Iowa has rich winning tradition at NCAA wresting tournament
By Andy Hamilton
Iowa City Press-Citizen

ST. LOUIS — The Iowa wrestlers used to spend each March getting fitted for watches, rings and jackets.

This was one of the customary perks for the Hawkeyes during a stretch when they completed their near-annual journey to the summit of the sport 20 times in 26 years.

Iowa’s supremacy during that span rivaled some of the best extended periods of dominance in the history of organized sports, and it created a culture inside the team’s training grounds where the main discussions about the national championships weren’t about whether the Hawkeyes would claim another title, but rather how many individual crowns they would win, how many records they would set and how they would commemorate another season on top.

“It was like, ‘What are we getting this year? Are we getting coats? Rings?’� Iowa assistant Doug Schwab said. “You just got used to it. Guys got used to it and then relaxed a little bit and thought it was just going to happen.�

That’s when the Iowa practice room — once a production line for wrestling stars — stopped turning out champions in bunches. That’s when other teams recognized the vulnerability of the Hawkeyes. That’s when Iowa stopped collecting team titles and all of the frills that came with them.

“I think we had a lot of firepower and we counted on firepower and talent alone,� Iowa coach Tom Brands said. “Mind development and communication was missing — that daily communication to the athletes about the standard, about a very high standard.�

The Hawkeyes have rediscovered those principles in the two seasons under Brands. Iowa is ranked No. 1 in the country entering the NCAA Championships, which begin at 11 a.m. today Thursday at Scottrade Center. The Hawkeyes haven’t been in this position at the start of the national tournament since 2000, when they claimed their last title in the same venue.

“You can go back to 2000 and talk about that dry spell and why it happened,� Brands said. “It was because of the lifestyle. You’ve got to earn it, man. You’ve got to earn it every day. These guys have earned it every day.�

Seven seasons have passed since Iowa last claimed the gold trophy — the longest championship famine for the Hawkeyes since they started collecting titles in 1975. Brands was Jim Zalesky’s top assistant in 2000 and three members of the current coaching staff — Schwab, Wes Hand and Mike Zadick — were All-Americans on that squad.

Seven seasons of shortcomings have followed for a program that aims only for the top.

“It floors me,� said Eric Juergens, whose overtime victory in 2000 in the 133-pound championship against Iowa State’s Cody Sanderson turned out to be the difference between the Hawkeyes and Cyclones in the team standings.

Seven seasons of watching Minnesota and Oklahoma State play tug-of-war for the title.

“From 2000 to 2008?� Schwab said. “I couldn’t ever believe that.�

Perhaps even harder to comprehend is how far back Iowa has been. The Hawkeyes haven’t finished within 40 points of the title during the past five years. They were 85.5 points behind Oklahoma State in 2003 and 87 back of the Cowboys in 2005.

“I never thought we’d lose it my senior year,� Schwab said of the 2001 team that had a tournament-high four wrestlers reach the finals in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and still fell short when Minnesota claimed the school’s first championship with 10 All-Americans. “Then to be around the program the next year and be away from it for a while and kind of see guys were happy to win.

“I was sick of seeing guys being happy and celebrating a 3-2 win. When we won 3-2, it was like, ‘Why didn’t I win 10-2?’ That’s what guys are starting to get to, and it’s making the difference.�

Brands was named Iowa’s head coach on April 5, 2006, and the Hawkeyes have made incremental gains since. He brought renewed energy to the program. He implemented a higher standard of expectations on and off the mat — “You’ve got to live a lifestyle that’s reflective of a championship athlete,� Brands said — and he convinced his wrestlers to buy into a system of year-round training.

“He’ll never ask you to do something he didn’t do,� said Jody Strittmatter, a junior who placed third at 125 on the 2000 team. “He knows what you need to do to get better. It might not be fun, it might not be easy, but in the end it’s going to pay off and (because of that), there’s 100-percent belief in your coach, and that’s important.�

What’s more, Brands brought back the rugged and relentless style of wrestling that Iowa trademarked under coach Dan Gable and used to rule the sport throughout the 1980s and ‘90s.

“Tom makes you truly believe it, feel it and see it,� two-time All-American Jessman Smith said. “Every word that comes out of his mouth is intended for you to believe in that system of wrestling. He makes you believe more than anybody.�

The Hawkeyes now believe they are primed to regain the title. They went 21-1 in dual meets, smashed the tournament scoring record at the Midlands Championships and claimed their first Big Ten title since 2004.

“This is a continuation of a year ago,� Brands said. “We didn’t just all of a sudden try something new or different. The Gable influence is alive. It was alive last year, we just didn’t have the time with these guys, plus you’ve got some guys who are wrestling with some pretty good energy.�

If that continues throughout the next three days, the Hawkeyes might have to get fitted for commemorative watches, rings or jackets.