Jay Borschel
- Weight class: 174
- Age: 21
- Hometown:
Marion - Season record: 36-7
- Year:
Sophomore
The Iowa wrestling team wrapped up a practice in late January with a series of sprint laps around Carver-Hawkeye Arena’s concourse that were emblematic of Jay Borschel’s season. Borschel’s rise in the rankings coincided with the return of his conditioning level.
The sophomore 174-pounder wasn’t leading the race, but his quick charge toward the front of the pack was an attention-getter.
“He looked good,” Iowa coach Tom Brands said the next day. “He’s handling things you’re throwing at him — things that would make a billy goat puke.”
Borschel raced past 15 wrestlers in the national rankings during a stretch from mid-November until mid-February — a surge that lifted him to the No. 2 spot behind Pittsburgh’s Keith Gavin.
“I believe I can go out there and win — every match, the national title,” Borschel said in January. “I’ve always believed it and that’s what it takes. If you go out there and you don’t expect to win, there’s going to be doubts in the back of your mind.”
He beat Central Michigan All-American Brandon Sinnott in December in the semi-finals at the Midlands Championships with a third-period comeback and outlasted Michigan’s Steve Luke, a two-time Big Ten champion, in January when the Iowa sophomore went 4-0 at the National Duals and beat three opponents ranked in the top 10.
“I talk about being bulletproof,” Brands said midway through the season. “He’s starting to get to the point where he’s very durable and handling a lot thrown at him.”
Borschel finished the year by claiming All-America honors for the first time. He placed third at the NCAA Championships, scoring two falls and a major decision along the way.
“Solid, tough, stingy, offensive — definitive of how he needs to wrestle to be successful,” Brands said of Borschel’s performance.
— Andy Hamilton