Penn State and Iowa will both have six wrestlers in this morning’s quarterfinals at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Des Moines. The two-time defending champion Nittnay Lions have taken control of the team race by racking up bonus points with six pins on Thursday.

Team Scores (after day one)
1. Penn State 32.5 pts
2. Oklahoma State 29
3. Minnesota 24
4. Iowa 22

Iowa 133-pounder Tony Ramos had two first period pins to lead the Hawkeyes. The junior pointed to his Iowa Hawkeye sweatshirt as he talked about his hopes of winning a national title. “It means a lot to the name on the front of this and it means a lot to my family,” Ramos said. “I got texts all week long, my dad sent me a letter, my fiance left me a letter in my bag and my brother calls me every night. It means more to my family than it does to myself, so I have to go out and get this done.”

Iowa fans had more to cheer about when #12 seed Ethan Lofthouse topped Minnesota’s #5 seed Kevin Steinhaus 3-2 at 184. “I lost to him a couple times before. It’s on a big stage right now, so it feels good,” Lofthouse said. Iowa State’s lone quarterfinalist is Tanner Weatherman, who posted a 16-14 win over #7 seed Jordan Blanton of Illinois at 184. “I came into this tournament…trying to stay relaxed as possible….staying away from the rankings and all of that stuff,” Weatherman said. “Right now, it feels pretty darn good.”

Northern Iowa qualified four wrestlers for the tournament and they all remain alive for All-American honors, with David Bonin  and Ryan Loder in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal round of wrestling starts at 10 a.m.

NCAA Wrestling – Thursday PM (Iowa, UNI, Iowa State results)
C = championship second round
WB = wrestlebacks

Iowa:
125 – (C) #3 Matt McDonough WON 5-1 over Steve Mitcheff (Kent St.)
133 – (C) #2 Tony Ramos WON by FALL (1:07) over Joseph Ward (North Carolina)
141 – (C) #7 Mark Ballweg WON 3-2 over #10 Charles Cobb (Penn)
157 – (C) #2 Derek St. John WON 9-5 over Joshua Kreimier (Air Force)
165 – (WB) #10 Nick Moore WON by FALL over Caleb Marsh (Kent State)
174 – (C) #3 Mike Evans WON by major dec. 11-3 over Phillip Joseph (EMU)
184 – (C) #12 Ethan Lofthouse WON 3-2 over #5 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota)
197 – (WB) Nathan Burak WON 4-0 over James Fox (Harvard)
285 – (C) #6 Bobby Telford LOST by injury default to J.T. Felix (Boise St)

UNI:
133 – (C) #9 Levi Wolfensperger LOST 11-2 to #8 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma)
141 – (C) Joey Lazor LOST by FALL to #2 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma)
157 – (C) David Bonin WON 4-0 over Kyle Bradley (Missouri)
184 – (C) #6 Ryan Loder WON 2-0 over #11 Mike Larson (Missouri)

Iowa State:
141 – (WB) Luke Goettl LOST 9-3 to McCade Ford (Wyoming) *Goettl out of tournament *
149 – (WB) Max Mayfield LOST 10-5 to Alex Hudson (Chattanooga) * Mayfield out of tournament *
165 – (C) Michael Moreno LOST 5-2 to Conrad Polz (Illinois)
174 – (C) Tanner Weatherman WON 16-14 over #7 Jordan Blanton (Illinois)
184 – (WB) Boaz Beard WON by maj dec 9-2 over Nick Vetterlein (Virginia Tech)
197 – (C) #6 Kyven Gadson LOST 8-7 to #11 Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma St)

(Radio Iowa)