in for the injured Ethen Lofthouse at 184.During that time he notched a few top 20 wins and got Iowa fans really excited about his potential future as he seems to model the “Iowa style”. Weatherspoon also started last season at a different weight, but once he got to 184 full-time he won a Big 12 title. Both fan bases are really excited about the potential that each of their 184 pound wrestlers brings to the table, and it’s easy to see why. This match has the makings of a really good one.
197: #5 Nathan Burak vs Kris Klapprodt (5-2) vs #3 Kyven Gadson (8-0)
Nathan Burak looks to have issues again this season and the Hawkeyes are being quiet about it. Based off last weeks press conference and Klapprodt wrestling all the Iowa City duals, we should see Klapprodt wrestle tonight. Gadson has had close wins of the Hawkeyes the last two seasons defeating Sammy Brooks 3-2 in 2013, and came out on top against true freshman Nathan Burak in 2012. Everyone is hoping we see Burak on the mat tonight for a rematch but all signs point to Klapprodt tonight.
285: #3 Bobby Telford (7-0 vs Quean Smith (7-1)
The bout between these two wrestlers is a tale of two different seasons thus far. To date Telford has wrestled less than a full match at both of the two events he has competed in (He wrestled a total of 3:33 at the Luther Open and 4:42 at the Iowa City Duals) and this will be his first division one match of the season. After going 4-0 at the Kaye Young Open, Smith has put together a 3-1 dual season record, but of his scoring margin in those matches is +1 (+5 in his wins). When you get down to it, one of these wrestlers is a two All-American and the other is still growing as a wrestler. I think Telford has too much experience and gets the job done with relative ease.