Andy Hamilton – Iowa City Press-Citizen

Danny Song wasn’t certain what he was getting into three years ago when his search for a place to continue his wrestling career led him from New York to Iowa.

He had just finished his senior season at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy where he became a Division III All-American under coach Tim Alger, a former Hawkeye.

A phone call from Alger to Iowa coach Tom Brands helped get Song’s foot in the door of the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex in 2006. Ultimately, it helped Brands find the newest member of his coaching staff.

Brands said Monday that Song will be the strength and conditioning coach for the Hawkeyes. The 25-year-old replaces Jared Frayer, who left Iowa after one season for an assistant position at Wisconsin.

“I consider myself a product of this program,” Song said. “I feel like the philosophy, the lifestyle, the culture, it’s what I was looking for, even not knowing it. But getting out here and getting a feel for it, it’s exactly where I want to be.”

Andy Hamilton • Iowa City Press-Citizen

Nick Moore joked in May that he might hold off on making a commitment until next spring just to throw off all of the people who expected an announcement this summer that he was headed to Iowa.

As it turned out, the three-time state champion from West High might have thrown himself for a loop.

“I wanted to stay open-minded and not get set on Iowa,” Moore said. “But in the end, it would’ve hurt a bit not to go to Iowa.”

So Moore committed to the Hawkeyes on Sunday night, ending a short recruiting process that also included Old Dominion and Edinboro — perhaps the only two schools that thought it wasn’t a lost cause to pursue a wrestler who has a brother and three other high school teammates either at Iowa or on their way.

“Even if it’s just your siblings there, it’s tough to turn away from that school,” Moore said. “But I live in Iowa City, too, so they probably didn’t want to waste their time.”

ISU transfer back in business at Iowa

By Andy Hamilton • Iowa City Press-Citizen • July 3, 2009

Rankings apparently came into play when Tyler Clark made his decision to leave Iowa State and transfer to Iowa.

The two-time NCAA qualifier was listing some of the factors Thursday that led to his departure from the Cyclones when the business major mentioned the University of Iowa’s Tippie Business School, which recently ranked 44th nationally by U.S. News. Iowa State was unranked.

Of course, Iowa’s No. 1 wrestling program factored into the equation too.

“Right now,” Clark said, “this is the place to be.”

Clark, a 125-pounder, feels so strongly Iowa is the place for him that he’s sacrificing a scholarship check and an opportunity to compete next year to join the Hawkeyes.

Clark said Iowa State granted him a conditional release after coach Cael Sanderson left the Cyclones for Penn State and Kevin Jackson took over in Ames. Clark was restricted from transferring to Iowa penalty-free. Thus, he can’t have contact with Tom Brands or the Iowa coaches until his first day of classes in the fall, he’ll have to pay his way through school next year without scholarship assistance and he won’t be eligible to compete for the Hawkeyes next season.

Jared Frayer, the Iowa wrestling team’s strength and conditioning coach, has accepted a position as an assistant coach at Wisconsin.

Frayer wrestled at Oklahoma, where he was a two-time all-American and an NCAA runner-up in 2002 at 149 pounds, and also has extensive post-collegiate national wrestling experience. He served as Iowa’s strength and conditioning coach for the 2008-09 season.

Frayer will join former Hawkeye Barry Davis’s staff at Wisconsin.

First assistant Bart Chelesvig left Davis’s staff in May, and Donnie Pritzlaff was elevated to the associate head coaching position. Frayer will take over Pritzlaff’s position.

“They had offered me the volunteer position about two weeks ago,” Frayer said. “It just wasn’t right. It was more of a lateral move for me. I enjoyed where I was at at Iowa. But I guess they kind of knew what they wanted and they (made the offer).

“It’s a better position. This is what I want to do as a career. It’s a position where I can recruit. I’m directly involved with the university. I respect the guys that are there. There are not too many places that I would have gone other than that.”

BY RYAN YOUNG

ST. LOUIS — It definitely wasn’t the storybook ending Iowa expected at the conclusion of the NCAA wrestling championships.

The Hawkeyes received a 22nd team title to a storm of cheers and whistles, but the jubilant and prideful ovation at the end of the tournament might as well have been cricket chirps.

Without a champion, there just isn’t much to celebrate for the nation’s top program.

Iowa’s title came as a serendipitous byproduct of Ohio State’s failed efforts — not because the Hawkeyes manhandled their competition. And as a result, Northwestern senior Jake Herbert will forever be remarked in college wrestling lore as the guy who sealed the deal for Iowa in 2009.

Sure, three Hawkeye wrestlers in the consolation semifinals won and moved on to vie for third with heavyweight Dan Erekson unexpectedly scoring mad team points on a first-period pin against top-seeded big man David Zabriskie. But only 165-pounder Ryan Morningstar earned bronze in the wrestle-back finals, finishing to his No. 3 seed.

So where are the uplifting positives?

Out of the nine NCAA qualifiers, only Erekson placed higher than he was forecast to be, and he took fourth as the seventh-seeded heavyweight.

Andy Hamilton – Iowa City Press-Citizen

CEDAR FALLS — To hear others speak of his work, it might sound as if Terry Brands was employed as some sort of project manager if you didn’t know better.
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During the first 10 weeks of his second stint as an Iowa assistant wrestling coach, the two-time World champion’s influence on the program has perhaps been felt most by the individuals who have become his personal projects.

“I feel like I’m kind of his project,” said junior Ryan Morningstar, whose renaissance at 165 pounds this season has been one of the reasons the Hawkeyes enter this weekend’s NWCA National Duals as the No. 1 seed. “We do a lot of drilling together in the mornings and break down film together. He’s taken me under his wing and worked with me quite a bit and it’s been real positive for me.”

Brands has his fingerprints on others, too. He has helped Iowa’s freshmen adapt to college wrestling, he was instrumental in getting heavyweight Blake Rasing to rejoin the Hawkeyes and brought the program another specialist in the field of technique.

Brands, Sanderson re-ignite Iowa wrestling rivalry

By Luke Meredith, AP Sports Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa — They’re shooting for a record crowd Saturday night in Iowa City.

Local authorities gave the University of Iowa permission to increase the capacity at Carver-Hawkeye Arena from 15,500 to 16,000. Officials have warned folks to buy their tickets in advance and arrive early, and the school plans to run shuttles from parking lots around campus to alleviate traffic.

Must be a Jonas Brothers concert, a Hannah Montana show or a big-time basketball matchup, right?

No, no and no.

It’s the annual dual meet between the Iowa State and Iowa wrestling teams. In a state that prides itself on being a cradle of wrestling, that’s a very big deal – and this year’s matchup between top-rated Iowa and second-ranked Iowa State could be the biggest yet.

Iowa is hoping to break the dual-meet record of 15,646 set by Minnesota when it hosted the Hawkeyes in 2002. The school had sold 13,500 tickets as of Thursday morning.

“I think it shows that wrestling is strong in Iowa,” said Iowa coach Tom Brands. “When you look at two programs that are 200 miles apart, or whatever, I don’t know if there’s any other place in the country like that.”

University of Iowa Sports Information

IOWA CITY, IA — University of Iowa Director of Athletics Gary Barta announced today that Coach Tom Brands has signed a contract extension that will run through the 2013 wrestling season.

“Tom Brands is the best wrestling coach in the country,” said Barta. “When you combine that with the fact he’s been a Hawkeye all his life, the fit is perfect. I look forward to working with him for many years to come.”

Brands’ new contract will run through June 2013 and increases his guaranteed annual compensation to approximately $150,000. Additional academic and athletic incentives will offer Brands opportunities for additional income.

The 2008 NWCA, W.I.N. Magazine and Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year, Brands is in his third season as Iowa’s head wrestling coach. He has a 39-6 overall and 13-3 Big Ten record at Iowa, and a 56-26 career mark. Brands and the defending NCAA and Big Ten Champion Hawkeyes are off to a 4-0 start this season with wins over Iowa Central (52-0), Coe (51-0), Minnesota State Mankato (45-3) and Arizona State (41-0) at the Iowa City Duals last week. Iowa is currently on an 18-dual match winning streak.

Terry Brands to leave USA Wrestling to accept assistant wrestling coach position with the Univ. of Iowa
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling

USA Wrestling’s Assistant National Freestyle Coach and Head Resident Coach Terry Brands has notified USA Wrestling that he accepted a position as assistant wrestling coach with the University of Iowa today.

Brands will remain with USA Wrestling through October 31 before officially assuming his new job. Brands will coach a group of U.S. freestyle wrestlers on a tour to Yakutsk, Russia next week.

“USA Wrestling is grateful to Terry and Michelle Brands for their contributions and service to USA Wrestling,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. “I wish them the best of luck in all of their future endeavors.”

Brands, a two-time World champion freestyle wrestler and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist, joined the USA Wrestling national staff in April 2005. He has coached the resident freestyle athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, including 2006 World Champion Bill Zadick and 2008 Olympic Champion Henry Cejudo. Brands has served on the coaching staff for the U.S. teams that have competed at the last three World Championships as well as the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

An even tougher ticket

Curtaining off Hilton limits Iowa-ISU crowd

By Andy Hamilton
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Iowa State examined ways to improve its wrestling attendance when Cael Sanderson became the head coach, and the Cyclones came up with an unusual strategy — limiting the number of fans who can attend dual meets at Hilton Coliseum.

Iowa State’s home arena has room for 14,092 at capacity, but only approximately 9,000 fans will be able to get through the doors Sunday when the top-ranked Cyclones wrestle No. 4 Iowa.

Iowa State curtained off nearly one-third of the arena to create a more intimate setting for its dual meets and help boost its season-ticket sales.

“Our attendance hasn’t been great, and this was one of the first things we looked at as a coaching staff,” Sanderson said. “How do we make this a more exciting environment? How do we make it more appealing for people to buy season tickets? It’s just for the overall atmosphere, and that’s really it. We don’t have enough fans right now to use (all of) Hilton and have the atmosphere we want in every match. We knew this Iowa match would be the one exception. The only problem is this match only comes around every two years.”