Big 12 wrestling in full swing

Jackrabbit Wrestling returned to the mats last weekend and entered the Big 12 portion of the schedule. The grapplers hit the road and continued to prove that they are truly one of the best teams in the nation going 2-0 on the weekend and matching the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams making for an undefeated weekend in Jackrabbit winter athletics. Throw in that fantastic finish the Vikings dazzled us with and Rick was a very happy camper on Sunday night! #Skol! (Sorry Matt, I’m sure if the Pack would’ve played they would’ve won too.)

The Jacks opened up the Big 12 schedule with a win at Utah Valley University, 31-10. Highlights include another Seth Gross pin (his 7^th of the season), Rotert taking care of business and Henry Pohlmeyer (141) with an opening period pin after trailing 6-0. While many fans may not recognize the UVU name they are a Big 12 member and had a dual record of 5-3(2-1 conf) after the match.

The Jacks then traveled to Colorado to face the Air Force Academy on Sunday. This match had similar results, yielding a 32-6 victory over the Airmen. Highlights included pins again by Gross and Pohlmeyer, #10 Luke Zilverberg with a major dec over #20 Mossing and Alex Macki with a hard fought 8-5 win.

Which brings us to this weekend…this home stand is legit. Our guys need #11thman out there cheering them on. Thursday, the 15^th ranked Jacks welcome the 22nd ranked Cowboys of Wyoming and there are some fantastic matchups and possibilities. Thursday is also Military Appreciation night, valid military IDs will receive 2 tickets to the match. I would direct any ticket inquiries to the fabulous staff at the Jacks ticket office. Then on Sunday #11 UNI comes to town…yes that UNI, they are recently new members of the Big 12 and bring the strong Iowa grappling tradition to Frost. It’ll be a great way to get pumped up for the NFC championship game, cheer early against the purple and gold on the mat then go home and crack a cold one and cheer heavy for the purple and gold.

Regarding the Wyoming match there is a possibility we could see a true #1 versus #1 match in #1 Seth Gross (133) bumping up to take on #1 Bryce Meredith (141). There has been much hype and banter on twitter the last few days teasing this…I for one can tell both wrestlers want it. The coaches seem to be pushing for it as well. From what I can tell we won’t know until well into the match whether this will happen or not. Team score could be the biggest factor from what I can tell. If I were to guess, the dual will begin at 149 and end at 141. If a Gross/Meredith match were to take place Seth would wrestle 141 and give up a weight advantage. It isn’t that uncommon of a practice I guess. If you follow Seth on Twitter (highly recommend) you would see his tweet to Meredith regarding best of 3. These two met Seth’s freshman campaign when he was wrestling 141. Meredith topping Seth 6-4 in a dual and Seth winning 8-3 at the Big 12 tourney.

Many would ask why would these guys risk it, chance a loss? I can only think of competitive drive. Both of these young men are at the top of their game right now. Meredith, a senior, has been a national runner up and 2x All American. Whereas Gross, a junior, has similar stats, All American status and a national runner up. If this match goes down expect 7 min of crazy on that mat. I’ve even joked (although I seriously think it’s possible) that if it doesn’t happen during the dual that these two will make their way to the practice room to throwdown.

If this matchup doesn’t happen don’t think that Gross has a gimme match, because at 133 for the Cowboys lies #5 Montorie Bridges. While Meredith would then face a red hot Jackrabbit in Pohlmeyer at 141. Pohlmeyer has been relentless lately, falling behind in the score only to wrestle hard and aggressive to come away with the fall. One thing I’ve learned watching a Chris Bono coached squad, these wrestlers never give up…ever.

The other premier matchup of the night will be #10 Zilverberg versus #12 Archie Colgan. So if you can make it at all on Thursday night I highly encourage you to come out. Weather is supposed to be great and I anticipate a highly charged atmosphere with all the anticipation. I even predict we may possibly see media tied to national organizations. The wrestling world will have their eyes on Brookings Thursday night.

I’m hoping to recap the action from Thursday and preview the incredible match with UNI by Saturday. I will be out of town for Sundays match but I guarantee you will not regret getting to Frost to watch this war. There are also a few promotions and fundraisers going on that I hope to touch base on as well.

 I also want to begin to put a plug in for the next home match following UNI. February 4^th the Jackrabbits welcome Iowa State to Brookings for a 1pm dual. I realize this is the day of the “Big Game” and is spent like a holiday with friends and family gathered around the big screen (fingers crossed, Vikings winning)…but, can you think of a better way to get pumped to watch that than starting off with Bono and assistant Jon Reader leading our boys into battle against their alma mater? So mark your calendars now and start your SB party midafternoon.

#getjacked, #11thman

-Rick