Wrestlers Pound Ohio State, 32-3

Feb. 19, 2010

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IOWA CITY, IA — In a night of farewells and milestones, the top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team handed #3 Ohio State (18-2, 7-1 Big Ten) its first conference dual loss of the season with a 32-3 victory Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The win was Iowa’s 60th straight and gave the Hawkeyes their 18th undefeated season at home, setting a school record for season wins (11-0) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Improving to 22-0 (7-0 Big Ten), Iowa now stands alone atop the conference regular season standings with a chance to clinch the title outright Sunday afternoon at Wisconsin.

After the match, Iowa honored its 11 seniors – Chad Beatty (197), Jay Borschel (174), Daniel Dennis (133), Dan Erekson (197), Michael Fahrer (165), Phillip Keddy (184), Dan LeClere (141), Rick Loera (197), Brent Metcalf (149), Ryan Morningstar (165), Joe Slaton (141) – who made their final Carver-Hawkeye Arena appearance. The group has a combined career record of 646-214, going 408-115 in duals, 132-50 in Big Ten duals and 156-39 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, while scoring 1,666 dual team points and starting a combined 526 dual matches.

For the first time this season, the dual started at a weight class other than 125 pounds. But Iowa posted its same winning result, going 9-1 on the night in front of 9,125 fans. Dennis opened the dual at 133 with a 3-2 win over Ohio State’s Ian Paddock. The Hawkeye senior scored the dual’s first takedown and followed with a second-period escape to post his 15th win of the season.

Ohio State put its only team points on the board at 141 when #2 Reece Humphrey scored a 9-5 decision over Hawkeye sophomore Montell Marion, who is ranked between fourth and seventh in the nation.

The Hawkeyes shut the Buckeyes out the rest of the dual, scoring a pin, two major decisions and five decisions. Metcalf recorded his 100th career victory at 149 with a 3-1 decision over #2 Lance Palmer. The top-ranked Hawkeye senior remains undefeated at 28-0 this season and boasts a perfect 25-0 career record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. At 157, junior Aaron Janssen came back from a 2-1 third-period deficit, scoring a takedown, a stalling point and a riding time point for a 5-2 victory over Buckeye Sean Nemec. Morningstar made his 85th career dual start an exciting one with a 1-0 decision over #6 Colt Sponseller at 165. After two scoreless periods, the fourth-ranked Hawkeye escaped with 34 seconds left in the match for the win. Borschel scored Iowa’s first bonus points of the night at 174 with a 9-0 major decision over Ohio State’s Dave Rella, keeping his undefeated record of 27-0 intact. Keddy followed at 184 with his second straight win over Buckeye Mike Pucillo – a 3-2 decision for Keddy’s 20th season victory. Junior Luke Lofthouse scored takedowns in the first two periods, then added an escape and a point for riding time in his 6-1 victory over Ohio State’s C.J. Magrum at 197. Erekson built a 7-0 first-period lead at heavyweight before pinning Corey Morrison in 2:53 to pick up his 60th career victory. Iowa redshirt freshman Matt McDonough ended the dual with a 9-1 major decision over Nikko Triggas at 125 to remain undefeated at 28-0 this season.

The Hawkeyes will close out the 2009-10 dual meet season Sunday at #14 Wisconsin (8-9, 4-3 Big Ten). The match will be wrestled at the UW Field House in Madison at 3 p.m. (CT), and aired on a same-day taped-delay basis on the Big Ten Network at 10 p.m. Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time Iowa all-American Mark Ironside will call the action live on AM-800, KXIC and www.hawkeyesports.com. Web audio broadcasts are available using the XXL All-Access subscription ($14.95 per month or $119.95 per year). Tickets ($5 for adults, $2 for children and seniors) go on-sale one hour prior to the event and are available at the ticket windows located inside the entrance to Gates B and C of the Field House.

#1 University of Iowa 32, #3 Ohio State University 3
133 – Daniel Dennis (I) dec. Ian Paddock (OSU), 3-2
141 – Reece Humphrey (OSU) dec. Montell Marion (I), 9-5
149 – Brent Metcalf (I) dec. Lance Palmer (OSU), 3-1
157 – Aaron Janssen (I) dec. Sean Nemec (OSU), 5-2
165 – Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Colt Sponseller (OSU), 1-0
174 – Jay Borschel (I) maj. dec. Dave Rella (OSU), 9-0
184 – Phillip Keddy (I) dec. Mike Pucillo (OSU), 3-2
197 – Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. C.J. Magrum (OSU), 6-1
Hwt. – Dan Erekson (I) pinned Corey Morrison (OSU), 2:53
125 – Matt McDonough (I) maj. dec. Nikko Triggas (OSU), 9-1