Last season, Matt Gibson and Kyle Simonson battled neck and neck for the starting spot at heavyweight on the ISU wrestling team.

A year later, Gibson had ascended the national rankings while Simonson had seen his last season of eligibility absent of competition due to injury.

Simonson’s absence as a main training partner had both its positives and negatives for Gibson, who is now ranked 12th in the nation at heavyweight.

“It was easier to focus on competing,” Gibson said. “But at the same time, I was way less confident in my abilities because I didn’t have that consistent competition to work harder than somebody else.”

Since his third-place finish at the Midlands Championships in late December, Gibson has gone 4-2 while outscoring his opponents 43-21.

Gibson also has notched a major decision in three of his last four matches, falling two points shy of a technical fall in his most recent match — a 15-2 major decision against Cornell’s Maciej Jochym.

“I like where Matt Gibson’s head is at,” said ISU coach Kevin Jackson. “Matt Gibson is performing at a very high level, he’s challenging himself every single match and he’s giving himself a chance to not only win but dominate.”

Gibson attributed his recent success to an adjusted mindset.

“When [Jackson] tells you to control the things that you can control, you don’t really take it to heart sometimes,” Gibson said. “You’ll hear it, but you won’t take it to heart.

“I realized this season that there are a lot of things that I can’t control on the mat, but I have to control how I feel or how I’m going to wrestle. Even if I’m not 100 percent, I can still control how hard I’m going to work. Realizing that and seeing my teammates have success also have been a big help.”

Simonson, however, entered this season with little optimism of his chances of competing.

“I hurt my knee at NCAA’s last year and was pretty much told that it would take 12 to 18 months [to recover],” Simonson said Sunday. “I still haven’t completely been released from the doctor yet.”

On Monday, Jackson confirmed Simonson’s career is likely finished.

“We didn’t want to see Kyle go out like he’s going out, but obviously he’s a kid of character that will be in veterinary school next year,” Jackson said. “So his future is very bright and he knows that.”

Simonson is ineligible for a medical redshirt because his injuries do not have at least two years of documentation that would have been submitted for NCAA review.

For Gibson, though, his contention for the national title and All-American status is still very realistic for him.

“I definitely know I have the potential, I know I’m in the top eight in the country,” Gibson said. “I just have to keep working hard and practice every day and keep the mindset that I have.”

Voelker aims to rebound from debut loss

Trevor Voelker’s varsity debut was a match to forget.

The redshirt freshman slipped into a 16-3 hole in the second period before eventually getting pinned by Cornell’s Cam Simaz, the top-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, on Sunday.

“He didn’t react to some of the positions that we made him aware of,” Jackson said. “Losing in the fashion that he lost, I’m sure he didn’t visualize that.”

Voelker, a three-time Iowa state placewinner for Dallas Center-Grimes, was given the nod to start at 197 pounds after Cole Shafer sustained a concussion in his match at Oklahoma State on Jan. 22.

On top of facing the top-ranked wrestler in the nation in his debut, Voelker said he was sick the week leading up to it.

“It was pretty nerve-racking,” Voelker said. “I was pretty worked up before the match. Nerves and the combination of being sick all week kind of hindered my ability to go out there and compete to the best of my ability.

“But overall, it wasn’t my best showing at all.”

If Voelker gets the starting nod on Friday against Northern Iowa, his opponent, unranked Taylor Kettman, should provide a lot less stress.

“He was just looking for someone who could go out there and scrap for seven minutes and I’m hoping to be that guy,” Voelker said. “I want to be that guy that can step up in the lineup and I told [Jackson] that I was going to be that guy.”