This past weekend some of the best collegiate wrestlers flocked to Cedar Falls, Iowa for the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. The Division I event featured eight of the top ten ranked teams in the country.
Iowa stays on top
The No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes won the tournament, and they had to conquer their rival, No. 2 Iowa State, for the second time. The top two teams faced off in the tournament finale with Iowa coming out on top 19-12. The Hawkeyes got wins from Matt McDonough, Dan LeClere, Brent Metcalf, Aaron Janssen, Ryan Morningstar and Jay Borschel to secure the victory.
Iowa vs. Iowa State Box Score
125 – Matt McDonough (Iowa) dec. Andrew Long (Iowa State), 9-8
133 – Nick Fanthorpe (Iowa State) dec. Nate Moore (Iowa), 8-3
141 – Dan LeClere (Iowa) dec. Dalton Jensen (Iowa State), 7-2
149 – Brent Metcalf (Iowa) dec. Mitch Mueller (Iowa State), 7-3
157 – Aaron Janssen (Iowa) dec. Andrew Sorenson (Iowa State), 3-1
165 – Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) dec. Jon Reader (Iowa State), 5-4
174 – Jay Borschel (Iowa) maj. dec. Duke Burk (Iowa State), 10-2
184 – Jerome Ward (Iowa State) dec. Phillip Keddy (Iowa), 7-5
197 – Jake Varner (Iowa State) dec. Luke Lofthouse (Iowa), 7-1
Hwt. – David Zabriskie (Iowa State) dec. Jordan Johnson (Iowa), 4-1
more after the jump
Over the course of the two-day event Iowa also scored victories over No. 12 Nebraska (33-3), No. 9 Boise State (20-12) and No. 5 Minnesota (28-12). The Hawkeyes return to action on Jan. 16 against Oklahoma State. The match will be broadcast on The Big Ten Network on the Jan. 17 at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Oklahoma State dominates the field at Virginia Duals
The No. 4 Oklahoma State Cowboys improved their record to 8-0-1 with a dominating performance at the Virginia Duals. In the finals, the Cowboys defeated No. 11 Lehigh 30-6. Over the weekend the team also defeated Liberty (36-6), Clarion (42-6) and No. 14 Penn State (24-13).
Top Individual Performers
Iowa’s Brent Metcalf, the undisputed kingpin at 149 pounds, went 4-0 with two victories over ranked opponents to lead his Hawkeyes to a National Duals title. The four wins run his undefeated season record to 19-0. Melcalf has picked up bonus points in 16 of his 19 victories.
After representing the U.S. in the World Championships over the summer, Jake Varner is having his best season yet. The senior put together an undefeated weekend, including a victory over No. 4 Hudson Taylor (Maryland), to run his season record to 18-0. Varner has scored an astonishing eight falls this season.
Richard Anderson Mann is an MMA journalist who makes his home in Chicago. He is a member of the Journalism Master’s degree program at Roosevelt University. Currently, he is a columnist for PROMMA.info and a news writer for adcombat.com. Richard can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Facebook at Facebook.com/RichardAndersonMann.
This is cool I love seeing this.