Hersom: Lack of individual winner ‘disappointing’ to Brands

The Open Mat.com

(Origina here)

From the other side of the fence, it may sound annoying.

Many would think Tom Brands should be tickled pink that his University of Iowa wrestling team won its second straight NCAA title March 21 in St. Louis.

Weathering a strong bid by Big Ten rival Ohio State, the Hawkeyes rallied in the consolation rounds and outpointed the Buckeyes 96.5 points to 92.

It was Iowa’s 22nd NCAA team crown and it was corraled without a single individual champion — a wrinkle that was at first advertised as unprecedented.

Subsequent research, nonetheless, shows that isn’t the case. And, Brands had his facts very much in order as he discussed the college wrestling world at Monday’s Siouxland I-Club gathering — frowning as if his team hadn’t really won.

Minnesota, he was quick to point out, also won the 2001 NCAA championship without an individual winner, matching a feat first accomplished by Iowa’s 1978 champs — the first of nine team winners in a row for the Hawkeyes and No. 3 in a collection that started just three years earlier, in 1975.

“That’s what makes it bitter more than anything (not having an individual champ),” said Brands. “When you’re a competitor, it hurts when you’re not standing on the podium where you want to stand.”

The Sheldon High School legend isn’t being unreasonable, he’s just carrying on the mindset he inherited from his former coach, Dan Gable.

Gable, after all, once said he wouldn’t be happy until the Hawkeyes swept national titles in all 10 weight classes. And, of course, he retired without coming close to that unreasonable goal.

Still, reaching for the stars wound up piling up a lot of successes. So, who’s to knock it?

“We don’t let a day go by without getting better,” said Brands, a three-time NCAA champion and the 1996 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling’s 62-kilogram (136.5 pounds) division. “That’s the Gable principle.”

Topping the list of “disappointments” in Iowa’s latest team crown was the runner-up finish for 149-pounder Brent Metcalf, the only Hawkeye to reach the finals. After winning at the same weight last year, Metcalf lost 11-6 to North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell, who has administered both losses on the Iowa star’s 72-2 collegiate record.

Metcalf, a remarkable 228-0 as a four-time Michigan prep champ, is one of five athletes who transferred to Iowa from Virginia Tech after Brands left that school to take the reigns at his alma mater. Although he never wrestled for the Hokies, the change in schools cost Metcalf a season of eligibility.

So, like the other four All-Americans (top eight finishers) from this year’s national tournament and, coincidentally, two more from previous seasons, the seven All-Americans Iowa brings back for next season will all be seniors.

“The good thing is we’ve got a lot back, but the challenge is for these guys to end their careers — and that’s a year from now — on the stand where they need to be,” said Brands.

Besides Metcalf, Iowa’s championship point total was built around a third place from Ryan Morningstar at 165, fourths by Phillip Keddy (184) and Dan Erekson (heavyweight), and a seventh from Daniel Dennis (133).

Joe Slaton, last year’s national runner-up at 133, didn’t even make it to nationals, losing out to Dennis for the trip, and 174-pounder Jay Borschel failed to place after finishing third a year ago.

Needless to say, with so many seniors in next year’s lineup, Brands didn’t have much scholarship money left from the 9.9 full rides he’s allowed by the NCAA. Iowa did sign four high school seniors last fall, including two from Iowa City West, and there will be a major overhaul a year from now.

Hard to believe Brands and his twin brother, Terry, both Wrestling Hall of Famers, are now 41 years old, celebrating their birthday on April 9. Terry, as many are aware, has returned to Iowa as a member of Tom’s staff. And, that staff is busy the entire year around, working with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club when they’re not focusing on the college season.

The elite club features Doug Schwab, Mike Zadick and Steve Mocco, all members of the U.S. Olympic freestyle team that went to Beijing last summer.

Those three and several more current and former Hawkeyes will be in Council Bluffs for the U.S. world team trials May 30-31, the same event held in Sioux City in 2006. The main goal is to make the U.S. team that will compete in September’s world championships in Herning, Denmark.