Iowa adds to wrestling treasure

ST. LOUIS – Iowa got individual titles from Brent Metcalf and Mark Perry to go with its runaway team title in the NCAA wrestling championships Saturday night.

The top-ranked Hawkeyes put a stranglehold on their first championship since 2000 and 21st overall a day earlier and finished with 117.5 points and a whopping 38.5-point victory margin. Ohio State also won two individual titles and finished a distant second, the school’s best finish, and just missed a third title when top-ranked heavyweight Dustin Fox of Northwestern beat the Buckeyes’ J.D. Bergman 4-2 in the second sudden victory period.

Metcalf and Jay Borschel, the third-place finisher at 174 pounds, are transfers from Virginia Tech who helped boost Iowa’s profile under second-year coach Tom Brands. Iowa was eighth last year, 41 points behind champion Minnesota, and last challenged for the title with a second-place finish in 2004.

“The program is building and it’s working toward dominance,” Metcalf said. “We’ve had a dramatic change.”

Sandpoint High graduate Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State wrestled in the 285-pound third-place match, but he lost to Ed Prendergast of Navy 3-1.

Two wrestlers wrapped up unbeaten seasons, Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh at 174 and Mike Pucillo of Ohio State at 184. Pucillo spoiled an unbeaten season for Jake Varner of Iowa State, who had been 29-0. Chad Mendes of Cal Poly was upset 5-2 by sixth seed J Jaggers of Ohio State at 141.