A third place finish in the nation is normally a cause for celebration, unless you are the Iowa wrestling program. The Hawkeyes saw their three-year run as national champions come to and end in March when they finished behind Penn State and Cornell in Philadelphia. Coach Tom Brands says the goal, now, is to climb back to the top.
Brands says there are a lot of stereotypes that they are not handling the loss well, but he says the bottom line is whether you get what you want or you don’t, you go forward and go to work the next day. Brands says the work on next season began as soon as the national tournament was over.
He says they would have gone to work the same way had they won, but he says that doesn’t mean they are content. Brands says they haven’t forgotten about it, as there has been a lot of evaluation of what went on and that will lead to good things.
Brands feels the program will be motivated by what happened last season. He says they are not “upset to the point where they are raving lunatic mad.” He says that happens when guys make the same social mistakes over and over again and don’t get what the lifestyle is about.
Brands talks about what the focus has been on the recruiting trail. Hes ays their biggest needs is at 197 and 165.
By Elwin Huffman, KOEL, Oelwein