Hawkeyes dominate for win No. 1,000

The Hawkeyes went on the road missing two of its All-Americans but returned to Iowa City with a program milestone and trust in its depth.

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The Daily Iowan; Photo by Ben Al

Iowa’s Spencer Lee competes against Rutgers’s Nick Suriano in the 125-pound final bout of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, OH. Lee defeated Suriano by decision, 5-1, placing first in the tournament. This is Lee’s first national title. (Ben Allan Smith/The Daily Iowan)

Anna Kayser, Sports Reporter

Iowa wrestling emerged from the offseason dominant in a sweep against Cal State-Bakersfield and Kent State on Nov. 9, recording program wins No. 1,000 and 1,001.

The No. 3 Hawkeyes only lost one match the entire night at Kent State, Ohio, Field House without two of its All-Americans in the lineup.

Sam Stoll, Michael Kemerer, Jacob Warner, and Vince Turk all stayed behind for the opening duals of the season.

Stoll and Turk were suspended following an incident that resulted in Stoll being shot in the knee last summer. The coaching staff elected to give Warner a break in competition after he returned from the Junior World Championships. As for Kemerer, he has a history with injuries, but nothing was official.

Iowa started off the afternoon against Cal State-Bakersfield, and the Hawkeye lineup won nine of the 10 matches to take the dual, 36-6, recording the program’s 1,000th win.

Iowa had a 37-4 advantage in takedowns.

“I liked the pace,” head coach Tom Brands said in a release. “I like the opportunity these guys have and making the most of them. We have a lot of depth that still isn’t here, but tribute to our depth for getting the job done. You can go through the lineup, and I could give credit to a lot of people.”

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Two Hawkeyes took matches by technical fall at the lighter weights: No. 1 Spencer Lee (125) and No. 11 Austin DeSanto (133).

For the entire night, Lee was only on the mat for 3:34.

Following at 141, Max Murin recorded a major decision against Carlos Herrera, 18-4 and 14-0. Four other Hawkeyes won their matches by major decision, including No. 15 Kaleb Young (157), No. 4 Alex Marinelli (164), Myles Wilson (174), and No. 12 Cash Wilcke (174).

Iowa’s only loss on the night came at 149. Russell Rohlfing won in a 10-9 decision over No. 10 Pat Lugo.

Immediately after finishing off Cal State-Bakersfield, Iowa came out against Kent State and took all 10 matchups.

Four Hawkeyes recorded pins at weights 141 through 165: Murin, Lugo, Young, and Marinelli.

Lee and Wilcke both repeated their performances from the first meet, finishing in a technical fall and a major decision, respectively.

Murin, Wilson, and Aaron Costello all went 2-0 in their college debuts, with Connor Corbin winning his only match.

While winning 1,000 matches is nice, the program isn’t taking any time.

“Those 1,000 wins go way back to E.G. Schroeder, the first coach, and come all the way through Mike DeAnna, who was here tonight, and Gable, and here we are,” Brands said in a release. “The most important thing is getting win No. 1,002. That’s coming up next — Princeton on Friday night.”

The Hawkeyes will take on the Tigers on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye for the season’s home-opener.

If Iowa’s goal is to build on its success from last season and inch closer to Penn State, dominating two teams without two All-Americans in its lineup is a pretty good start.