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Challenges are an integral part of athletics. How they are met, fought and overcome is one of ways that a team measures success. The 2010-11 University of Iowa wrestling team will have to overcome several challenges in order to collect the school’s 24th NCAA and 35th Big Ten team titles.

Reloadingtheteamwillbeoneofthefirsttasksfor Head Coach Tom Brands and his staff. Iowa gradu- ated 11 seniors from the 2009-10 squad, which was arguably one of the best Hawkeye teams in school history. That group, which consisted of Chad Beatty, Jay Borschel, Daniel Dennis, Dan Erekson, Michael Fahrer, Phillip Keddy, Dan LeClere, Rick Loera, Brent Metcalf, Ryan Morningstar and Joe Slaton, led Iowa to three straight NCAA and Big Ten titles, three straight Big Ten regular season titles and a 68-1 dual mark the past three seasons. Members of the senior class com- bined for three NCAA individual titles, five Big Ten indi- vidual titles and 15 All-America honors. They posted a combined career record of 697-231, started 532 duals and qualified for the NCAA Championships 21 times. To say that they are going to be difficult to replace is an understatement.

Defending NCAA champion Matt McDonough returns with the highest honors. The sophomore 125-pounder posted a 37-1 record during his first year with Iowa. McDonough went undefeated in dual competition (23-0) and scored 104 team points in dual competition. He won the 2009 Midlands title and his lone loss was to four-time All-American and three-time Big Ten champion Angel Escobedo of Indiana in the conference finals. McDonough is also listed at 133 pounds this season.

Also returning with considerable mat experience are seniors Matt Ballweg, Aaron Janssen, Jake Kerr, Luke Lofthouse, and juniors Jordan Johnson and Blake Rasing. The Hawkeyes are going to need their leadership as 25 members of Iowa’s 40-man roster are underclassmen. Ballweg posted an 11-17 record at 157 in 2008-09, while Janssen and Kerr split time at 165 pounds last season. Janssen went 12-4, while Kerr tallied a 13-11 mark and placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships to earn his first bid to the NCAA Championships. Lofthouse wrestled at 174 as a true freshman during the 2004-05 season before leaving for a two-year Mormon mission in Africa. He wrestled the entire Big Ten dual season at 197 last year for in- jured starter Chad Beatty, posting a 7-7 dual mark and a 19-13 collegiate record. Johnson and Rasing split time at heavyweight last year before injured starter Dan Erekson returned to the lineup. Johnson posted a 7-2 dual mark, going 10-2 overall, while Rasing went 1-5 in duals, 9-9 overall.

Several talented, but untested Hawkeyes are also in the mix at various weights. Junior Tyler Clark was a two-time NCAA qualifier at 125 for Iowa State before transferring to Iowa and redshirting last season. Clark posted a 43-20 record for the Cyclones, placing sec- ond at the Big 12 Championships as a sophomore and

fourth as a true freshman. Redshirt freshmen Tony Ramos (133) and Ethen Lofthouse (174) wrestled strong while competing unattached last season. Ra- mos went 12-0, while Lofthouse posted a 30-7 mark, with each winning titles at three open tournaments.

Iowa City West High School alums Dylan Carew (149), Grant Gambrall (174/184), Nick Moore (157/165), Nate Moore (133) and Derek St. John (157) are also ready to put their stamps on the Hawk- eye record books. Gambrall went 15-5 at 184 during his redshirt freshman campaign, posting a 2-0 dual mark behind Keddy. Nate Moore, who is also entering his sophomore season, went 9-6 in collegiate match- es and 3-2 in duals at 133 last season. St. John and Carew both redshirted the 2009-10 season, with St. John going 26-4 at 157 and Carew going 11-11 at 149 while competing unattached. St. John won two open tournament titles and was Iowa’s highest placer at 157 at the Midlands Championships.

The addition of 12 newcomers will add to Iowa’s depth in each weight class. Four-time state champion Nick Moore (Iowa City) and three-time state champion Jacob Ballweg (Waverly) are two of the four Iowa na- tives in the group, and both are younger siblings of cur- rent Hawkeyes. East Coast transplants Anthony Bal- dosaro (Berlin, NJ), Josh Dziewa (Yardley, PA), Mike Evans (Enola, PA) and Bobby Telford (Hockessin, DE) won a combined six state titles and have exten- sive national experience. Jeremy Fahler (Deerfield, IL), Matt Gurule (Grand Junction, CO), Charlie Jo- seph (Troy, MI), Walt Gillmor (Donahue, IA), Michael Kelly (Cedar Falls, IA) and Ethan Owens (Vansant, GA) round out the group of true freshmen. Gurule and Owens each won two high school state titles.

The Hawkeye practice room may look more like a family reunion this year than in the past as there are three sets of brothers and one uncle-nephew combi- nation on the team. Matt, Mark and Jacob Ballweg; Stew and Walt Gillmor; and Nate and Nick Moore are the 37th, 38th and 39th sets of brothers to compete for the Hawkeyes. Luke and Ethen Lofthouse are the fourth uncle-nephew pair to wrestle at Iowa.

Iowa will open the season Nov. 19 with the Iowa City Duals and is set to host seven contests in Carver- Hawkeye Arena. After facing Iowa Central and Coe in the Iowa City Duals, the Hawkeyes will host intra-state rival Iowa State Dec. 3 and Big Ten foe Michigan State Dec. 5. Iowa will head to the West Gym to face for- mer Hawkeye Doug Schwab and the Northern Iowa Panthers Dec. 9 before traveling to the 48th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL, Dec. 29-30. After Midlands, Iowa will host Southern Illinois -Ed- wardsville (Jan. 7) and Big Ten opponents Ohio State (Jan. 22), Indiana (Feb. 6) and Michigan (Feb. 13). Iowa’s road dual schedule consists of trips to Okla- homa State (Jan. 16), Northwestern (Jan. 28), Penn State (Jan. 30), Purdue (Feb. 11) and Minnesota (Feb. 20). The Hawkeyes will made a third trip back to Evan- ston, IL, for the Big Ten Championships at Welsh-Ryan Arena Mar. 5-6, before heading to Philadelphia, PA, for the NCAA Championships Mar. 17-19. The national tournament will be held at the Wachovia Center.

Here is a 2010-11 weight-by-weight breakdown: Please go to pages 10-11

http://www.hawkeyesports....estl/auto_pdf/1011guide1