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Iowa State University Athletics
Future Bright for Rising Star Goettl
01.26.2012 | Men's Wrestling
AMES, Iowa – For Iowa State redshirt freshman wrestler Luke Goettl, life was not easy at first on the varsity mat. Goettl lost his first four matches of his young career this season.
A knee injury slowed him at the beginning of the year, but he persevered and the 141-pounder from Clarkdale, Ariz., notched his first career victory with a 6-5 decision over Missouri's Brandon West in a Dec. 18 dual in Columbia.
Since then, Goettl has gone 8-4 with wins over three ranked opponents, including a victory over the former No. 1 Kendric Maple of Oklahoma. Goettl earned an 11-9 decision in overtime to hand Maple his firsts loss of the season.
"Luke definitely went through a big mental change," 125-pounder Ryak Finch said. "He did really well at the Midlands Championships over break and started believing that he could wrestle with the best and beat the best."
Goettl's upset over Maple came after a hot streak at the Midlands Championships. Goettl won his first four matches in Evanston and knocked off the then No. 2 141-pounder in the nation in Zach Kemmerer of Penn and two seeded wrestlers in the tournament. He was the only unseeded wrestler to qualify for the semifinals.
Goettl continued his Midlands momentum with a 6-2 decision over Virginia Tech's Zach Neibert on Jan. 13 and stunned the wrestling community with his victory over Maple.
"It was awesome to get a win on the road against a great opponent like that," Goettl said. "I try not to look at the rankings much, and it didn't really hit me how big it was until about an hour after the match."
To make the victory even sweeter, Goettl's dad was in attendance at the dual in Norman, Okla. His father has been a huge mentor for Goettl both on and off the mat his entire life.
"My dad has always been my go-to guy from day one," Goettl said. "He's helped me through all the hard times, and you need someone like that in a tough sport like wrestling."
Goettl's father was also able to attend the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill., Dec. 29-30. Goettl earned a sixth-place finish.
Other family members of Goettl were able to watch him wrestle when Goettl traveled back home to Arizona with the Cyclones to compete in a Jan. 3 dual against Arizona State. There Goettl pinned Nathan Hoffer of the Sun Devils in the second period.
Head coach Kevin Jackson has been another key mentor for Goettl in his short time here at Iowa State.
"Coach Jackson has always had confidence in me," Goettl said. "Even when I was struggling he still had faith in me that I could compete. It's great to know your head coach believes in you."
The 14th-ranked Cyclones battle fourth-ranked Cornell on Sunday in Hilton Coliseum starting at 1 p.m. (CST).
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