Call Iowa stubborn if you wish, but Iowans are proud of their wrestling. "Wrestling is part of the culture. In just about every small town in the state wrestling is the top program. A lot of the sport's icons come from Iowa," commented Cornell coach Mike Duroe. The legend of state lore is Dan Gable. Gable won two NCAA titles for Iowa State, an Olympic gold medal in 1972, and coached Iowa to 15 team championships. In regards to this, Wartburg head coach Jim Miller said, "I think the state of Iowa has always taken pride in college athletics. You can drive across the state and see school emblems on barns, see the schools they are supporting. It really blew up with Gable. He raised the awareness of the non-wrestling fans and made them acknowledge that we weren't just seeing the best in the country but the best in the world."
Let's begin are look at Iowan collegiate wrestling today with the small schools, Division III. But just because they are small does not mean, they don't take it seriously. In case you didn't know, NCAA Division III schools aren't allowed to give athletic scholarships, which means that all these guys are wrestling because of their love for the sport. Five Iowan schools are currently in the top 16 of the NWCA rankings, led by #1 Wartburg. This comes as no surprise as the Knights have won eight DIII titles since 1996, including three of the last four. The state's other ranked schools are #5 Coe, #6 Cornell, #11 Luther, and #16 Dubuque.
The only Division II school in Iowa is Upper Iowa. Since joining DII in 2005, the Peacocks have been flexing their muscle on the mat. They are currently #2 in the DII polls. Upper Iowa head coach Heath Grimm understands the importance of maintaining success no matter who you are competing against. Grimm stated that, "Coaches have a big responsibility to continue with that tradition."
Then, there are the big boys of Division I, University of Iowa, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones are currently on the outskirts of the rankings looking in. Everyone in DI though is looking up at the #1 Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes are 6-0 as a team so far and have been wrestling very well.
Now, let's look at what this means in retrospect to this weekend. DIII #1 Wartburg looks to hold its spot atop the rankings when they travel to Springfield, Illinois to North Central College to take on the hosts, Dubuque, and other schools. DII #2 Upper Iowa hopes to surpass #1 Newberry with a win at the National Duals. DI #1 University of Iowa plays host to #2 Oklahoma State on Saturday night. This means that if the Knights, Peacocks, and Hawkeyes all win this weekend, the next NWCA polls to be released will feature an Iowan school atop each of their respective divisions.
