Brent Metcalf
- Weight class: 149
- Age: 21
- Hometown:
Davison, Mich. - Season record: 39-1
- Year:
Sophomore
It was going to take an extraordinary season for Brent Metcalf to live up to his prodigious billing. Yet the sophomore perhaps even surpassed his enormous expectations.
Metcalf became the face of Iowa wrestling — a model of what coach Tom Brands wants in an athlete and what opponents feared — during his first season in a black singlet.
He was named the outstanding wrestler of the National Duals, the outstanding wrestler of the Big Ten Championships and the wrestler of the year in the conference and the outstanding wrestler of the NCAA Championships.
“He’s an example,” Brands said. “He’s what you want all of your guys to aspire to be. Duplicate Metcalf. Just pump them out by the dozens and put them in our program.”
Then turn them loose and watch them tear through the competition like Metcalf did.
Metcalf suffered his only loss of the regular season in November on a controversial first-period fall against North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell.
After that, he cranked out 32 straight victories to finish the season, including 15 against ranked opponents on his way to winning the NCAA title. He won a 14-8 decision against Penn State’s Bubba Jenkins in the 149-pound championship.
“Anybody, anytime, anywhere,” Brands said of the mantra for Metcalf.
The super sophomore became one of the country’s best wrestlers and an Iowa favorite with his relentless aggression, superb technique and incredible endurance.
“That’s the edge Metcalf has built for himself — guys go out there and they don’t think they can hold up against him for the whole time,” Iowa assistant Doug Schwab said.
“The fact that guys are thinking about it is an edge. You’re going to have to work hard to get to them, but when it gets in the back of their head and he scores, then they’re thinking how the hell am I going to come back on this guy? Then they can’t ride him, and they’re thinking how the hell am I going to beat him?”
— Andy Hamilton