Iowa wrestling takes on CyHawk action in Ames
After last year’s nail biter against the Cyclones, the Hawkeyes are ready to score bonus points in a hostile environment this weekend.
Iowa’s 157-pound Kaleb Young wrestles Northwestern’s Ryan Deakin during the fifth session of the 2019 NCAA D1 Wrestling Championships at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, March 23, 2019. Young won by sudden victory, 7-5, and earned fifth in the weight class.
November 21, 2019
Last season’s dual meet between Iowa and Iowa State kept Carver-Hawkeye Arena on its toes until the very last match.
Iowa was down 15-12 when the Imperial March from Star Wars blasted over the loudspeakers and Sam Stoll came walking out onto the mat. That — paired with Spencer Lee following him — changed the tides for Iowa, and it took the meet 19-18.
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Last year was a big deal, and this season is no exception. Both lineups feature a multitude of ranked wrestlers; Iowa as a team comes in at No. 2 while Iowa State is No. 11, and the Ames atmosphere might again be a factor.
“We’ve got to be ready for it,” head coach Tom Brands said. “I don’t think our guys worry the environment if anything it helps them.
“You want crowds to pay attention. You want big crowds. You want your crowd, and then you want to go into a big deal.”
For the Hawkeyes, No. 1 Spencer Lee and redshirt freshman Aaron Cashman are both listed at 125. No. 2 Austin DeSanto — who wrestled at 141 on Dec. 17 — Paul Glynn, and Gavin Teasdale are all listed at 133. No. 8/9 Max Murin and Carter Happel are at 141, and No. 9 Cash Wilcke and Nelson Brands are options at 184.
The rest of the Hawkeye lineup is the same as against UT-Chattanooga, with No. 5/3 Pat Lugo at 149, No. 2 Kaleb Young at 157, No. 2/5 Alex Marinelli at 165, No. 4/2 Michael Kemerer at 174, No. 3/4 Jacob Warner at 197, and No. 12 Tony Cassioppi at 285.
Iowa State has ranked options in their lineup at every weight besides 133, giving the Hawkeyes a challenge before the Big Ten season picks up.
“We just can’t, feel like we can’t take anybody for granted,” Young said. “So, just going out, starting our matches hard, it’ll get us ready this week, [because] it’s kind of a higher-level opponent. We start our matches hard, and we score fast and score first and score often.”
Last season, the difference between a win and a loss for Iowa was bonus points. Especially with that is on the horizon in terms of ranked opponents, that idea has to be kicked up a notch by everyone on the mat.
“I train for every match like it’s the biggest match in the world, whether they’re ranked or not,” Lee said. “You’ve got to go out there and wrestle your match, wrestle as hard as you can and go out there and score points.”
Iowa, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa are all ranked in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division-1 poll with Northern Iowa rounding out the state at No. 17.
“This is a big week for us,” Brands said. “It’s on the barometer nationwide, so that says a lot about the state of wrestling in the state of Iowa.”
After Sunday’s 2 p.m. meet at Hilton Coliseum, Iowa will gear up for Wisconsin on Dec. 1. The Badgers are tied for fourth with Virginia Tech in the NWCA Coaches Poll.
