The NCAA News - News and Features

March 31, 1997

Hawkeyes soar to NCAA record

Iowa not only wins third straight I wrestling title, but smashes its own mark for most points scored

BY MARTY BENSON
Staff Writer

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Although the terms "underdog" and "Iowa wrestling" go together about as well as "jumbo shrimp" or any other oxymoron you can think of, most experts agreed the sport's most dominant program was not the favorite coming into this year's Division I Wrestling Championships.

That role fell to Oklahoma State, which defeated the Hawkeyes in a regular-season dual meet. Iowa, however, responded in a way that surprised even Hawkeye coach Dan Gable.

By the end of the second day of the March 20-22 event at Northern Iowa, the Hawkeyes had dominated the field on their way to a third consecutive team title and their sixth in the last seven years.

The team entered day two with a narrow lead over the top-ranked Cowboys. The margin swelled to insurmountable proportions by day's end as Iowa wrestlers won a championships-record 23 straight matches and finished the day with a 24-2 record.

During the run, Gable urged his charges on from matside. The 48-year-old coach, who is considering retirement after leading Iowa to 15 wrestling titles, pounded the custom Hawkeye black crutches he must use because of recent hip-replacement surgery on the UNI-Dome floor and thrust them toward the inflatable roof, whipping wrestlers and fans alike into a frenzy.

The setting could not have been more fitting. Record sellout crowds packed the venue, which is near Waterloo, the town in which the Gable story began.

The fact that this could also be the Iowa mentor's last appearance as coach only threw gasoline on what already was an inferno. Because of his health and a desire to spend more time with his family, the man many consider the sport's greatest athlete, best coach and top ambassador is contemplating, but still hasn't decided on, retirement. He said the dominance he witnessed by his team only makes the decision more difficult.

"I'm already getting a lot of pressure from people that this is the perfect way to end," he said. "It is pretty good. That's why I said that this could be the year. But I also said that the outcome (of this tournament) can't be part of my decision."

The Iowa celebration that started on day two continued during the finals, as the record attendance set in each of sold-out sessions two through five (14,527) swelled to 17,436. (More seats are available for the finals because only one mat is used, compared to as many as eight for earlier sessions.)

Led by most outstanding wrestler Lincoln McIlravy, five of six Hawkeye finalists won, running up a championships-record 170 points. Oklahoma State finished second with 1131/2 points. The winning margin of 561/2 tied the mark for the second-largest margin in event history. Iowa, which scored a then-record 158 points in 1986, won by the same margin over Oregon State in 1995. The record margin stands at 581/2 points, set by the Hawkeyes in 1991.

Even Gable was not sure his team was capable of such a showing.

"Friday (day two), I was pleasantly surprised," he said. "Who would have thought we would go on a roll on the most important day of the tournament? It's special when you don't expect it and nobody expected this...not even me, totally."

McIlravy, who redshirted last year while attempting to make the U.S. Olympic team, unseated 150-pound defending champion Chris Bono of Iowa State, 5-3, in sudden death. The title was the South Dakota native's third and represented vindication for the upset he suffered at the hands of Illinois' Steven Marianetti in the finals two years ago in Iowa City.

"It's kind of a load off my chest more than anything," McIlravy said of climbing to the top of the victory stand again. "I still wake up at night crying about it, literally. I could have been one of the all-time greats (Oklahoma State's Pat Smith is the only wrestler to win four individual titles)."

The Hawkeyes' 118-pound Jessie Whitmer, a 5-foot senior who was appearing in his first NCAA championships, got the momentum started on finals night by defeating Illinois' Lindsey Durlacher, 5-4. Afterward, he raised both fists in the air and then pointed, in honor, to Gable repeatedly, as the crowd noise reached ear-splitting levels.

Iowa's Joe Williams successfully defended his title in the 158-pound class, downing Tony Robie of Edinboro, 5-3. Another repeat champion was Cary Kolat of Lock Haven, who won the 142-pound class after winning last year at 134 pounds.

Although neither won titles last year, Oklahoma State's 167-pound Mark Branch and Penn State heavyweight Kerry McCoy won the second championships of their career. Branch, a senior who won as a freshman, suffered a serious knee injury that forced him to default in last year's final. Just like McIlravy, McCoy redshirted last year in an attempt to make the Olympic team.

Finals night culminated as Gable was handed his team's national-championship trophy by surprise presenter Bob Siddens, who was his high-school coach at West Waterloo.

"I broke down a little emotionally," Gable said, reflecting on the moment. "I had to quick change my thoughts or I would have started crying like a baby."

The crowd for the final was the largest to witness an amateur wrestling event in U.S. history. The total number of fans at the six sold-out sessions was 90,064, breaking the record of 81,516 set at Iowa in 1995. The past three championships have been the most heavily attended in NCAA wrestling history. Last year's figure at Minneapolis was 77,489.