HAWK TALK

November 2014

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57 competing unattached. He split the season between 149 and 157, opening with a 10-3 record at 157 before finishing the season 14-1 at 149. Cooper won a national title for Iowa Central in 2012 at 149 pounds. He did not compete in 2013, and placed runner-up at the 2014 Division II NCAA Champion- ships. One of the odd men out at 149 could be the front run- ner to replace Derek St. John, a four-time All-Ameri- can, at 157. Other options at 157 include junior Patrick Rhoads, 14-3 last season, or Penn transfer Eric DeVos, a former Iowa high school state champion. e 165-pound position belongs to Nick Moore for the third consecutive season. Moore won a career-high 23 matches last season, including an 8-0 mark in the Big Ten. He placed second at Midlands and led the team with seven major decisions. He enters his senior season ranked No. 7. Two-time All-American Mike Evans returns at 174 pounds. Evans won a Midlands title last season and advanced to the NCAA semifinals before losing to the eventual NCAA champion. He has been the Big Ten runner-up for three straight seasons, and enters his se- nior year ranked No. 4 behind three Big Ten opponents (Logan Storley, Minnesota; Robert Kokesh, Nebraska; Matt Brown, Penn State). THE UPPERWEIGHTS Sammy Brooks, a 2013 Junior World Team member, inherits the 184-pound position from two-time All- American Ethen Lohouse. Brooks wrestled at 184 and 197 pounds last season, posting an overall mark of 18-7. He was 16-5 at 184, and 2-2 at 197. Four of his seven losses were at the hands of an opponent ranked third or better. He enters his sophomore season ranked No. 10. One year aer ending his freshman season in the round of 12 at the NCAA Championships, Nathan Burak broke through to the All-America stand and placed eighth at the national tournament at 197 pounds last year. He was 19-8 overall, including a 6-2 mark in Big Ten duals and a third place finish at Mid- lands. He enters his junior year ranked No. 6. Senior Bobby Telford anchors the 285-pound spot for the fourth consecutive year. Telford placed fih at the NCAA Championships as a freshman and fourth last season as a junior. He reached the semifinals of the national tournament a year ago, and enters his final season ranked No. 3 behind the defending NCAA champion and the second runner-up. W ho is it going to be, Cory Clark or omas Gilman? In 2014-15, we can finally say the answer is… both. As high school seniors in 2012, Clark and Gilman were considered two of the top 125-pound recruits in the nation. Both committed to Iowa, and both spent the 2013 season redshirting behind two-time NCAA champion Matt McDonough. McDonough's graduation le room in the lineup for one — or the other — but definitely not both. It created an issue few coaches are lucky to have — one spot for two wrestlers, both capable of winning a na- tional title. Unfortunately, at the time, the national title picture was big enough for only one. Fast forward one year and the departure of NCAA champion Tony Ramos changes things. Ramos was a mainstay in the Hawkeye lineup for four seasons at 133 pounds. No one in the Iowa corner was excited to see him leave, but his absence resolves one thing — Clark or Gilman becomes Gilman and Clark. Below is a look at the 2014-15 lineup: THE LIGHTWEIGHTS Clark got the postseason nod at 125 pounds last year and finished fih on the All-America stand. is year, the sophomore will wrestle at 133, leaving Gilman at 125. Gilman was 16-3 as a redshirt freshman last year, defeating the eventual NCAA champion en route to a Midlands title. He is preseason ranked No. 4 by Inter- Mat. Clark, ranked No. 5 in the preseason, was 22-4 overall and tied for second on the team with nine falls last year. Senior Josh Dziewa returns at 141 pounds aer ad- vancing to the national tournament for the first time in his career in 2014. Dziewa recorded a career-high 27 wins last season and placed third at Midlands. He defeated three top-five opponents and enters 2014-15 ranked No. 7. THE MIDDLEWEIGHTS Junior Brody Grothus ended Iowa's three-year postsea- son drought at 149 by advancing to the NCAA Cham- pionships for the first time in his career. He recorded wins over the top four All-Americans during the regular season, but sputtered at the national tourna- ment with a 1-2 record record. Grothus is ranked No. 9 entering this year, but he will be pushed by redshirt freshman Brandon Sorensen and junior college trans- fer Edwin Cooper. Sorensen defeated Grothus in the consolation finals of the Midlands tournament and was 24-4 last season

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