Iowa’s Ethan Lofthouse (left) faces Iowa State’s Boaz Beard at 184. Lofthouse won the match 8-2.
Two-time defending champion Penn State has the lead after the first session of the NCAA Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines.
Audio: Pat Curtis NCAA wrestling report – 1:28.
Here are the team scores following the opening round:
1. Penn State – 14.5
2. Oklahoma State – 13
3. Minnesota – 11
4. Iowa – 10
The Iowa Hawkeyes got bonus points from Tony Ramos, the #2 seed at 133. Ramos scored a first period pin over his opening round opponent from Bloomsburg.
“Obviously, I want my (individual) national title, but I also want that team title,” Ramos said. “I’ve been chasing one down since I was in high school – always taking second or third. It would mean a lot to me to get that team title too.”
All four of Northern Iowa’s wrestlers won their opening matches. The Panthers’ Levi Wolfensperger had his head wrapped in tape five seconds into his match as his opponent’s teeth cut into his scalp.
UNI’s Levi Wolfensperger required stitches to a wound on his head following his opening round pin.
Wolfensperger responded with a first period pin. “He cut me open pretty bad and I have to go get stitches here soon,” Wolfensperger said following the match.
“I just wanted to get off that mat and get rid of that tape. It was bothering me pretty bad. It was a good start to the tournament. We’re always looking for falls…get in and get out, that’s all I want to do.”
UNI, Iowa State, and Oregon State are tied for 5th in the team race with nine points. Session II of the NCAA Wrestling Championships gets underway at 6 p.m.
NCAA Wrestling first round (Iowa, UNI, Iowa State results)
Iowa:
125 – #3 Matt McDonough WON 10-2 over Ben Willeford (Cleveland St)
133 – #2 Tony Ramos WON by 1st period FALL over Nick Wilcox (Bloomsburg)
141 – #7 Mark Ballweg WON 3-0 over Daniel Neff (Lock Haven)
157 – #2 Derek St. John WON 9-3 over Matthew Frisch (Citadel)
165 – #10 Nick Moore LOST 5-2 to Michael Moreno (ISU)
174 – #3 Mike Evans WON 2-0 over Craig Kelliher (Central Michigan)
184 – #12 Ethan Lofthouse WON 8-2 over Boaz Beard (ISU)
197 – Nathan Burak LOST 10-2 to #1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent St)
285 – #6 Bobby Telford WON 8-1 over Joe Stolfi (Bucknell)
UNI:
133 – #9 Levi Wolfensperger WON by 1st period FALL over Anthony Elias (Davidson)
141 – Joey Lazor WON 12-4 over Bryan Pearsall (Penn St)
157 – David Bonin WON 1-0 over Bobby Barnhisel (Navy)
184 – #6 Ryan Loder WON 4-0 over Cody Reed (Binghamton)
Iowa State:
141 – Luke Goettl LOST 12-3 to #8 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota)
149 – Max Mayfield LOST 11-0 to Eric Grajales (Michigan)
165 – Michael Moreno WON 5-2 over Nick Moore (Iowa)
174 – Tanner Weatherman WON 6-4 over #10 Daniel Yates (Michigan)
184 – Boaz Beard LOST 8-2 to Ethan Lofthouse (Iowa)
197 – #6 Kyven Gadson WON by 1st period FALL over Mario Gonzalez (Illinois)
285 – Matthew Gibson WON Blake Herrin (American)