Bulldogs wrestler chooses Iowa St.

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By Jon Gremmels | Wednesday, October 18, 2006 12:47 AM CDT | () comments

As he prepares for his senior year at a new school, Tyler Clark has one fewer worry on his mind. The former Illinois high school wrestling state champion who now is at Bettendorf High School has committed to wrestle for Iowa State and will sign when the fall period begins next month.

“There were a lot of reasons,” Clark said of his decision to wrestle for Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson, the only undefeated, four-time NCAA champion who was named the coach at his alma mater last spring.

Clark said he was considering Iowa State before Sanderson became the coach, then didn’t hear from the school for quite a while.

“When they finally called, they said it (the reason for the delay) was just the new staff getting settled,” Clark said. They made up for lost time. Besides visiting the Iowa State campus, Clark also has had two visits at home from Sanderson.

“Just having him in the house was, ‘Wow,’ ” Clark said.

Clark said he would redshirt next season, then try to earn a spot at 125 pounds the next year.

“They have Nick Fanthorpe (another former Illinois state champion) who is in his first year of competition, but they said he is getting pretty big,” he said. “I’m 125 for life.”

Clark said he should fit in well.

“I meshed well with the team and the coaches — there’s a real positive energy — and it’s not too far from home.”

It’s even closer to his new home.

Clark, who won the Illinois Class A state title as a sophomore and was the runner-up as a freshman and junior for Orion High School, moved with his family to Bettendorf over the summer. His parents work in Iowa, and his sister attends the University of Iowa.

“She was kind of upset,” Clark said of his decision to pass on wearing a black-and-gold singlet. He said Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Michigan were on his final list of schools to consider, along with Iowa State.

With both his parents working in Iowa, moving to be closer to work and their daughter made sense for the family, as well as establishing in-state residency.

The move also gives Clark a chance to wrestle for Dan Knight, whom he has known for five years through Knight’s wrestling club, and with several new teammates he also knew through the club.

“I’m really excited for the season,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to wrestle with coach Knight.”

Knight, a former four-time state champion at Clinton High School who also wrestled at Iowa State, left his job as Clinton’s athletic director over the summer to become the wrestling coach at Bettendorf.

“I knew he had an interest in Bettendorf, but that had no influence on where I went to school,” Clark said. “We were looking at Bettendorf because it’s the best school.”

Clark, a 2005 Cadet National champion in freestyle wrestling who had to skip this past summer’s Junior Nationals because of mono, is planning to compete at 119 pounds for the Bulldogs.

Clark is one of two move-ins who will compete at the Division I level after finishing their senior seasons at Bettendorf. Jordan Johnson, the Illinois Class AA state champion last year for Naperville North, also has moved with his family to Bettendorf. He has committed to sign with Iowa. Both wrestlers are ranked seventh nationally at their weights in W.I.N. magazine’s preseason high school individual rankings.

Jon Gremmels can be contacted at (563) 383-2294 or at jgremmels@qctimes.com.