Here’s a really good article about Brent Metcalf who was NCAA D-1 Wrestling Champion last season. Pay particular attention to the first part (I’ve italicized and indented it to make it easier to read). There is also a match at the end of the post where he faces off against the returning NCAA Champion. You can clearly see the effects of Metcalf’s work ethic.
Tireless Metcalf thriving in wrestling-crazed Iowa
Freshman making an impression in first months with Hawkeyes
By Andy Hamilton
Iowa City Press-Citizen
Kaufman-Brand Open
• When, where: Today at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
• What: 650 wrestlers from 42 teams, including Iowa, Oklahoma State at Minnesota.
The mandatory part of Iowa’s wrestling practice ended about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, and nearly 45 minutes later, Brent Metcalf was finally leaving the mat.
He had gone through the full workout, a pair of sparring partners and some extra technical work, and still looked as if he had energy for more if everybody else hadn’t already called it a day.
By no means has this become an uncommon sight in the Iowa room, but it is an illustration of why coach Tom Brands last week singled out the freshman, even though Metcalf likely won’t compete for the Hawkeyes this season.
“Some coaches would tell you talent plays a big deal,” Brands said in a response to a broad media day question about the talent level on Iowa’s roster. “We want talent, but we want talent combined with a little bit of Gable — drive, desire, determination.
“Brent Metcalf is a tremendous example of what we’re after — a tremendous example of a guy who (was) 228-0, 156 pins in high school, but it wasn’t because he was super, super talented. He was super talented, he’s a super athlete, but he works his tail off. If you guys sit in that room for a week and you watch, you will be saying, ‘I know now why he’s good.’”
Metcalf has big goals, but he seems resigned that Big Ten and NCAA titles likely won’t be attainable in March. He’s one of five wrestlers who followed Brands to Iowa City, transferring from Virginia Tech and getting caught in a legal battle with the Hokies while trying gain immediate eligibility with the Hawkeyes.
“I wake up every day and I may not be worried about our team this year and the things I can do, but I’m worried about making the guys here on this team better right now,” said Metcalf, a native of Davison, Mich. “I’m excited for things like that. I’m excited for the things I’ve got going on (next) summer. Those are the things I look toward. Whether I’m able to wrestle this year or not — which it looks like I won’t be able to — I wake up every day with my certain goals in mind and I go after them.”
For now, Metcalf’s schedule consists of freestyle events and weekend tournaments such as today’s Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha. The all-day affair features 42 college teams, including Iowa, Oklahoma State and Minnesota, but it won’t showcase all of the best wrestlers from the three powerhouses.
Iowa’s Mark Perry Jr. will skip the tournament to wrestle Monday against Oklahoma State’s Johny Hendricks in the NWCA All-Star meet in Dallas. Minnesota isn’t expected to send its two all-star participants to Omaha, which means Metcalf likely won’t get the opportunity to wrestle high school rival and defending 149-pound NCAA champion Dustin Schlatter.
Metcalf said he hopes Schlatter is competing today, and Brands said the Hawkeyes are preparing as if the Minnesota sophomore will be in Omaha, but the Gophers didn’t send their all-star participants to the Kaufman-Brand Open last year.
Schlatter won the 20-and-under division in Omaha last year, while Metcalf placed third in the open division. Iowa senior Ty Eustice defeated Metcalf 2-1, winning on a technical violation after the freshman was penalized for grabbing Eustice’s headgear with 30 seconds remaining.
Metcalf redshirted last year at Virginia Tech. Schlatter went on to beat Eustice in the national finals.
But while Schlatter pursues a second NCAA title, Metcalf is preparing to chase freestyle objectives. He won the 145½-pound bracket two weeks ago at a Senior-level tournament in Canada that featured a past NCAA champion and a former World place-winner.
“I learned I can achieve the things I want to get done this year, which is going to the World Championships and winning the World Championships, doing things like that and knowing I can compete at that level,” Metcalf said. “I knew I could all along, but I proved it to myself.”
Those are lofty short-term goals for a 19-year-old, but Metcalf appears determined to show he won’t come up short because of a lack of effort.
“He’s probably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around, as far as a guy who can come in two, three, four times a day and pretty much give it 100 percent,” Perry said. “I really think that’s what separates him from a lot of people. It doesn’t seem that ever he wears down in practice.”
Said Metcalf: “Every time I step on the mat with someone, I’m not going to give them a breather and I don’t expect them to do the same for me. I think people build off that and feed off that.”
Metcalf said it’s been an easy adjustment to adapt to Iowa City outside of the wrestling room. He said he finds it easy to get fired up for workouts when he hears so many people around the campus and community talking about wrestling.
“I knew that people around here lived and breathed wrestling, but it’s odd,” he said. “There’s people I’ve never seen before and they know my name, they know more statistics about myself than I even do. It’s really pretty cool and I get a kick out of it.”
Reach Andy Hamilton at 339-7368 or ahamilton@press-citizen.com.
