WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Gophers wrestling team sat huddled in a section of the stands at Mackey Arena on Sunday — all they could do was watch.
As the Big Ten championships entered the final round Sunday, Minnesota trailed Iowa by a lone point. But the Hawkeyes lead quickly grew as the Iowa little men showed their big stuff.
The damage went like this.
Jody Strittmatter: win at 125 pounds.
Eric Juergens: win at 133 pounds.
Doug Schwab: win at 141 pounds.
In a matter of 21 minutes, Iowa’s lead over the Gophers grew to 13 points. It all happened before Minnesota even sent a wrestler to the mats and the Hawkeyes cruised from there to win the conference crown 139.5 to 132.5.
“It was a race,” a disappointed Gophers coach J Robinson said. “I don’t feel that Iowa won it as much as we just made some mistakes. We just let it get away from us.”
Although the Gophers fell back early in the championship round, the tourney was still on the line when Jared Lawrence — who was named Big Ten freshman of the year — got his chance at 149 pounds.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, the top-seeded Lawrence was upset by Illinois’ Adam Tirapelle. And when the Hawkeyes fans began cheering more against the Gophers than for Iowa, the Minnesota wrestlers knew they were in trouble.
“(Iowa) got those three wins, but we still had a chance to come back,” Robinson said. “We just didn’t win the ones that we needed to.”
The Hawkeyes’ T. J. Williams followed by knocking off the Gophers’ Luke Becker, clinching the Big Ten title for Iowa.
The Gophers would add two individual championships — Brandon Eggum on a medical forfeit and Brock Lesnar who decisioned Iowa’s Wes Hand — but it was too late.
The Hawkeyes returned the Big Ten title to Iowa City for the 25th time in 26 years. Minnesota won last year.
Iowa coach Jim Zalesky was happy with the way his team, which won four of the 10 weight classes, came out in the championship round.
“We controlled our own destiny,” Zalesky said. “If we won our matches in the finals, we were going to win.”
Minnesota had five wrestlers going for titles, but could only manage to win two. But it was the depth of Iowa in the lighter weights that ultimately killed the Gophers. All four of the Hawkeyes champions were on the smaller half of the scorecard.
Eggum was one of the Gophers champions, but as a senior, he would have liked to go out with a team title.
“It was real disappointing in how things ended up here tonight,” Eggum said. “Things just didn’t go our way.
“Iowa went out there and wrestled hard. They took care of business.”
The two teams now turn to the NCAA championships in two weeks when the Gophers and Hawkeyes will once again battle for the top spot.
Both teams qualified nine wrestlers for nationals. The Gophers’ Chad Erikson at 141 pounds– who was pinned twice on Saturday — was the only Minnesota wrestler who didn’t earn an invite to St. Louis.
Although disappointed with the loss, Robinson said the Gophers will take their second-place finish and begin preparing for NCAAs.
“It came down to the finals,” Robinson said. “But it’s not over yet. The national tournament in the most important of all, so that’s what we’ll look to.”
Added assistant coach Marty Morgan: “It will be a dogfight at nationals just as much as here, but that is the one that counts.”

John R. Carter covers wrestling and welcomes comments at [email protected].