CLEVELAND — Iowa pushed two of its three wrestlers from the quarterfinals into the semifinals at the NCAA Championships.
Two freshmen led the charge for the Hawkeyes — Spencer Lee dominated throughout his match, and Alex Marinelli mounted a comeback to earn a spot in the semifinals.
Iowa thrived in the Session 3 wrestle-backs, moving three of their five wrestlers into the next round.
A strong performance from Michigan catapulted it into third place with 59.5 points, while Iowa sits at fourth with 53.5 points. Ohio State is still out front with 80.5 points, and Penn State holds the No. 2 spot with 67 points.
Quarterfinals
Spencer Lee vs. Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)
On Jan. 14, Lee topped Oklahoma State’s Piccininni, 10-5. Lee didn’t keep it as close in their quarterfinals meeting.
Lee scored a takedown early in the first period, then went for the tilt to gather 4 near-fall points. Lee chose down in the second and had a quick escape.
Piccininni looked as if he would score when he landed a single leg, but Lee somehow countered and turned it into his own takedown. He added 2 more near-fall points to go up 11-1. A final effort from Lee put Piccininni on his back for a third and final time, as he earned the fall at 3:58.
Lee is now an All-American as a true freshman and will see Nathan Tomasello in the semifinals for their third matchup of the year. Lee won their dual-meet matchup, 3-2, but Tomasello won their Big Ten Championships matchup, 2-1.
Michael Kemerer vs. Jason Nolf (Penn State)
Nolf got the first takedown early in the first period and methodically wore Kemerer down from there. Nolf added another takedown in the third and piled up riding time to walk away with a 6-2 decision over Iowa’s 157-pounder.
Kemerer could not find his offense in the match — his only points came from escapes. He now bounces into the consolation bracket for a chance at third place and will face No. 2 seed Joey Lavallee of Missouri next.
Alex Marinelli vs. Chad Walsh (Rider)
Marinelli originally looked like he would drop his quarterfinals match. Walsh tagged an early takedown on Marinelli and secured a headlock, but Marinelli escaped before back points were awarded. Walsh added another takedown to go up 4-2.
Marinelli started chipping back with a takedown in the second and another in the third to come out with a 7-6 win over Walsh with riding time. “The Bull” will face Illinois’ top-ranked Isaiah Martinez in the semifinals.
Wrestle-backs
Vince Turk vs. Nate Limmex (Purdue)
Turk topped Purdue’s Limmex in the blood round, defending Limmex’s shots throughout the match. He scored a takedown at the edge of the mat halfway through the third period to go up 2-1. He gathered riding time from there and was able to walk away with a 3-2 decision.
Turk vs. Chad Red (Nebraska)
Turk then dropped a 3-2 decision to Red. Red earned an escape in the second and a takedown in the third to knock Turk out of the tournament.
Brandon Sorensen vs. Eleazar Deluca (Rutgers)
After getting knocked out of the championship bracket, Sorensen flipped the switch against Deluca of Rutgers. Iowa’s senior had a takedown and 4 back points in the first. He added 2 more takedowns and a point for riding time to walk away with a 13-0 major decision.
Sorensen vs. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)
In Sorensen’s second match of the day, he won a 4-2 decision over Ryan Deakin of Northwestern. Sorensen gathered 2 takedowns to knock Deakin out of the tournament.
Sorensen added 2.5 points to the Hawkeye cause in the consolation bracket of Session 3 action.
Mitch Bowman vs. Kayne MacCallum (Eastern Michigan)
In the 184-pound wrestle-backs, Bowman contributed 1.5 team points to the Iowa cause with a technical fall over MacCallum.
Bowman gave up the first takedown but then earned 19-straight points.
Bowman vs. Taylor Venz (Nebraska)
Venz won a major decision over Bowman, knocking Iowa’s 184-pounder out of the tournament. Bowman couldn’t find his offense, and Venz piled up takedowns.
Bowman finished the tournament 2-2 and contributed 4 team points for the Hawkeyes.
Cash Wilcke vs. Thomas Lane (Cal Poly)
Wilcke added 2 team points with a fall over Lane. The first point of the match came in the second period off of a Wilcke escape. He then added a takedown to go up 3-0. He capped the match with a tilt and stuck Lane at 4:11 for the pin.
Wilcke vs. Nathan Traxler (Stanford)
Iowa’s 197-pounder Wilcke was taken to the limit when Traxler took the sophomore to the second set of tiebreakers. Wilcke and Traxler both had their escape points, but Wilcke finally emerged as the victor with a takedown.
Sam Stoll vs. Andrew Dunn (Virginia Tech)
Stoll walked away with a 6-0 decision over Virginia Tech’s Andrew Dunn. Stoll put up 2 takedowns, an escape, and a point for riding time.
Stoll vs. Shawn Streck (Purdue)
Iowa’s Stoll picked up his second pin of his tournament after he stuck Streck. Stoll was up 5-0 with 2 takedowns and plenty of riding time when he won by fall to advance.
Updated Team Standings
- Ohio State — 80.5
- Penn State — 67.0
- Michigan — 59.5
- Iowa — 53.5
- North Carolina State — 44.0