By Matt Pfiffner
Publisher, The Predicament

After blowing through the competition at the 2008 NCAA Div. I National Championships, more of the same was expected last March from the top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.

But a funny thing happened on the way to back-to-back titles. Iowa had to rally past Ohio State in Saturday morning's consolation round and hold off the Buckeyes in the final session for team title No. 22.

As the program begins its 100th season of wrestling, head coach Tom Brands wants to see domination from a group that boasts seven former All-Americans.

"We won everything (last year) and that's certainly important. But at The Midlands, we were 11-1/2 points behind and had to scrap and needed a huge upset way out of our control where Wisconsin is beating Iowa State late in the tournament to give us a chance to win. We were counting on something that was out of our hands," Brands said Nov. 11 in Iowa City at media day. "There were some dual meets that we had to scrap to win. The National Duals we got ourselves in a hole a couple times and had to scrap back.

"Domination is when you can just sit in the chair and cross your feet out in front of you and fold your arms and this is domination," Brands added as he leaned back in his chair. "And your ticker isn't going too hard. You want things more in control. From a team point of view we won everything, but we are gearing to widen the gap. And that's not a prediction, I don't do predictions. That's how we're training."

One big reason why Iowa did rally to win the crown last year was the performance of Ryan Morningstar. The 165-pounder took third-place for his first All-American honors and did it by winning the close matches on Saturday morning, as he did all season.

"You're happy that he's winning close matches, but it goes back to the domination thing and can you relax in your chair? He acts like he's got everything in control, but it sure doesn't make me feel good. Yeah, I'm confident in him. But it doesn't make me feel relaxed," Brands said. "You're being entertained, but you're holding your breath and you realize you're about ready to black out and then you have to breathe. So we want him to widen the gap and he wants to widen the gap."

One wrestler on the team who everyone had thought widened the gap more than anyone in the nation was 149-pound returning NCAA champ Brent Metcalf. But the 2008 Hodge Trophy winner was stunned by Darrion Caldwell in the NCAA finals last season and has one last chance to finish on top.

"It's hard to face yourself. You have such high expectations for yourself. You let yourself down. But being a champion and becoming the best in the sport you have to be able to stare that loss in the face and fight to change it," Metcalf said. "I don't know if you ever accept a loss. But you have to move on. You can't let it drag you down. Use it as motivation to push you forward."

Metcalf has lost just twice in his collegiate career, but Brands said there is still work to be done, especially after the loss in the finals.

"He's responded as well as you would expect from a guy who's driven and ornery. I think that he's on track. I was joking today, I was on the phone with somebody and they asked how Metcalf was doing and I said he's so ornery he can't even look at himself in the mirror. And that's true. He's on a mission," Brands said. "There's a reason he got beat and those reasons are being addressed. Some of it is being addressed with his knowledge and some of it is being addressed by how we go through these workouts and maybe not so much consciously to him."

The Hawkeyes bring a 38-meet win streak into the season and have won 45 of their last 46 duals. The school record is 42 dual wins in a row from 1994-97. Brands knows there are a lot of teams capable of knocking off the Hawks, including another senior-loaded squad across the state in Ames.

"It seems like it's real tight, with those top two or three, or four teams. Cornell, Ohio State, Iowa State, as far as returning points. And our job is to widen the gap. Widen the gap as the year goes on," he said. "And you can throw Minnesota and Oklahoma State in there. You can throw a lot of teams in there. We know we have a job to do and our awareness is at a high level."

Along with Metcalf and Morningstar, other returning All-Americans for Iowa include seniors Daniel Dennis at 133, Joe Slaton at 141, Jay Borschel at 174, Phil Keddy at 184 and heavyweight Dan Erekson. Senior Dan LeClere was an NCAA qualifier two seasons ago at 141 and returns to that weight, but will be pushed by Montell Marion and Slaton. Another senior, Chad Beatty, returns as the man at 197 after qualifying for the NCAA's last season.

Borschel finished third as a sophomore, but was one of several Hawkeyes disappointed last season when he lost at the NCAAs in the round to place.

"You just have to put it behind you. If you don't it's going to bother you. Obviously, I remember it, but I'm not worried about it. I'm just focused on making this year the best," Borschel said. "The year before it was third place and I didn't want anything less than that. So to come back with nothing was pretty hard. But I got over it over the summer and am just moving forward.

"Obviously, I don't want to have to repeat last year."

Brands said with no one winning an individual title last season, everyone should be hungry this winter.

"Morningstar is probably the guy who felt the best leaving the arena. Then probably Erekson. Then probably Keddy. And you go down the line a little bit and Metcalf and Borschel are probably the two who felt the worst," Brands said. "There are guys who are all hungry to get back into it for different reasons, but they're all after the same thing."

Slaton will not be in the lineup at the start of the season as "we're wading through some issues," Brands said. Slaton was the NCAA runner-up at 133 as a sophomore, but lost his starting job at that weight early last season and never came back to the lineup.

Also missing will be Erekson, who is mending an injury. He could be back in time for the Big 10 dual season, Brands said. Right now, Jordan Johnson has the edge over Blake Rasing for that spot.

"You go with what you got. And we have two guys know who now have an opportunity and it's time to step up and be measured. When it's your opportunity, get 'er done, stud," Brands said. "They're two different heavyweights. One's a great big pummeler and the other guy is a little bit smaller and more of a scrambler. Jordan Johnson won the wrestle off and that's our guy right now, but we're not opposed to either one of those guys stepping up and whipping some tail. And I think they're up to the challenge."

New faces in the lineup look to be freshman Matt McDonough at 125 and 157 could be any one of several wrestlers, including Aaron Janssen, Jake Kerr, returning starter Matt Ballweg and true freshman Derek St. John.

Brands said the battles for spots at 141 and 157 could take a while to decide.

"As long as it takes to get someone solid there. There's opportunities there for guys," he said. "Dan LeClere right now is the number one guy (at 141). He's got a job to do. He's going to be head-to-head with Slaton and Marion at The Midlands. The Midlands will be a big proving ground of where we're at at those weight classes."

Brands said everyone in the room wants to help the Hawkeyes win a third consecutive title.

"The stakes are high. It's the number one team in America and you want to make the team and you want to do well and you want to represent your weight class and win the weight class. We're deep at some weight classes and that's a good thing," he said.

The Hawkeyes are once again the team to beat entering this season, but Metcalf said the team needs to be at their best in March this year.

"It was definitely a huge letdown last year. I think my loss was a large part of that letdown," he said. "One of the biggest things this year, for me and for a lot of guys on the teams is let's feel good about that win. Let's go dominate and perform the way we really can.

"This team is as good as it is. As good as it is on paper, it's that and it's better. We have a pretty talented group of guys where who can go out and put a lot of points on the board. The talent's there, but we have to go out and perform and do it when it matters most."

As far as being a better team than last season, Brands simply said with a smirk, "I don't know about that. We don't have anything to judge it on. I know our staff tends to feel like maybe we like what's going on in there, without letting the cat out the bag too much. We like what's going on in our room."

Iowa probable 2009-10 lineup
125 - Matt McDonough, Fr. - 3x State champion at Linn-Mar
133 - Daniel Dennis, Sr. - All-American in 2009
141 - Dan LeClere, Sr. - NCAA qualifier in 2008, Montell Marion, So., or Joe Slaton, Sr. - 2008 NCAA runner-up at 133
149 - Brent Metcalf, Sr. - 2x All-American (2008 champion)
157 - Aaron Janssen, Jr., Jake Kerr, Jr. or Matt Ballweg, Jr.
165 - Ryan Morningstar, Sr. - 2009 All-American
174 - Jay Borschel, Sr. - 2008 All-American
184 - Phil Keddy, Sr. - 2x All-American
197 - Chad Beatty, Sr. - NCAA qualifier in 2009
285 - Jordan Johnson, So. (until Dan Erekson, Sr. - 2009 All-American, returns)