For the first time since the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were canceled in March because of COVID-19, six wrestlers in Iowa’s starting lineup hit the mat in Sunday’s Hawkeye Wrestling Club Showdown Open undercard at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Among those wrestling was 141-pound junior Max Murin. Murin defeated a familiar foe in Mitch McKee, 4-2. McKee graduated from the University of Minnesota this spring having wrestled an All-American season in 2019-20.

McKee was seed No. 6 ahead of the NCAA Tournament, and the last time he wrestled Murin, he defeated him via 5-3 decision at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I feel like a grew a lot in my wrestling over this quarantine stage,” Murin said. “I tried to get on the mat as much as I can. I also became more religious. I just felt like every day, I mean, no mater the circumstances, just become a better person, better wrestler. That’s what I got to do every day, whether I’m in quarantine or not.”

Two wrestlers that vied for the top spot in Iowa’s lineup at 184-pounds also participated in the Showdown Open. In what amounted to be a bit of an upset in the penultimate match of the undercard, sophomore Nelson Brands handily defeated sophomore Abe Assad, 9-0.

Last year, Brands began the year in Iowa’s starting lineup, but he lost that spot to Assad in January. Assad outperformed Brands at the Midlands Championships, finishing second. Head coach Tom Brands then decided to go away from Nelson and pull Assad’s redshirt to insert him in the starting lineup.

Assad went on to earn an 11 seed for the NCAA Championships, and finish fourth at Big Ten Championships.

After a third-place finish at Big Tens capped his 2019-20 season, 197-pound Jacob Warner also took the floor in Coralville. Warner blew by his opponent, Zach Glazier, via 11-0 technical fall.

“I felt good going in,” Warner said. “I handled my weight really well. It’d been a while since I competed, since Big Tens, obviously. So, for me the biggest things was getting ready to go. Making sure my training leading up to this was good, and it has been. Overall, my performance, I felt pretty good. I need to touch up on some things. Touch up on my go-behind, touch up on my gut wrench, make sure they’re a little tighter. I’m not rushing them. They felt good. They can always get a little bit better. Felt good to go in, get on top, and win the match. That’s what I try to do every time.”

157-pound Kaleb Young also won in blowout fashion. Young vanquished Jeremiah Moody via 11-0 technical fall in the first period.

Young finished last season by earning an at-large bid for the NCAA Championships. Young was seeded eighth.

For Young and others, the Showdown Open was their first opportunity to compete in front of the Hawkeye wrestling faithful since February. Even though capacity was reduced to approximately 1,600 to 1,800 mask-wearing fans, the experience was still great for the Hawkeyes.

“It’s awesome that we’re able to have fans here,” Warner said. “[Xtream Arena] is a beautiful arena. . . It’s an awesome arena. It’s a great place for wrestling. To have Iowa fans here, it’s awesome to get back in front of them just because it’s been forever. It’s one thing to be training in dark room with your teammates, it’s another thing to be competing in front of thousands of fans.”