As the song goes, we are the champions.  Athletic Director Gary Barta got to celebrate his third national title under his watch and was excited about this team’s character and achievements when he introduced his head coach Tom Brands.  With 5 finalists and a 36.5-point lead, the “new” Hawks had reclaimed a national title on Friday night and no one had to be concerned about Saturday’s team score results. In the past, wrapping up the team title had been a frequent occurrence with the “old” Hawks.  Second place Cornell, with 2 finalists, would not be able to catch Iowa and the coaches only had to focus on individual titles and three Saturday placement matches.  All ten of the Hawks scored team points and eight of the ten left Omaha as all-Americans.

 

The final tally was a 44.5-point gap between Iowa and second place Cornell.  The Hawks totaled 134.5 team points to Cornell’s 90.  Iowa State finished in third place with 75 points; Wisconsin with 70.5 and Oklahoma University rounded out the top 5 with 69.  In the top 10, only Cornell was able to break into the team domination of the Big Ten and Big 12.  The Big Ten had half of the top 10 teams and the Big 12 placed 4 of its five teams in the top ten.

 

Finally, you can get a tee time, because, it has been since 2000, that we have been looking for a fourth. Jay Borschel has completed the four-some with his national title.  Borschel became the fourth 4-time Iowa High School state champ to win a national NCAA title.  He joins an elite group, which includes Iowa State’s Joe Gibbons and two time national champs, Iowa’s Jeff McGinness and Eric Juergens.  After a thrilling come from behind semi-final match in which Borschel fell behind Virginia’s #3 seed Christopher Henrich 9-3, Borschel scored 7 unanswered points to claim a 10-9 victory and a shot at a national title.  Borschel then accomplished what no one else had done this year, he scored offensive points on #1 seeded Mack Lewnes, (Cornell) with a early takedown in the championship match and went on to an easy 5-2 victory. 

 

Unless you count the Banach brothers, Lou and Ed or the Brands brothers, Tom and Terry, there hasn’t been two Iowa national champs from the same high school in the same year since Jim Zalesky and Barry Davis did it in 1982.  Davis and Zalesky were both state champs from Cedar Rapids Prairie high school and went on to become national champs.  With Borschel’s title and Matt McDonough’s title, Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa now has two national champs from the same high school in the same year.  Borschel and McDonough were coached by former Iowa all-American (1990) Doug Streicher.

 

Although, Matt McDonough wasn’t able to avenge his only loss this year to '08 national champ Angel Escobedo (Indiana), he got something much more “lasting”, a national title.  McDonough finished 2nd to Escobedo in the Big Ten Tournament, but that loss seemed to motivate McDonough to take his skills to a new level. McDonough’s performance in the national tournament demonstrated that he is not only a skilled wrestler, but that he has learned to master the mental and physical grind of a national tournament. The Hawkeye red shirt freshman defeated Iowa State’s red shirt freshman, Andrew Long, for the 4th time this year, 3-1 to claim his title. 

 

In my last column, I said that, if you lose a title, it is probably better to lose a Big Ten title, than a national title.  Apparently, Brent Metcalf agreed.  Although, Metcalf didn’t want to lose his Big Ten title to Ohio States’ Lance Palmer, he was able to reverse the final result and reclaimed his national title he won two years ago.  Palmer, who was seeded #1 and now a four time all-American, set his sights on Metcalf and was determined to end his career with a national title. Palmer had finished the three previous years on an even place number, (2,4,6,8), which means he lost his last match of the tournament.  Apparently, Metcalf didn’t get the memo and wrestled a tough, smart match for a 3-2 victory; his 2nd national title and Palmer finished his last national tournament on his fourth even number place, 2nd.

 

At the H.A.W.K victory party, Montell Marion expressed his admiration for Dan LeClere and Joe Slaton, who had battled for the spot at 141 and gave them credit for his success at this year’s national tournament.  Marion, who was the 6th seed for the tournament, finished 4 places higher then his seed and the runner up.  Like other brackets in this year’s tournament, Marion, ended up being the highest seed in his side of the bracket by the time he wrestled in the semi-final round.  Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State), the number 2 seed lost in the quarter round and #3 seed, Mike Thorn (Minnesota) was eliminated one round earlier when he dropped into the consolation in the 2nd round.  Thorn defeated Marion 12-3 in the semi-finals of the Big Ten Tournament and pinned Marion at the National Duals.  In the dual meet at Minnesota, Marion had a major decision over Thorn and maybe it would have been Marion’s turn to win at nationals, but that isn’t what you want to count on and made it easier for Marion to get to the finals.

 

Heavy weight Dan Erekson finishes his career as a two time Big Ten Champ and a two time all-American.  Although, he didn’t achieve his goal of a national title, Erekson successfully made the move from a 197 pounder to heavy weight and scored a lot of valuable team points for the Hawks.  His fall over Iowa State’s David Zabriskie in last years national tournament was significant in Iowa’s run to a 2010 three peat as national champs and his 7th place finish meant he finished his career on a winning note.  Erekson, would never blame his early season injuries as a factor, but I think losing half of the season may have had an impact on his ability to prepare for the national tournament.

 

Phillp Keddy finished his career at Iowa as a three-time all-American, but I know that Keddy isn't satisfied with coming up short of being a national champ.  Keddy finished 4th in '09 and 6th in '08 to go along with his 8th place finish this year.  Keddy, like several of the Hawks, had to deal with nagging injuries and had just started feeling and looking like the Keddy of old.  Perhaps, if the national tournament was in another month, he may have had a better chance at finishing his career as a national champ.  If they ever had a trophy for the fastest escapes in a season, etc., Keddy would win it going away.

 

 

Beatty had been rated as a high contender for a national title up to the point he broke his foot at the Midlands tournament.  Beatty was unable to see any competition until he wrestled at the Big Ten Tournament to qualify for the national tournament.  He finished 6th at Big Tens after his medical forfeit and got a 9th seed at nationals.  Beatty went 3-2 at nationals and ironically, was eliminated by the same wrestler he was wrestling at Midlands when he got hurt and defeated on one leg.  Trevor Brandvoid (Wisconsin) got the 5th seed and finished as an all-American in 6thplace.

 

Ryan Morningstar shattered his knee at the Big Ten Tournament and two weeks later, he became a 2 time all-American with his 7th place finish.  Talk about sucking it up, Morningstar had to medically forfeit his third place match and as a result, got a lower seed (7th) at nationals.  On one leg, Morningstar went 4-2 and finished his career by winning his last match and going out as a 2 time all-American winner.

 

Jake Kerr, 157, qualified for nationals and got some valuable experience to build on for next year.  Kerr went 2-2 and made it a complete team victory by scoring advancement points in both the championship round and the consolation round.

 

Talk about your thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, I’m not sure I can survive another NCAA Tournament, because after last years tournament in St. Louis, I returned to Iowa for heart surgery and this year I got my heart “broken” with Daniel Dennis’ last second loss in his finals match with Minnesota’s Jayson Ness.  Did Daniel deserve the championship more then Ness?  Of course not, Ness finished his career with an undefeated season, finished 2nd in '08 and 3rd in '09 and also defeated Dennis for the Big Ten title.   Am I biased and did I want this title for Dennis?  You bet I did.  With less then 15 seconds less in the match Dennis was leading by two points when Ness caught Dennis in a body lock and scored 4 points to become the national champ at 133.  That broke my heart.

 

Written by Morrie Adams