Iowa State/Iowa
“They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t fathom.” Terrance Mann- Field of Dreams
One of my favorite movies of all time is Field of Dreams. I love the main character, Ray, as he goes on a journey that only he really believes in. Most of his family and friends tell him he is crazy and wasting his time, but he follows his heart anyway, and ultimately turns all the doubters around, until they see his vision and join in his mission (the two sentence summary of the movie doesn’t do it justice, so if you haven’t seen the movie definitely check it out).
Like Ray, I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer and have chased enough of them to be lucky to catch a few. Although, the one that has eluded me for over 30 years is a NCAA National Title.
When given the opportunity at Stanford it seemed the logical place to continue my journey. I’m not exactly sure of the statistics, but it seems just about every sport has won a NCAA title at Stanford, and in my mind it is just a matter of time before it happens for wrestling.
In order to reach this goal, it is important that the team is tested and when we scheduled #6 ranked Iowa State and #2 Iowa in consecutive days in Iowa we knew we would find out what we are made of. Unlike the quote on the top of the page, the “reasons” for coming to Iowa were very clear.
Call me crazy, but we went in with every intention of winning both duals. While we were able to get a good win over #6 Iowa State 23-21, we lost by a large margin to Iowa 32-9. It was 5 individual wins to 4 losses against Iowa State, and a 3-6 split against Iowa. Generally, we had good fights in most of the matches contested, and there were certainly some bright spots to build from, but the schedule is set up in a way to figure out what we need to work on as we prepare for March, and there is plenty to work on.
Iowa State Dual (W, 23-21)
Iowa Dual (L, 32-9)
- 125: We had a forfeit both matches here unfortunately, and we are still working to get Nico Provo healthy. It’s been a bit of a medical mystery, but we have the best medical staff in the country and will get to the bottom of this issue.
- 133: Tyler Knox, was the second winner of the coveted, “wrestler of the weekend” award. While the coaches would like to claim ownership of his interesting wrestling style, his approach to a match is all his own. We can just hope to add some layers and make him more effective in the fundamental positions. His approach is working as he took out returning NCAA finalist Drake Ayala against Iowa and secured some much needed bonus points against Iowa State. Don’t let his “boy band” appearance fool you…his weight is under control…he is dangerous…and he has officially entered the conversation as one of the best in the country at 133.
- 141: The Power of “NO!”. In his first match Aden Valencia got off to a slow start and his opponent was gaining a lot of momentum which, as a result, had him gain confidence by the minute. Fortunately, there was a pivotal point in the match where Aden seemingly said to himself, “NO! I’m not going to let this (a bad match) happen.” From that point on Aden was dominant and picked up a much needed fall. Against Iowa he started strong and controlled his match to pick up a win. Not too bad for a true freshman in Carver Hawkeye Arena.
- 149: This weight gets the toughest weight of the weekend award with 6 All-American honors among the three wrestlers. Jaden Abas dropped matches to #6 Anthony Echemendia and #4 Kyle Parco. No one works harder than Jaden at mastering his craft and while the losses are not fun, I know he will pull important lessons that will help him down the road.
- 157: Grigor Cholakyan was fireworks again against Iowa State and pulled off a huge pin against a tough wrestler. I’m certain he is building a strong following with his explosive style of wrestling and we are accepting applications for those that would like to be the leader of his fan club. Against Iowa, he faced #1 ranked Jacori Teemer; perhaps the stingiest wrestler I have ever coached against. Grigor fought hard, but couldn’t get his offense going and lost by MD. Interesting fact, Grigor has been on Stanford’s campus less months (5) than Teemer’s years (6) of NCAA experience.
- 165: Hunter Garvin wrestled a solid 11 of 14 total minutes between his two matches and when we get him competing for the full match he will be in the hunt for a national championship. In my opinion #2 ranked Caliendo of Iowa is one of the best wrestlers in the country, regardless of weight, so for Hunter to control the early portion of the match the way he did is impressive. Unfortunately, he tried to “hang on” to a lead way too early and it cost him the match. I have a ton of respect for Caliendo’s ability to stay composed and come back for the win. If Hunter never lets that happen again, he will win a national title.
- 174: Lorenzo Norman, had two huge wins on the weekend and the crazy thing is it wasn’t the best I have witnessed from Lorenzo in relation to his wrestling. Pulling off a win vs #4 Nelson Brands in a wild Carver Hawkeye Arena environment is a big deal for the freshman, and the win should allow him to be more confident as he continues through the season.
- 184: Luke Duthie got the start against Iowa State, but couldn’t get the win vs 3x NCAA qualifier Evan Bockman. He showed a lot of toughness as he has been dealing with an injury and we are proud of the way he competed. The bad news is Luke will be out for a while as he recovers from his injury. The good news is 184 is probably our deepest weight (unlike 125), so when Tye Monteiro steps on the mat we are feeling really good. Against Iowa, he faced one of the best “newcomers” to NCAA wrestling in #7 ranked Gabe Arnold. Tye had some solid attempts in the match, but couldn’t find any offensive scores. Tye has improved a ton since last year and I am excited to see what he can do throughout the season.
- 197: While Jaden Abas had the toughest opponents on the weekend, Nick Stemmet has had the toughest run of multiple weekends of really talented opponents facing #4 AJ Ferarri, now #13 Christian Carroll, and #1 Stephen Buchanan. Although he didn’t pick up a win, Nick can take a lot from each match, and he now knows he needs to jump a level if he wants to get on the podium in March and he’s working hard to make the jump.
- 285: We gave up two technical falls at 285 and we have to get better. The room is tough and there are a lot of great wrestlers around Jackson Mankowski, so the examples are there and Jackson has to keep working hard until he figures out that he can win on this level.
On to Cal Poly
We have Cal Poly this Saturday, 11:30, in San Luis Obispo. With both teams from California it is always a big dual, so I’m certain it will be an entertaining match. We won 30-9 last year, but don’t let the score fool you as it was a hard fought win. The dual is outdoors and it is their alumni weekend, so they are promoting it in a big way. If you can make it to the dual please come support the team!
If you can’t make the match you can watch it in the following ways:
Flowrestling: Click Here
Cal Poly Wrestling Team’s twitter page: Click Here
Hunter Garvin to Wrestle in the All-Star Classic
Hunter Garvin had the honor of being selected to wrestle in the NWCA All-Star Classic at State College this Saturday at 7:00. Hunter will face Peyton Hall of West Virginia.
More Information: Click Here
Stanford 23, Iowa State 21
125: Adrian Meza (ISU) over (STAN) (For.)
133: #20 Tyler Knox (STAN) over Garrett Grice (ISU) (MD 10-0)
141: Aden Valencia (STAN) over Zach Redding (ISU) (Fall 5:50)
149: #6 Anthony Echemendia (ISU) over #10 Jaden Abas (STAN) (Dec 11-5)
157: Grigor Cholakyan (STAN) over Kane Naaktgeboren (ISU) (Fall 5:32)
165: #8 Hunter Garvin (STAN) over Connor Euton (ISU) (Dec 10-3)
174: #21 Lorenzo Norman (STAN) over Aiden Riggins (ISU) (MD 10-1)
184: Evan Bockman (ISU) over Luke Duthie (STAN) (MD 15-7)
197: Christian Carroll (ISU) over #13 Nikolas Stemmet (STAN) (Dec 11-7)
285: Daniel Herrera (ISU) over Jackson Mankowski (STAN) (TF 20-4 5:49)
Iowa 32, Stanford 9
125: Kale Petersen (IOWA) over (STAN) (For.)
133: #20 Tyler Knox (STAN) over #3 Drake Ayala (IOWA) (Dec 15-10)
141: Aden Valencia (STAN) over Ryder Block (IOWA) (Dec 11-6)
149: #4 Kyle Parco (IOWA) over #10 Jaden Abas (STAN) (TF 15-0 5:43)
157: #1 Jacori Teemer (IOWA) over Grigor Cholakyan (STAN) (MD 13-3)
165: #2 Mike Caliendo (IOWA) over #8 Hunter Garvin (STAN) (Dec 17-12)
174: #21 Lorenzo Norman (STAN) over #4 Nelson Brands (IOWA) (Dec 4-1)
184: #7 Gabe Arnold (IOWA) over Tye Monteiro (STAN) (MD 14-3)
197: #1 Stephen Buchanan (IOWA) over #13 Nikolas Stemmet (STAN) (TF 17-1 6:22)
285: #11 Ben Kueter (IOWA) over Jackson Mankowski (STAN) (TF 19-4 0:00)
Best,
Coach Ayres
