A week ago Joe Latham had a lot more interest in Northern Iowa wrestling than UNI had in him.

On Wednesday he made a verbal commitment to attend the NCAA Divison I school in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

His decision to wrestle for the Panthers marked the end of a whirlwind week that began with him winning the USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals on the UNI campus.

Latham, who won the state 160-pound title for Bismarck High last season, went 6-0 against national-level competition at Cedar Falls. He pinned Mike Kelly of Cedar Falls in 3:10 for the 160-pound championship. Kelly has committed to the University of Iowa.

En route to his clash with Kelly, Latham defeated opponents from Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and Illinois. Sixty-eight wrestlers were entered at 160.

His championship in Iowa helped erase the disappointment of a seventh place showing a week earlier at the Super 32 Challenge at Greensboro, N.C. Latham went 5-2 at Greensboro.

"I wasn't very successful in North Carolina," Latham said. "... I just made some adjustments on my feet, flurrying a little bit more on my finishes and taking the bottom position," Latham said of his one-week turnaround.

BHS co-coach Scott Knowlen said Latham was being a little hard on himself in his analysis of the Greensboro tournament. "He was 5-2 with two 1-0 losses and took seventh place," Knowlen said. "I thought it was a success."

There was no arguing Latham's success at Cedar Falls. He sliced through the 160-pound field via three pins, a major decision and two 9-3 decisions.

"He was on their radar screen ... but after winning this tournament right on their campus (UNI head coach Brad) Penrith came at him pretty hard," Knowlen said.

Latham agreed. "My (high school) coaches were talking to them about me, but they weren't really interested in me until after that tournament," he noted.

Latham said he made the decision to commit early in order to get the best deal possible.

"Early signing ends in two weeks. ... The opportunities are better right now. The money I'd be getting isn't promised to stay there and I liked the college," Latham said. "... They offered me 40 percent to start off with, with the idea I can build off that when I make the starting lineup."

Two of Latham's former BHS teammates, brothers Tyler and Trevor Johnson, signed to wrestle at North Dakota State University the last two years. Latham said that was just not for him.

"I was hoping to get out of state and make a name somewhere else," Latham said. "Everyone seems to go to the University of Minnesota or NDSU and I wanted to get past those two."

In order to showcase himself in top-flight tournaments, Latham, a linebacker on last year's state champion Bismarck football team, had to skip his final season the gridiron.

He said giving up football was "definitely" a sacrifice.

"At the junior nationals (last summer) I didn't give the performance I really needed for scholarship purposes," Latham said. "I knew this year I had only limited opportunities to get those tournaments so I knew I had to give up football."

Latham is a three-year varsity veteran with a 108-30 mark and 29 pins. Seventeen of his losses were as a freshman 145-pounder. He placed second at 145 as a sophomore with a 43-8 mark and went 41-5 last season with 14 pins.

Knowlen said Latham has blossomed late as a college prospect, much like Tyler Johnson, who graduated in 2008.

"There's a strong similarity between them because it seems like Joe is reaching another level like Tyler did," Knowlen said. "That's because of his extra work on the mat with coach (Jeff) Schumacher."

n NOTES: Two of Latham's BHS teammates also placed at Cedar Falls. Junior Joe Schumacher was second at 135. In the middle school division, eighth grader Ryan Blees won the 120-pound title.