By Pete Ruden
It’s finally Cy-Hawk week. The No. 3 Iowa wrestling team will take on Iowa State in Carver-Hawkeye on Saturday.
Even though it’s a big rivalry in the state when the two teams go up against each other, it’s been rather one-sided recently. The Hawkeyes have won the last 12 duals to extend their lead in the series to 62-16-2.
“In wrestling over the past few years, yeah [it’s been one-sided,] but let’s keep it that way,” 149-pounder Brandon Sorensen said. The junior is ranked No. 2 in the country at his weight. “Let’s give them no hope. Let’s keep the score wide, lopsided to one-sided.”
Home sweet home
The last time Iowa and Iowa State wrestled each other in Carver-Hawkeye was 2014, and they’re getting another chance to go at it in the arena’s electric atmosphere this year.
Iowa and Iowa State set a national dual-meet attendance record when the two teams went head-to-head in 2008 with a crowd of 15,955, when the teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country.
Iowa reset the record last year with Grapple on the Gridiron against Oklahoma State in Kinnick with 42,287 people showing up.
Iowa has one of the biggest wrestling fan bases in the nation, so Carver is sure to be packed this weekend yet again.
“It should be cool,” redshirt freshman Michael Kemerer said. “I got to wrestle in Carver for the Iowa City Duals, but that was a different atmosphere than this will be. I’m real excited. I’ve been to Carver meets, obviously. I got to go last year. This should be a cool atmosphere.”
Marinelli weighs in
Freshman Alex Marinelli weighed in at last week’s dual against South Dakota State, possibly giving fans a sign of things to come.
The native of St. Paris, Ohio, didn’t end up wrestling in Iowa’s 29-8 victory over the No. 20 Jackrabbits, but it will be interesting to see what’s in store for the four-time Ohio state champion.
“Last time he wrestled was that [Nov. 12] weekend,” head coach Tom Brands said. “We have to make sure he’s practicing his weigh-in routine and staying down at the weight. He’s a disciplined guy, so we’re not too worried about it. We’ll weigh him in this weekend as well. I’ll give you a wink there. You never know what you’re going to do. You never know.”
Injury report
After missing a match for the first time this season against South Dakota State, senior 133-pounder Cory Clark will not be in action against the Cyclones.
Junior Phillip Laux will step into the weight class. He competed against his first ranked opponent last week and ended up losing to No. 7 Seth Gross, 15-0.
Brands said the team is conservative in its approach to competition and aggressive in its approach to rehab.
“Phil Laux is our next man in at that weight and we love what he’s about,” Brands said. “In the sport of wrestling, injuries are something that you deal with pretty much on a daily basis. You have to have a lot of depth, and you have to have guys’ mentality ready that anything can happen.”
The Hawkeyes will also be without sophomore Sam Stoll at heavyweight; he is recovering from an injury suffered last season.