Wrestlers fall short at Big Tens, take second to Iowa

It could have been the perfect crime.

Penn State had crept within four points of front-running Iowa after the consolation round of last weekend's Big Ten Wrestling Championships.

The Nittany Lions had secured four finalists, two of whom would go head-to-head against Hawkeye opponents.

Iowa hadn't forgotten how to lay down the law at crunch time.

The Hawkeyes claimed three individual championships to Penn State's one, to pull away and win their 25th consecutive Big Ten title, the first under rookie head coach Jim Zalesky.

Iowa amassed 132.5 points while Penn State (120.5), Minnesota (107), Michigan (77.5) and Wisconsin (65.5) filed behind to round out the top five.

"It looked good after the consolations, heading into the finals," Lion coach John Fritz said. "I thought we didn't have a good final round. It could have been better, but the effort was there."

"It always feels good to win, especially at Big Tens," said Zalesky, who replaced legendary Hawkeye coach Dan Gable this season. "It was looking like it might be Penn State's day after the consolation round, but we came through in the end."

They certainly did.

The Hawkeyes won at three of their strongest weight classes -- 134, 142 and 167 pounds -- to silence any naysayers once and for all.

At 134, it was Mark Ironside providing the anticipated win over Penn State's Biff Walizer. Ironside, who was named both the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler and the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, came from behind to down Walizer 8-4.

Jeff McGinness followed Ironside up nicely by sticking a 6-0 win to Minnesota's Jason Davids at 142. It was the rubber match between the two after they had split their season series.

Iowa's third championship came at 167, where favorite Joe Williams worked his way to a 6-3 win over surprise finalist Mark Bybee of Northwestern.

Williams' win all but guaranteed the Hawkeye repeat and cut short Penn State's momentum from the consolation round.

"In the finals we wrestled well," Zalesky said. "We won some good, tough matches. I thought the guys wrestled with a lot of intensity."

Though the Lions didn't get the better of Iowa in the team standings, they managed to save some face behind the performance of John Lange.

Lange, who has battled injury all season long, came out on the right end of a 9-7 score against the Hawkeyes' Gabe McMahon at 158. It was the crowning moment of a bumpy season for Lange.

"It's great wrestling in front of these fans. These fans are unbelievable," Lange said. "I was in on a leg, and I don't hear much out on the mat. But I got in on that leg that last time and I said to myself, 'I'm not letting go of this.' And they roared up. It's weird but that helps so much."

The crowd also roared during the post-tournament awards ceremony. While Ironside picked up his share, Penn State earned some acknowledgments as well.

Jamarr Billman, the Lions' 142 pounder, won Big Ten Freshman of the Year while Fritz won the conference's Coach of the Year award.