On Feb. 15, Max Murin took off the black shoulder brace that had been weighing him down all season. Since then, the college wrestling world has been reminded that a healthy Murin is a dangerous Murin, adding a punch at 141 in an already-stacked Iowa lineup. 

On Jan. 18, Murin lost a 6-2 decision to then-No. 8 Chad Red of Nebraska. He then was out for the marquee home matchups against Ohio State and Penn State, as well as two road battles in the state of Michigan. 

But when he returned to the mat, he took down then-No. 5 Mitch McKee of Minnesota with a takedown in the final 20 seconds of SV1. He got up, motioned to the crowd and pounded his chest four times. As the referee walked him in a circle, his arms were stretched wide. 

“I’m back,” he said, over and over, as he walked into Iowa’s tunnel. 

That’s not the way Murin usually does things, but in that moment it was a rush of relief that he found his way back to the spot where he belongs. 

“It felt amazing,” Murin said. “Been dealing with a little bit of adversity the last couple of weeks just being out with injuries and a little banged up, but just trusted my coaches, trusted God. It feels really good to be back.”

He wears a fighter’s face as comfortably as he wears a black Iowa singlet, and that cemented his follow-up to the most dominant top-of-the-lineup in the NCAA. He hasn’t stopped proving it since. 

On Sunday against Oklahoma State in Iowa’s final dual meet of the season, Murin showed up again. Iowa’s first four matches ended in bonus points for the Hawkeyes, with pins from Austin DeSanto and Pat Lugo and major decisions from Spencer Lee and Murin. 

Watch Murni win the Midlands title earlier in the season:

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Now, the only way to go is forward. Murin knows his goals — he dreams of the same as nine of his teammates and all the wrestlers striving to be like them — and looks forward to Big Tens and NCAAs. 

He never lost sight of that, not even after just winning a ranked match in extra time. 

“I’m kind of mad at myself for celebrating like that,” Murin said. “I tell myself I don’t want to celebrate until I get my goal at nationals. It was kind of a big relief; it felt really good.”

Murin will suit up in what will be the biggest test of his season thus far at Big Tens. He was sidelined in facing the top two 141-pounders in the nation, Penn State’s Nick Lee and Ohio State’s Luke Pletcher. 

The Hawkeyes as a whole face their second of three battles with Penn State, each growing in urgency as the season goes on. If there’s a hope of jumping over the four-time reigning Nittany Lions for the NCAA team title, Big Tens is the time to get that started. 

Iowa was its least healthy this year when facing Penn State in the regular season and the duals that immediately followed, with Murin out and DeSanto losing by injury default. Otherwise, Iowa’s lineup has been relatively healthy this season. The lighter weights provide a spark, and the heavier half of Iowa’s lineup never lets that falter.

After dealing with injuries in 2019 that severely impacted the Hawkeye squad — most notably the loss of Michael Kemerer and the game of musical chairs that ensued to try to fill both 174 and 184 pounds — the success this year can be attested to the resiliency of this squad. 

“It’s extremely exciting,” Murin said. “I think we like where we’re at, ranked No. 1, but we’ve just got to stay healthy, keep improving every day and do the necessary things to reach our overall goals.”

Anna attended the University of Iowa, where she covered multiple sports from volleyball to football to wrestling. She went to Pittsburgh in March 2019 for the NCAA DI Wrestling Championships and did live coverage of the entire event and Spencer Lee’s second-straight NCAA title. Follow her on Twitter.