Jan. 25, 2011
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
- Order 2010-11 Hawkeye Wrestling Tickets
- Carver-Hawkeye Arena Revitalization
- 2010-11 Iowa Wrestling Media Guide
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
PARDON OUR PROGRESS! As friends of the UI and fans of the Hawkeyes know, the UI Athletics Department is well into a multi-million dollar revitalization of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This important and exciting project has reduced for this season the number of ticket windows that are operational on game nights. Fans attending the home events of the 2010-11 UI men’s basketball, women’s basketball and wrestling teams are invited to avoid game night delays by purchasing their event tickets online or in advance of game day. If your schedule doesn’t allow for an advance purchase, we recommend you consider arriving at the Arena a little earlier than originally planned. Go Hawks!
THIS WEEK
The eighth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team will take its unbeaten streak of 71 duals on the first Big Ten road trip of the 2010-11 season. Iowa will face No. 18 Northwestern (15-1, 3-1 Big Ten) Friday at 7 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117). Then its on to top-ranked Penn State (13-0, 2-0 Big Ten) for 1 p.m. (CT) dual Sunday at Rec Hall (6,500). The Iowa vs. Penn State dual is sold out.
ON THE AIR
Television – The Big Ten Network will air a delayed broadcast the Iowa vs. Penn State dual Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. (CT). Tim Johnson and Lee Kemp will call the action.
Radio – Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time All-American Mark Ironside will call the action live on AM-800, KXIC and hawkeyesports.com using the All-Access subscription ($14.95 per month or $119.95 per year).
Internet – The Iowa vs. Northwestern dual will be streamed live on bigtennetwork.com. Broadcasts are available using a conference pass ($99.95 annually or $12.95 monthly) or a school pass ($64.95 annually or $7.95 monthly). The 2010-11 Hawkeye wrestling media guide, press releases, meet results, and audio broadcasts are available on hawkeyesports.com. Current wrestling staff and student-athlete head shots are available at pics.hawkeyesports.com.
IOWA VS. INDIANA DUAL MOVED TO FEBRUARY 4
Iowa’s dual with Indiana has been rescheduled to Friday, February 4 at 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The dual, originally scheduled for Sunday, February 6 at 5:30 p.m., has been moved so that Iowa wrestling fans don’t have to choose between the Hawkeyes and watching Superbowl XLV. Tickets for the dual are $10 for adults and $5 for youth, if purchased in advance from the UI Athletics Ticket Office at (319) 335-9323 or online at www.hawkeyesports.com. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for youth if purchased at the dual.
NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS
Northwestern is ranked 18th in the most recent NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll with a 15-1 (3-1 Big Ten) record. The Wildcats have wins over Stanford (18-16), Menlo (43-3), Wisconsin-Whitewater (37-6), South Dakota State (41-0), Northern Iowa (26-6), Cleveland State (32-9), Eastern Michigan (34-3), Indiana (28-9), Northern Illinois (38-0), SIU Edwardsville (51-0), Millersville (42-6), Drexel (44-3), Pittsburgh (17-15), Illinois (27-13) and Michigan State (22-15). Michigan handed the Wildcats their first loss of the 2010-11 season (22-12) last weekend in Ann Arbor.
A four-year starter for the Northwestern wrestling squad, Drew Pariano is in his first season as head coach of the Wildcats. He served as an assistant and associate head coach at Northwestern for the past five seasons. Before returning to his alma mater, Pariano was head coach at Cornell College for two seasons. Pariano is assisted by Associate Head Coach Tim Cysewski (Iowa, 1976), Assistant Coach Matt Storniolo (Oklahoma, 2006) and Volunteer Assistant Coach Jake Herbert (Northwestern, 2009). Cysewski, who served as Northwestern’s head coach for 20 seasons, was an All-American at 134 pounds for the Hawkeyes in 1976.
Northwestern is led by seniors Brandon Precin (125) and Andrew Nadhir (149), and sophomore Jason Welch (157). Precin is ranked first in the nation with an undefeated 25-0 record. He ranks fourth on Northwestern’s all-time career wins list with 128 victories. Nadhir is ranked 11th by AWN and 13th by Intermat and 14th by WIN with a 23-3 mark, while Welch is ranked sixth by WIN, seventh by by Intermat and 11th by AWN with an 20-2 mark.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Top-ranked Penn State is off to the best start in the 100-year history of the program with an undefeated 13-0 (2-0 Big Ten) record. The Nittany Lions have defeated Bloomsburg (41-3), Lehigh (21-17), Harvard (45-0), West Virginia (40-3), Rutgers (22-10), Lock Haven (48-0), Ohio State (42-3), VMI (42-3), Edinboro (37-12), Kent State (27-15), Michigan (24-12), Pittsburgh (30-7) and Indiana (36-8).
Head Coach Cael Sanderson is in his second year at Penn State after coaching three seasons at his alma mater, Iowa State (2006-09). He has a 26-6-1 record at Penn State and a 70-16-1 record as a collegiate head coach. Sanderson was a four-time NCAA Champion for the Cyclones, recording a perfect 159-0 collegiate career record. His staff consists of Associate Head Coach Cody Sanderson (Iowa State, 2000), Head Assistant Coach Casey Cunningham (Central Michigan, 1999) and Assistant Coach Troy Letters (Lehigh, 2006).
Seven of Penn State’s 10 starters are ranked in the top seven in the most recent national individual rankings by AWN, Intermat and WIN, and another is ranked in the top 11. Redshirt freshmen David Taylor (157) and Ed Ruth (174), sophomore Andrew Long (133), true freshman Andrew Alton (141), juniors Frank Molinaro (149) and Cameron Wade (Hwt.), sophomore Quentin Wright (184) and senior Brad Pataky (125) lead the Nittany Lions. Taylor is ranked second by AWN, third by Intermat and WIN with a perfect 25-0 record, while Ruth is ranked first by WIN, second by Intermat and third by AWN with a 23-1 mark. Ruth has won his last 13 bouts, including upsets over then-#1 Mack Lewnes of Cornell (115) and #2 Chris Henrich of Virginia (7-2) in back-to-back bouts at the Southern Scuffle last month. Long, who transferred to Penn State from Iowa State at mid-season, has a 6-0 record and is ranked fourth by AWN and fifth by Intermat and WIN. Alton has a 24-2 record, losing two one-point decisions to top-ranked Kellen Russell of Michigan. He is ranked fifth by AWN and Intermat, and sixth by WIN. Molinaro is ranked fifth by Intermat, sixth by AWN and seventh by WIN with a 19-2 record. Wade is ranked fifth by Intermat and WIN, and seventh by AWN, at 21-3, while Wright is ranked sixth by Intermat and seventh by AWN and WIN with a 10-2 mark. Pataky, who has not wrestled since the Virginia Duals on Jan. 8, is ranked 10th by AWN and WIN, and 11th by Intermat with a 7-2 record.
IOWA-PENN STATE TIES
? While he served as head coach at Iowa State, Penn State Head Coach Cael Sanderson had an 0-3 record against the Hawkeyes, losing duals in 2007 (6-24), 2008 (13-20) and 2009 (15-20).
? Hawkeye 133-pound junior Tyler Clark transferred to Iowa from Iowa State after Sanderson accepted the head coaching position at Penn State. Clark started for the Cyclones at 125 pounds during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, posting a 43-20 record and earned two trips to the NCAA Championships.
? Hawkeye Volunteer Assistant Coach Kurt Backes was a two-time All-American and Big 12 champion at 184 and 197 pounds for Iowa State from 2003-07. Penn State Head Coach Cael Sanderson served in varying capacites during Backes’ time at Iowa State. Sanderson was an assistant coach in 2004-05 and an assistant head coach in 2005-06, before taking over as head coach for the 2006-07 season.
? Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands was one of three coaches for the 2004 U.S. Olympic freestyle team in Athens, Greece. Cael Sanderson earned a gold medal at those Olympics, wrestling at 84 kilograms
? Nittany Lion 133-pounder Andrew Long, who transferred from Iowa State at mid-season, faced Hawkeye sophomore Matt McDonough in the 2010 125-pound NCAA finals. McDonough posted a 3-1 decision in that match to win his first NCAA title. Long is the only Iowa native on Penn State’s 2010-11 roster. McDonough has a 4-0 collegiate career record against Long, but the two will not meet in the dual as McDonough will wrestle at 125 and Long has moved up at weight class to 133.
LAST MEETING – IOWA 49, NORTHWESTERN 0
The top-ranked Hawkeyes used five pins and a forfeit to blank Northwestern, 49-0, Feb. 12, 2010, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes improved to 20-0 (5-0 in the Big Ten), snagging their 58th straight dual win and posting their eighth shut out of the season – both of which are school records. Iowa held Northwestern (5-11-1, 0-6 Big Ten) to three takedowns during the match in front of 7,125 fans.
Iowa 49, Northwestern 0
125 – Matt McDonough (I) pinned Levi Mele (N), 4:32
133 – Daniel Dennis (I) maj. dec. Eric Metzler (N), 12-3
141 – Montell Marion (I) won by forfeit
149 – Brent Metcalf (I) pinned Andrew Nadhir (N), 2:20
157 – Aaron Janssen (I) dec. Kevin Bialka (N), 6-3
165 – Ryan Morningstar (I) pinned Robert Kellogg (N), 4:48
174 – Jay Borschel (I) pinned Brian Roddy, Jr. (N), 2:27
184 – Grant Gambrall (I) dec. Aaron Jones (N), 9-3
197 – Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Josh Schoen (N), 4-3
Hwt. – Dan Erekson (I) pinned Marcus Shrewsbury (N), 3:52
LAST MEETING – IOWA 29, PENN STATE 6
Top-ranked Iowa used wins at eight weights to beat #13 Penn State, 29-6, Jan. 29, 2010, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in front of 8,923 fans. Iowa (17-0, 3-0 Big Ten) held Penn State (9-5-1, 1-2 Big Ten) to its lowest team point total of the season, while picking up its 55th straight dual win.
Iowa jumped out to a 7-0 lead with wins from redshirt freshman Matt McDonough (125) and senior Daniel Dennis (133). Unranked senior Adam Lynch scored Penn State’s first takedowns of the night and the first upset of the dual when he defeated fifth-ranked Hawkeye sophomore Montell Marion, 8-6, in sudden victory at 141. The Hawkeyes rolled off wins at the next four weights – including an upset at 157 pounds – to build a 23-3 lead. Top-ranked senior Brent Metcalf picked up his 95th career victory and 12th pin of the season when he stuck fifth-ranked Penn State sophomore Frank Molinaro in 3:59. Unranked Hawkeye junior Jake Kerr got the nod at 157, pulling off a 4-2 upset over Penn State senior Cyler Sanderson, who was ranked between third and fifth in the nation. Sanderson led 1-0 after the first two periods, but Kerr scored a reversal and two nearfall points to take a 4-1 lead. Sanderson escaped with 1:30 left in the match, but neither wrestler scored again despite several scrambles. Iowa junior Ryan Morningstar used an escape and riding time point to defeat Dan Vallimont, 2-0 at 165. Hawkeye senior Jay Borschel improved to 22-0 with a 14-2 major decision over Penn State freshman Justin Ortega at 174. The Nittany Lions posted their second and final win of the night at 184 when senior David Erwin, who was ranked between #11-#13 in the nation scored a 6-4 upset over Iowa senior Phillip Keddy, who was ranked seventh or eighth.
Iowa closed out the dual with wins at the last two weights. Hawkeye junior Luke Lofthouse picked up his 25th career victory with a 5-2 decision over Penn State sophomore Clay Steadman at 197. Iowa senior heavyweight Dan Erekson ended the dual with a 6-1 decision over Cameron Wade of Penn State.
Iowa 29, Penn State 6
125 – Matt McDonough (I) dec. Brad Pataky (PSU), 7-2
133 – Daniel Dennis (I) maj. dec. Bryan Pearsall (PSU), 17-7
141 – Adam Lynch (PSU) dec. Montell Marion (I), 8-6 SV
149 – Brent Metcalf (I) pinned Frank Molinaro (PSU), 3:56
157 – Jake Kerr (I) dec. Cyler Sanderson (PSU), 4-2
165 – Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Dan Vallimont (PSU), 2-0
174 – Jay Borschel (I) maj. dec. Justin Ortega (PSU), 14-2
184 – David Erwin (PSU) dec. Phillip Keddy (I), 6-4
197 – Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Clay Steadman (PSU), 5-2
Hwt. – Dan Erekson (I) dec. Cameron Wade (PSU), 6-1
THE SERIES
Northwestern – Iowa leads the series, 66-7-1, and holds a 31-4-1 advantage at Evanston. The Hawkeyes have won the last six duals, including a 49-0 shutout last season. Northwestern’s last win in the series was a 22-19 win in Evanston in 2005.
Penn State – Iowa leads the series, 24-6-2, and holds a 10-3-1 advantage at University Park. The Hawkeyes have won the last three meetings (27-13 in 2007-08, 31-6 in 2008-09 and 29-6 in 2009-10). Penn State won the two duals that preceded that streak (21-12 in 2005-06 and 24-13 in 2006-07).
BIG WEEKEND FOR MCDONOUGH
Iowa sophomore 125-pounder Matt McDonough has a big weekend on the road, facing top-ranked Brandon Precin of Northwestern Friday and #10/11 Brad Pataky of Penn State Sunday.
This will be the second collegiate career meeting between McDonough and Precin. The Wildcat senior handed McDonough his lone loss this season and the second of his two-year Hawkeye career in the 2010 Midlands Championships finals with a 3-1 win. The victory gave Precin the No. 1 ranking, while McDonough dropped to second by Intermat and WIN, and third by AWN. Precin enters the dual with a perfect 25-0 season record, while McDonough is 14-1.
McDonough has a 1-0 collegiate career record against Pataky, winning a 7-2 decision at the 2009-10 Iowa vs. Penn State dual. The Nittany Lion senior has not wrestled since the Virginia Duals on Jan. 8. He is ranked 10th by AWN and 11th by Intermat and WIN with a 7-2 record.
HAVEN’T WE MET?
Following are the past collegiate results for the rest of the Iowa vs. Northwestern potential matchups:
133 – Tyler Clark (I) is 1-0 vs. Levi Mele (N)
Clark dec. Mele, 6-2, at 2010 Midlands
165 – Aaron Janssen (I) is 1-0 vs. Kevin Bialka (N)
Janssen dec. Bialka, 6-3, at 2009-10 dual
165 – Jake Kerr (I) is 0-1 vs. Kevin Bialka (N)
Bialka dec. Kerr, 8-2, at 2010 Midlands
184 – Grant Gambrall (I) is 2-0 vs. Aaron Jones (N)
Gambrall tech. fall Jones, 18-3 in 6:36, at `09 DuHawk Open
Gambrall dec. Jones, 9-3, at 2009-10 dual
197 – Luke Lofthouse (I) is 1-0 vs. John Schoen (N)
Lofthouse dec. Schoen, 4-3, at 2009-10 dual
HAWKEYE STREAKS
Iowa is unbeaten in its last 71 dual matches, which is a school record. The current streak started with a win over Cornell (32-3) on Jan. 12, 2008, which was the first match after Iowa lost to Oklahoma State (19-14) on Jan. 5. The Hawkeyes are unbeaten in 44 consecutive road duals, which is also a school record. That streak started with a 20-13 win at Iowa State on Dec. 9, 2007.
Against Big Ten foes, the Hawkeyes have won their last 29 duals, including 14 at home and 15 on the road. The 29 league duals and the 14 home duals rank rank second in school history, while the 15 road duals rank fourth. Iowa’s school record for consecutive Big Ten wins is 98 (12/13/1975-1/28/1989), while the records for Big Ten home wins is 63 (1/17/1975-1/3/1998) and road wins is 54 (1/19/1974-1/28/1989).
Iowa has won its last 31 duals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That streak, which ranks fourth-best in school history, started with a 27-13 win over Penn State on Jan. 20, 2008, which was also the first home match after the loss to Oklahoma State. The school record is 55 (1/9/1977-12/18/1983).
IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 886-215-31 (.796) in 101 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 23 national titles and 34 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 51 NCAA champions have won a total of 78 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 15 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes’ 102 Big Ten champions have won a total of 186 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 27 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 140 all-Americans have earned all-America status 286 times, including 17 four-time, 29 three-time and 37 two-time honorees.
HAWKEYES TOP OHIO STATE, 33-3
Iowa captured nine of 10 matches to top Ohio State, 33-3, Jan. 22 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa ran its unbeaten dual streak to 71 consecutive matches with the win.
Iowa jumped to an early 6-0 lead when sophomore Grant Gambrall opened the meet with a 10-3 victory at 184 and senior Luke Lofthouse followed with a 6-4 win at 197. Junior Blake Rasing kept rolling for the Hawkeyes with a major decision at heavyweight before sophomore Matt McDonough put the crowd of 8,976 on their feet with a second period fall. Redshirt freshman Tony Ramos scored a 5-2 decision over 15th-ranked Ian Paddock to improve his collegiate dual record to 6-0. Ramos’ victory gave Iowa a 19-0 edge heading into the intermission.
Iowa’s Ballweg brothers collected victories with a pair of major decisions at 141 and 149. Mark Ballweg recorded four takedowns and used a point for riding time to pick up his 10-2 win. Matt Ballweg finished with five takedowns and recorded over three minutes of riding time to earn his first major decision of the season, 12-3.
The Hawkeyes picked up a pair of decisions in two of the three final matches, including Derek St. John’s 9-3 win at 157 and Ethen Lofthouse’s 3-1 decision at 174. Lofthouse entered the third period with a 1-0 advantage before OSU’s 13th-ranked Nick Heflin scored an escape with 1:37 left to tie the match, 1-1. Lofthouse then scored a takedown with 17 seconds remaining to secure the victory. Ohio State’s lone win came at 165 in the sudden victory period. Senior Aaron Janssen scored a third period escape to stretch his lead to 3-1 before the Buckeyes’ ninth-ranked Colt Sponseller scored a late takedown to force overtime. Sponseller then recorded a takedown in the extra frame for a 5-3 win.
Iowa 33, Ohio State 3
184 – Grant Gambrall (I) dec. C.J. Magrum (OSU), 10-3
197 – Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Peter Capone (OSU), 6-4
Hwt. – Blake Rasing (I) maj. dec. Zach Stolarsky (OSU), 12-1
125 – Matt McDonough (I) pinned Bo Touris (OSU), 4:37
133 – Tony Ramos (I) dec. Ian Paddock (OSU), 5-2
141 – Mark Ballweg (I) maj. dec. Randy Languis (OSU), 10-2
149 – Matt Ballweg (I) maj. dec. Mike Fee (OSU), 12-3
157 – Derek St. John (I) dec. Sean Nemec (OSU), 9-3
165 – Colt Sponseller (OSU) dec. Aaron Janssen (I), 5-3 SV
174 – Ethen Lofthouse (I) dec. Nick Heflin (OSU), 3-1
HAWKEYES CROWN FIVE CHAMPS AT FLANAGAN OPEN
Iowa sent 14 competitors to the Pat “Flash” Flanagan Open in Dubuque, IA, Saturday, crowning five individual champions. Winning titles, while competing unattached were junior Montell Marion (141) and true freshmen Jake Ballweg (149), Nick Moore (165), Mike Evans (174) and Bobby Telford (Hwt.). Also placing were redshirt freshmen Nick Trizzino (141-2nd), Joe DuCharme (165-4th) and Tomas Lira (184-184-2nd), true freshmen Matt Gurule (125-2nd), Michael Kelly (165-2nd) and Walt Gillmor (165-3rd), and junior Ethan Sebert (149-6th). Gurule, Kelly and Gillmor were competing unattached.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for Iowa’s duals with Indiana (Feb. 6) and Michigan (Feb. 13) are $10 for adults and $5 for youth, if purchased in advance from the UI Athletics Ticket Office, at (319) 335-9323, or online at hawkewww.hawkeyesports.com. Tickets for those duals are $12 for adults and $6 for youth if purchased at the door.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
On the 2010-11 Hawkeye wrestling team, there are three sets of brothers, two wrestlers whose fathers wrestled at Iowa and two uncle-nephew combinations.
Senior Matt Ballweg (149), sophomore Mark Ballweg (141) and freshman Jacob Ballweg (141) are brothers who hail from Waverly. They are the fifth set of three brothers to wrestle at Iowa, and the third set to be on the roster at the same time. The other sets of three brothers to compete for the Hawkeyes are Ed Banach, Lou Banach and Steve Banach; Marty Kistler, Harlan Kistler and Lindley Kistler; Mike Uker, Ben Uker and Joe Uker; and Lenny Zalesky, Larry Zalesky and Jim Zalesky.
Matt and Mark Ballweg are the 12th set of brothers to wrestle together in the Hawkeye lineup since the 1950s. The other 11 sets are 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), Ryan and Randy Fulsaas (2001) and Luke and Ty Eustice (2003-04).
Junior Stew Gillmor (149/157) and freshman Walt Gillmor (165) are brothers from Donahue, while sophomore Nate Moore (133) and freshman Nick Moore (157/165) are brothers from Iowa City.
Sophomore Matt McDonough (125/133) and redshirt freshman Nick Trizzino have fathers who wrestled for the Hawkeyes. Mike McDonough wrestled at Iowa from 1974-76, while Mark Trizzino was an all-American (1984) and four-year letterwinner (1981-84) for the Hawkeyes.
Senior Luke Lofthouse (197) is the uncle of Hawkeye redshirt freshman Ethen Lofthouse (174). Nick Trizzino’s uncle, Scott Trizzino, was a three-time all-American (1978-79-81) and four-time letterwinner (1977-79, 1981) for the Hawkeyes.
There have also been five sets of twins to wrestle at Iowa. They are Ed and Lou Banach, Tom and Terry Brands, Ben and Brett Stedman, Troy and Terry Steiner, and Randy and Ryan Fulsaas.
WRESTLING SUMMER CAMPS
For dates and more information about 2011 Iowa Wrestling Summer camps visit www.iowawrestlingcamps.com.
IOWA CITY TO HOST 2012 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS
Iowa City has been selected to host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling. The event will be held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa from April 21-22, 2012.
Iowa City was one of three finalist cities to make final presentations on their bid to a selection committee on Jan. 12. The committee included USA Wrestling staff and athletes, as well as representatives from the U.S. Olympic Committee. The other cities to make finalist presentations were Columbus, OH, and Council Bluffs, IA.
Initially, seven cities bid to host the competition. Those cities which were not selected for finalist presentations were Greensboro, NC; Hampton, VA; Oklahoma City, OK; and Pontiac, MI.
“We are unbelievably pleased and humbled with the response we received from cities wishing to host our most valuable event property,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. “We would like to thank the leaders from all three finalist cities for their outstanding presentations. We hope that all of these cities continue to be involved with USA Wrestling and host wrestling events in years to come.”
The initial bid proposal for the event also included the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Weightlifting. Due to a scheduling conflict, USA Weightlifting could no longer hold Trials on the selected dates and stepped out of the bid process.
The event will feature competition in the three Olympic styles of the sport – men’s freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle. The competition will determine the U.S. athletes who will qualify to represent the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.
The local organizing committee is led by the University of Iowa Athletics and the Iowa City/Coralville Area CVB and includes leaders from the City of Iowa City, City of Coralville and City of North Liberty. Among those serving on the host committee are legendary collegiate and Olympic wrestlers Dan Gable, Tom Brands, Terry Brands, Lincoln McIlravy and Cornell College coach Mike Duroe.
“I believe this is a good decision for the future of wrestling at all levels. This will help increase the visibility of our sport. I see more growth for wrestling as a result. It gets me very excited,” said wrestling legend Dan Gable from the local organizing committee.
“The Iowa City local organizing committee was selected based upon their proven track record of hosting large and successful wrestling events, as well as a history of drawing strong fan support,” said Bender. `We are committed to working tirelessly with the organizing committee and the entire community to host the most successful U.S. Olympic Team Trials in our history.”
“This community is fired up to welcome our nation’s best to Carver Hawkeye Arena and will come together as they have so many times to produce a Trials that is remembered for years to come,” said Joshua Schamberger, President of the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau “Our entire community couldn’t be more excited by this news. We look forward to creating an athlete and fan experience that will carry on through London.”
Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which is located on the University of Iowa campus, serves as the home arena for Iowa’s wrestling team, as well as Iowa’s basketball and volleyball squads. The arena seats 15,000 for wrestling and is named after long-time wrestling supporter Roy J. Carver. The $47 million Carver-Hawkeye Arena – Addition and Renovation Project is underway to expand and upgrade facilities, and is scheduled for completion in time for the 2011-12 athletic year.
This is the first time that the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling has been hosted in Iowa since USA Wrestling has served as National Governing Body in 1984. Carver-Hawkeye Arena hosted the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships four times (1986, 1991, 1995, 2001). The total attendance figures for the 1995 (80,389), 2001 (79,477) and 1991 (70.163) NCAA Championships rank ninth, 11th and 15th, respectively among NCAA Wrestling Championships. It also hosted the Big Ten Wrestling Championships three times (1983, 1994, 2005).
A preliminary U.S. Olympic Team Trials qualifying event for wrestling was held in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 1984. Other major wrestling competitions held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena include two NWCA All-Star Classics (1993, 1996) and two Cliff Keen NWCA National Duals (1998, 1999).
The Fieldhouse at the University of Iowa hosted the first USA Wrestling Junior National Championships in 1971, and served as venue for the competition from 1971-1982. Iowa City also hosted USA Wrestling’s Greco-Roman National Championships three times (1975, 1977, 1978). Iowa City also hosted the 1983 USA Wrestling Freestyle World Team Trials.
“We are thrilled and excited with this remarkable opportunity to stage an event that will have the full attention of wrestling community not only in the state of Iowa and the Heartland, but the United States and the world. We are also delighted with the opportunity to showcase the revitalized Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Rest assured, the University of Iowa, the UI Athletics Department, and our city partners are ready to stage an event that USA Wrestling will be very, very proud of,” said Gary Barta, Athletics Director of the University of Iowa.
U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS FOR WRESTLING
(Organized by USA Wrestling as the sport’s NGB)
1984 – Allendale, Mich.
1988 – Pensacola, Fla.
1992 – Pittsburgh, Pa. (FS); Concord, Calif. (GR)
1996 – Spokane, Wash. (FS); Concord, Calif.(GR)
2000 – Dallas, Texas
2004 – Indianapolis, Ind.
2008 – Las Vegas, Nev.
2012 – Iowa City, Iowa
UP NEXT
The eighth-ranked Hawkeyes will host Indiana (10-4, 0-3 Big Ten) Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The dual will be streamed live on bigtennetwork.com. Tickets are are $10 for adults and $5 for youth, if purchased in advance from the UI Athletics Ticket Office, at (319) 335-9323, or online at www.hawkeyesports.com. If purchased at the door, tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for youth.