Hodge Trophy winner Brent Metcalf hoping magical 2008 continues at Olympic Trials

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - You can see it in his eyes, you can hear it in his voice and you can witness it when he steps onto the mat.

Brent Metcalf is serious about becoming a United States Olympian in freestyle wrestling in 2008.

A recent afternoon practice at the U.S. Olympic Training Center provided the proof.

Fifth at the 2008 U.S. Nationals, after losing twice to U.S. National Team member Jared Frayer, Metcalf is taking full advantage of the six weeks between U.S. Nationals and the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Drenched in sweat as he battled veteran Chris Bono in the center of a jam-packed wrestling room, Metcalf worked through a grueling afternoon practice under the watchful eye of U.S. Freestyle Resident Coach Terry Brands.

"This is a great opportunity to get in some really good training against the highest level of competition," Metcalf said. "I'm in a great training environment at Iowa, and coming out here is even another notch up for me. The time between the U.S. Open and the Trials obviously is real critical for me. I haven't had a lot of time to train in freestyle because of the college season. I'm trying to gain as much experience and mat time as I can before the Trials."

Metcalf is coming off a storybook sophomore season for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He won his first NCAA title at 149 pounds and led the Hawkeyes to their first NCAA team title in eight years. He won the Hodge Trophy as the nation's best college wrestler and was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.

Metcalf said he took "a few days off" after the college season before plunging into freestyle training full-time.

Metcalf is hoping for an opportunity to face one of his college coaches, Hawkeye assistant coach Doug Schwab, in the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on June 14 in Las Vegas.

Schwab, who placed fifth at the 2007 World Championships at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., clinched a spot in the best-of-3 finals at the Olympic Trials by virtue of winning April's U.S. Nationals. Metcalf will need to win the Challenge Tournament, where he is expected to be seeded fourth, to earn a shot at Schwab later the same day in the finals.

The champion from the Olympic Trials advances to the Olympic Games, set for Aug. 12-21 in Beijing, China.

"I want to see an all-Iowa final," Metcalf said of the Olympic Trials. "Schwab is already in the finals, we know that. There is no other way to have it than having both of us in the finals battling it out for the spot. I have three or four matches ahead of me before I get to the finals, but that's where I see myself at the Trials. I have to wrestle smart and wrestle hard. I know I've put the work in."

Metcalf said Schwab is among the wrestlers he trains with at the Iowa wrestling room inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

"Having the No. 1 guy in your room is a great opportunity for me, where I can train with him and learn from him," Metcalf said. "I try to train with Schwab as much as I can. The great thing about Schwab is we can compete and go at it hard against each other, and then after practice is over he will grab me and say, 'Hey, you need to do this.' He will work with me. He's a competitor and a coach at the same time."

Working out with a guy like the physical, hard-nosed Bono, a three-time U.S. World Team member, won't hurt Metcalf's development either.

"You have to wrestle tough the entire time against a guy like (Bono)," Metcalf said. "He's very good in his positions and his special areas. You have to really try to shut him down and get to your own offense."

Metcalf said he learned from the two matches he lost against Frayer at U.S. Nationals.

"I need to get to my offense and finish right now and score," Metcalf said. "I can't wait around out there. I need to get to his legs and finish."

The 21-year-old Metcalf, who trains under Iowa head coach Tom Brands in Iowa City, is learning from Tom's twin brother Terry this week in Colorado. Tom Brands was an Olympic and World champion. Terry Brands won two World titles and an Olympic bronze medal in freestyle.

"Tom and Terry have similar coaching styles - it's great training with Terry out here," Metcalf said. "The techniques they teach are a little bit different, so that helps me when I come out here to train. They're great coaches. I've learned a lot from them."

Metcalf, from Davison, Mich., more than lived up to the massive hype placed on him entering his first season of collegiate competition in 2007-08.

Metcalf led team champion Iowa to a whopping 38.5-point win over second-place Ohio State at the 2008 NCAA tournament in St. Louis. The Hawkeyes return a majority of their team for next season and will be the preseason No. 1 team in the country in 2008-09.

"The atmosphere in our room is great right now," he said. "Having that glimpse of success - I call it a glimpse because I know a lot of us aren't really satisfied with two champions and just a 30-point victory. Having that glimpse of success really opened our eyes that, 'Wow, we can do something great at Iowa.' A lot of our guys are really grasping that now. There are a ton of guys in our room training right now to be national champions. That's great to see.