Some milestones deserve serious recognition. A Big Ten regular season title doesn’t quite do it for Iowa wrestling.

The Hawkeyes clinched the conference dual title with a dominant 35-6 victory over Minnesota at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday night. There are bigger things ahead.

“[The regular season title] means that we get our picture taken upstairs and we put it out on social media,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said. “If you’re in sole possession [of first place] it means that you did your job in conference. Good job. Now, let’s move on.”

Winning the Big Ten didn’t come lightly.

Iowa’s last five matches on the home mat have been against Big Ten opponents ranked in the top 15 in the country.

“It’s not a slouch conference,” Brands said. “It wasn’t a slouch schedule. We’ll take some pictures and move on. I don’t say that lightly. I say that because that’s what you do.”

The Hawkeyes close the regular season Feb. 23 with a dual meet at Carver against Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys aren’t ranked as highly as they have been in their recent bouts against Iowa, but that won’t matter once the first match begins.

“That’s a big dual,” Brands said. “That is a big dual meet. I don’t know what they’re ranked. If they’re in the teens or if they are No. 11 or No. 8, it doesn’t matter. That’s a program that has a lot of pride in the sport of wrestling in a state that has a lot of pride in the sport of wrestling.”

Cassioppi loses second match in a row

Prior to Iowa’s Feb. 8 meet against Michigan, heavyweight Tony Cassioppi’s record stood unblemished at 15-0.

Now, the redshirt freshman has lost two matches in a row.

“It’s a concern any time that happens,” Brands said. “The guy was on a roll, he was undefeated before last week. He analyzes very well and moves forward very well. The schedule said that he had the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked heavyweights in the country back to back. Gotta do it.”

Cassioppi was pinned by Michigan’s No. 2 Mason Paris for the first loss of his college career.

His competition didn’t get any easier against Minnesota and No. 1 Gable Stevenson. Cassioppi lost by decision to Stevenson, 7-5.

“Stevenson is a worthy opponent,” Brands said. “He’s a worthy opponent on the senior level. Our path to international competition goes through him.”

Hawkeyes prepared for final stretch

A Big Ten regular season title may not be worthy of heavy celebrating for Brands, but that’s only because postseason competition is nearing.

The Hawkeyes currently boast the top-ranked team in the nation. That’s unlikely to change before the regular season ends.

That being said, there’s still tune ups to be made.

“There’s always things that nag at you,” Brands said. “You try to be positive and you try to make sure that you put your professional voice out there. It can’t be all candor. I like where we’re at, but we’ve got to get better. There’s some guys that didn’t wrestle their best [tonight] and did some work to bail themselves out of some holes.”