Team meeting confronts woes, struggles of wrestlers

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photo: Jonathan Krueger/Iowa State Daily

Redshirt sophomore Ryak Finch sits on Old Dominion wrestler to pin him to the mat Nov. 25 at Hilton Coliseum.  The Cyclones lost 22-13.

Jake Calhoun

There is no ‘I’ in team, not even in an individual-specific sport like wrestling.

Four ISU wrestlers came away with wins in their season-opening dual meet Sunday, but the team itself did not pull through having fallen to Old Dominion 22-13.

After the meet, ISU coach Kevin Jackson had an extensive meeting with his team that served as early damage control to ensure his wrestlers would not let the loss affect them in future matches.

“More mad and angry than anything else knowing that we didn’t wrestle to our full ability,” Jackson said of the meeting. “It was also a ‘come to Jesus’-type meeting for us to really communicate to each other — where your head is at in this whole thing and what your goals and expectations are.”

The conversations regarding goals and expectations have taken place in the wrestling room before, but Jackson said this time they were no less valuable.

“Some feelings were shared, and I think we learned a few things,” Jackson said. “I think they learned a few things about themselves even more.”

As expected, specifics about the meeting have been kept in-house. None of the wrestlers was available to media on Monday.

After Sunday’s dual meet, freshman John Meeks was distraught about his 6-3 loss to Scott Festejo in his dual meet debut at 133 pounds.

“I just think the emotions got out, got to me,” Meeks said of his struggles with his eyesight glued to a spot on the floor in front of him. “I don’t know. I didn’t wrestle like I should [have], and it’s my fault.”

Ryak Finch snapped the team’s three-match winning streak in the dual, losing in a 5-4 decision in the 125-pound match to No. 18 Jerome Robinson, a fellow 2012 NCAA qualifier.

“Based on the last couple results that we’ve had, you’d have to say he’s not wrestling his best,” Jackson said of Finch, who placed third at the Harold Nichols Open. “Those are some conversations that we’re having behind closed doors.”

Finch faces Iowa’s No. 1 Matt McDonough, a two-time national champion, on Saturday.

Jackson said another match his team should have won was at 141 pounds, where redshirt sophomore Luke Goettl lost in a 5-3 sudden victory decision after taking a 3-0 lead into the third period.

One of the key factors for the team’s struggle in the dual, Jackson said, was the fatigue of being pushed too hard after the Harold Nichols Open on Nov. 10 leading up to Sunday’s dual.

“We looked a little tired; we looked a little flat,” Jackson said. “I have to take responsibility for that. Obviously, it’s a disappointing loss, but we don’t have any time to hang our head.”

Iowa State will face No. 2 Iowa on Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.