w/ Jim Field

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It is a quick turnaround for the Iowa Hawkeyes who will host Stony Brook this (Friday) evening in the second round of the NIT. The Hawks opened with a 68-52 win over Indiana State before a sellout crowd on Wednesday night and coach Fran McCaffery says they will need another big crowd to help against a Stony Brook team that opened with a victory at UMass. He says the players don’t mind the quick turnaround.

Iowa is 21-12 and McCaffery says they want the season to continue past this evening. Stony Brook is 24-7 on the season. The pre-game show begins at 7:30-p.m., on KJAN, with the tip-off from Iowa City at 8:30.

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)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs left tackle Branden Albert has signed his franchise tender. The Chiefs announced that Albert signed his deal on Thursday, two weeks after placing the franchise tag on him. Albert will make $9.828 million if he plays under the one-year contract. That is no sure thing, though. The Chiefs have spoken to his representatives about a long-term contract, and it’s also possible that Kansas City will trade Albert in the coming weeks.

Albert is a former first-round pick who has locked down the left side of the Chiefs offensive line the past five seasons. He played all 16 games two years ago, but missed three games while dealing with back injuries. Last year, Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe did not sign his franchise tender until midway through the preseason.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — David Freese homered in his first game in a week and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 3-2 Thursday. Freese had been out since March 14 with back stiffness stemming from a hard fall he took while chasing a foul ball. The 2011 World Series MVP hit a leadoff home run in the fourth and played five innings in the field.

Mets infielder Justin Turner got a hit in his return from a sprained ankle. He had a pinch-hit single in the sixth, then went from first to third on hit. Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright gave up two runs on three hits, including a two-run tr ple by Matt den Dekker, in 4 2-3 innings. He struck out three and walked three.

Mets starter Jeremy Hefner allowed two runs on five hits with three walks in five innings. Bobby Parnell pitched a perfect ninth.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — No matter where he goes, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey gets asked about one game this season. The Fighting Irish beat Louisville in an epic, five-overtime thriller last month that helped Notre Dame solidify a spot in this year’s NCAA tournament. While Notre Dame fans view it as the biggest game to date, the Irish (25-9) have an important one on Friday when they face Iowa State (22-11) in first round of the West Regional.

Brey has a team in the tournament for the fourth straight year, and for Notre Dame to advance, it must slow down the Cyclones, who led the nation in 3-pointers. Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg gives his players the freedom to shoot from anywhere, but the former Cyclone star known as “The Mayor” joked that he still has the best range on the team.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa lawmakers are continuing the effort to keep wrestling in the Olympics. The state House and Senate passed resolutions Thursday calling on the International Olympic Committee to reconsider the decision to drop wrestling from the 2020 games.  Democratic Sen. Tod Bowman of Maquoketa says wrestling defines Iowa.

The NCAA wrestling championships kick off in Des Moines today (Thursday).  Famed Iowa wrestler Dan Gable appeared in the legislature in support of the move. Gable won a gold medal in the 1972 Olympics and coached at the University of Iowa from 1977 to 1997.

Gov. Terry Branstad has also worked to restore wrestling to the 2020 games with a campaign called “Let’s Keep Wrestling.” The effort has the support of the state’s congressional delegation and nearly 25,000 people have signed an online petition.