Hawkeye wrestling blows by Spartans in East Lansing

Three new wrestlers entered Iowa’s lineup on Sunday. That didn’t stop the Hawkeyes from dominating, 32-3.

Iowa%E2%80%99s+165-pound+Jeremiah+Moody+wrestles+Northwestern%E2%80%99s+Shayne+Oster+during+the+first+session+of+the+57th+Annual+Ken+Kraft+Midlands+Championships+at+the+Sears+Centre+in+Hoffman+Estates%2C+IL%2C+on+Sunday%2C+Dec.+29%2C+2019.+Oster+won+by+major+decision%2C+13-5.

Shivansh Ahuja

Iowa’s 165-pound Jeremiah Moody wrestles Northwestern’s Shayne Oster during the first session of the 57th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, IL, on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019. Oster won by major decision, 13-5.

Austin Hanson, Assistant Sports Editor

Following a bruising, 19-17, victory over Penn State on Jan. 31, Iowa wrestling traveled to East Lansing, Michigan, for a matchup with the Spartans.

Unlike their dual with the Nittany Lions, this did not go down to the wire for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa rested a few of its lineup regulars, but still dominated Michigan State, 32-3.

Austin DeSanto was one of the Hawkeyes that did not participate on Sunday. DeSanto went down with an apparent knee injury on Jan. 31 during the first period of his match with No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State.

In place of the injured junior was Paul Glynn. The 133-pound senior did not disappoint. Glynn defeated Michigan State’s Garrett Pepple by decision, 9-4.

Glynn is now 2-0 on the season in dual meets. His first victory came against UT-Chattanooga’s Wade Cummings, 11-7.

Another pinch-hitter in Iowa’s lineup was 141-pound Carter Happel. Happel has now been in Iowa’s lineup for three consecutive duals, filling in for the injured Max Murin since Jan. 24.

Happel was 0-3 on the season coming into the meet, losing in duals against Iowa State, Ohio State, and Penn State. On Sunday afternoon, Happel’s luck finally changed. The junior defeated Matt Santos via decision, 4-1.

Related: Hawkeyes rally to beat Nittany Lions following DeSanto injury

The most unpredictable entry into Iowa’s lineup came from a wrestler that is more likely renowned for his hair and goofy appearances in team photos. 165-pound Jeremiah Moody wrestled in a spot that is typically reserved for All-American Alex Marinelli.

Marinelli lost at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the first time in his career on Jan. 31, bringing his home record to 16-1. The loss inflicted by Vincenzo Joseph also tarnished Marinelli’s perfect record this season. The junior is now 14-1.

While Marinelli spectated, Moody excelled. The senior won his first match of the season by decision, 9-5. The win was also the first of Moody’s career in the Big Ten.

While the spotlight was on some underexposed Hawkeyes against the Spartans, Iowa’s regulars took care of business.

Reigning National Champion Spencer Lee pinned Logan Griffin in 2:21. Lee has now outscored his opponents 110-2 on the season. Lee is 11-0 this year and has only wrestled into the second period five times. He has earned 62 team points for Iowa this season, winning by fall three times, by technical fall eight times, and by major decision once.

Tony Cassioppi followed his clutch performance on Jan. 31 with a 9-0 major decision over Christian Rebottaro. The redshirt freshman clinched the three team points that propelled Iowa to victory over Penn State and capped his weekend by improving his record to 15-0 on the year.

Michael Kemerer followed suit, continuing his stretch of domination this season. After beating No. 1 Mark Hall to kick off the weekend, Kemerer extinguished Layne Malczewski by major decision, 13-3. Kemerer is 9-0 with wins over the first, fourth, sixth, and eighth-ranked wrestlers in the nation.

Senior Pat Lugo also put together an impressive weekend. Lugo notched his 100th career win against Jarod Verkleeren on Jan. 31. Lugo put on an encore performance on Sunday, toppling Alex Hrisopoulos, 8-3.

The Hawkeyes’ tour of the Great Lake State continues at 7 p.m. Saturday when Iowa faces No. 15 Michigan at Cliff Keen Arena.