Force to “Wrestle at a Much Higher Pace”, Iowa Hawkeyes Lead Goes Candid Post Cy Hawk

The Sunday wrestling clash between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa Cyclones ended on a high note. The thriller set up nicely when, on the horizon, the Hawkeyes saw their winning streak hanging in the balance. The final result, however, did come in favor of Iowa. This tough-fought win stretches their win streak by another year. 

Among the winning stories from the Hawkeyes camp, the no. 1 seed Real Woods stood tall. In his post-match statements, the wrestler opened up about his coping ability, longevity, and the match.

Hawkeyes’ Real Woods focuses on adjustments

Iowa Hawkeyes’ head coach Tom Brands didn’t take time to bring wrestler Real Woods to the forefront during his presser. He quipped, “This guy’s the one that needs to be talking,” pointing toward Real Woods. The Red Shirt Senior Class wrestler took the moment and touched on things that motivated him.

He said, “The energy, the atmosphere. It’s wonderful. I love the high energy. Regardless of whether it’s home or away. I feed off of it no matter what.”  Iowa Hawkeyes made an IG post of this with a suitable caption, “Feed off the energy”. 

In that briefing, however, Real Woods claimed that he has to make adjustments to his style. The 141-pound Hawkeye added,” I wrestle at a much higher pace and there’s adjustments to be made.” Further, the starry clash between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa Cyclones delivered some nail-biting moments.

Iowa stand up to the promises 

Real Woods’ match against no. 19 Anthony Echemendia stood out, for obvious reasons. The first pace of Woods proved to be a soaring point for him against Echemendia. The 2023 finalist had to change it in the second round. That gave him the 1-0 lead. He faced questions over this in the press briefing. There he answered, “Yeah, he made some good adjustments. Maybe he watched some films. Maybe it’s just the particular style he wrestles. But I know what I have to fix…”. 

Read more: ISU Coach Applauds Iowa Hawkeyes’ Brands Brothers Ahead of Century-Old College Wrestling Rivalry

Real Woods won the match in overtime. His teammates, Drake Ayala, and Jared Frenek also won their matches. The last victory came from Yonger Bastida from the Hawkeyes. With that win, the final score settled on Iowa’s side. The scoreline might already be old news as it was the 19th win of the Hawkeyes against the Cyclones. But for Tom Brands and his fans, the match would have likely seemed to differ from the previous outings. 

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