Nov. 12, 2003
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THIS WEEK
Iowa will open the 2003-04 wrestling season Sunday at the Central Missouri State Open. The tournament starts at 10 a.m., and all matches will be held in the CMSU Multipurpose Building. Meet officials expect 15-16 teams to compete, with a total of 250-300 wrestlers in the tournament. Complete brackets will be available after the tournament’s completion at www.cmsu.edu/athletic/wrestling.
2003-04 SEASON PREVIEW
Returning for the Hawkeyes is an experienced group of seniors in Cliff Moore, Luke Eustice (125), Tyler Nixt (174) and Ryan Fulsaas (197). Moore, a two-time all-American, was 31-9 last season. Eustice, a runner-up at the 2002 NCAA Championships, went 23-8. Nixt was 27-6 and 8-0 in Big Ten duals, while Fulsaas went 21-12. Both Nixt and Fulsaas are looking for their first all-America honor and conference title this season. Sophomores Ty Eustice (149) and Joe Johnston (157) each had outstanding freshman campaigns. Zalesky expects to convert their experience to more individual wins. Eustice went 29-9 and placed second at the Big Ten tournament, while Johnston went 33-15 after joining the varsity lineup in January.
Iowa will need to fill gaps at 141, 165, 184 and heavyweight. Redshirt freshman Todd Meneely is the leading contender at 141. The four-time state champion from Omaha, NE, went 18-1 unattached last season. As many as four Hawkeyes will contend at 165, including sophomore Cole Pape, redshirt freshmen Mark Mueller and Jacob Smith and true freshman Mark Perry. Sophomore Paul Bradley from Tama, IA, will fill in at 184 after wrestling at 197 last season. Redshirt freshmen Ryan Fuller and Chad Barkalow will compete for the heavyweight spot, as 2003 NCAA Champion Steve Mocco is taking an olympic redshirt year to train for the 2004 games in Athens. Fuller went 17-4 while wrestling unattached last year, and looks to be a strong contender.
HEAD COACH Jim Zalesky
Jim Zalesky is in his seventh season as head coach at the University of Iowa. He has a school and career record of 95-18 (.841). Named National Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2000, he has led the Hawkeyes to three NCAA (1998-00) and two Big Ten titles (1998, 2000). Zalesky has coached nine NCAA Champions, 19 Big Ten Champions and 32 all-Americans at Iowa. A three-time national champion and one of Iowa’s 15 four-time all-Americans, Zalesky was an assistant coach and head recruiter at Iowa under Dan Gable for seven seasons (1991-97). He was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the N.W.C.A. in 1992 and 1997. Undefeated his junior and senior seasons, Zalesky ended his career on an 89-match winning streak.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets and tickets for each of Iowa’s six home duals are available at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office. Season tickets are $42 for general public and $36 for University faculty and staff. Tickets for each home dual are $8 for adults and $4 for students if purchased in advance; $10 for adults and $5 for students if purchased at the gate. Group tickets are available for all duals except Oklahoma State. They are $6 each for groups of 20-39 and $4 each for groups of 40 or more. Call 1-800-IA-HAWKS or 319-335-9327, or go online at http://hawkeyesports.ocsn.com/tickets/iowa-tickets.html to order.
INTERNET INFORMATION
Press releases, meet results and audio broadcasts of dual meets can be found throughout the season at www.hawkeyesports.com.
CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Carver-Hawkey Arena has been the home for Iowa wrestling since 1983. The Hawkeyes have a record of 136-9 (.938) in the arena, which includes a record 10 victories during the 1986 season. Iowa has recorded 16 undefeated seasons in the arena, with the most recent (8-0) occurring last year.The dual wrestling attendance record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena is 15,291, which was set when Iowa defeated Iowa State on February 22, 1992. The arena seats 15,500 for a dual wrestling meet. The Hawkeyes are scheduled to host the 2005 Big Ten Championships in Carver-Hawkeye.
IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 763-193-30 (.789) in 91 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 20 national titles, including nine of the last 13, and 30 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 46 NCAA Champions have won a total of 71 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 13 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes’ 98 Big Ten Champions have won a total of 179 conference individual titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 24 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 124 all-Americans have earned all-America status 250 times, including 16 four-time, 26 three-time and 30 two-time honorees.
OH BROTHER
Brothers Luke and Ty Eustice are the 10th set of brothers to wrestle together in the Hawkeye varsity lineup since the 1950s. The 10 other brother pairs were Don and Tom Huff (1961), Mark and Scott Trizzino (1981), Lenny, Larry and Jim Zalesky (1981-82), Ed and Lou Banach (1981-83), Marty and Lindley Kistler (1984-85), Jim and John Heffernan (1987), Tom and Terry Brands (1989-92), Troy and Terry Steiner (1991-93), and Ryan and Randy Fulsaas (2001).
Freshmen Ben and Brett Stedman are the fifth set of twins to wrestle for the University of Iowa. Ed and Lou Banach, Tom and Terry Brands, Troy and Terry Steiner and Randy and Ryan Fulsaas are the other four.
Several brother pairs have also had wrestling success at Iowa. The Banach’s and Brands’ each won Big Ten and NCAA titles the same year twice in their careers, and earned all-America honors three times. The Zalesky’s, Kistler’s and Steiner’s each earned all-America honors twice in their careers, with the Kistler’s winning Big Ten titles the same year twice and the Zalesky’s winning conference titles once. The Heffernan’s earned all-America honors in 1987.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Jim Zalesky, Tom Brands, Joe Williams, Royce Alger and Bill Zadick all wrestled at the University of Iowa. They earned a total of 12 NCAA titles, 12 Big Ten titles and 17 all-America honors. Their combined college career wrestling record is 637-48-6 (.926), including five undefeated seasons.