Olympic Dreams End for Marion Super-Wrestler, at Least for Now

With a record of 100-4 and two NCAA titles to his name, it seemed that Marion native Matt McDonough was destined for greatness in last weekend’s U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials in Marion.

However, things didn’t necessarily work out that way.

Though McDonough won two matches, he lost in the quarterfinals (1-0, 5-0) to top-seed Nick Simmons.

"I really hope my teammates were watching today," McDonough said to the Press Citizen. "…I didn’t get what I wanted and you know what, I’m going to go into that wrestling room and I’m going to train even harder because of that."

To his credit, McDonough was competing against top wrestlers four years his senior.

And according to the Daily Iowan, he wasn’t the only Hawkeye to not go all the way. Iowa City favorite Brent Metcalf bowed out Sunday, along with Phil Keddy and Steve Mocco.

The silver lining here is McDonough’s age. The wrestler is only a junior at the University of Iowa, and, considering the age of some of the top wrestlers, it’s safe to assume that another four years of training for the next Olympics might be just what he needs to get on the team.

He seems to agree.

"You have to feel you’re close," McDonough said, according to the Gazette. "I don’t think it’s a matter of not being in the same ballpark as them. It’s a matter of refining skills and coming out ready to wrestle, doing the things you want to do in a match and not wrestling into someone else’s style."