Rock Island Today

College wrestler Topher Carton said his offseason was a lot more fun than usual.

After going through a recent offseason rehabbing from an injury, Carton, a Rock Island native in his final season as a wrestler at the University of Iowa, did a lot of running and lifting during that time, as well as getting in technical work.

“Being my final season is always in the back of my mind, but in a healthy way,” Carton said in an email interview with Rock Island Today. “It drives me to work as hard as I can with my limited time left.”

Carton, a three-time letter winner, has a career record of 45-16 over three weight classes at Iowa, with most of his matches coming at 141 pounds.

Last season, according to HawkeyeSports.com, he went 10-5 at 141, including a 3-2 record in Big Ten Conference duals, and claimed sixth place at the Grand View Open. In his career to date, he's 7-0 in matches decided by pinfall and 9-0 in matches decided by technical fall.

In his time at Iowa, Carton said he has improved a lot in every position over his high school days, when he went 175-2 with three state championships at Davenport Assumption. The aspect he said he's improved greatly in is hand-fighting skills.

“When you have a guy like (two-time All-American) Thomas Gilman in the room, I don’t think it's possible for your hand fighting to not improve,” Carton said.

Another area Carton said he's better in since his prep career ended is attacking both sides of the body and having quick finishes.

“In high school, I really struggled to attack both sides of the body and getting the really good wrestlers to open up. I think I’ve gotten a lot better at doing that very thing,” Carton said.

The Hawkeyes have added a new sports psychologist, which has led to Carton doing mental-training exercises and employing visualization.

Carton cited the great leaders among his teammates and the high level of thinking overall as the forces leading the Hawkeye wrestlers to work well together on the mat.

The team's first meet is the Grand View Open on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Des Moines.

Carton said it's been hard to think about plans and goals after this season is done and his collegiate wrestling days are over. Carton said he can't see himself stepping away from wrestling and would love to get more into coaching.

“I’ve had some experience coaching youth and high school wrestlers through different summer camps, and it really is a rewarding feeling,” Carton said. “I don’t know how it will happen, but I will find a way to give back to the sport that has brought me so far and taught me so much about wrestling, life and myself.”