Rapid Recap: Four Hawkeyes advance to 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championship quarterfinals
Four Hawkeyes won their respective bouts in Session 2A of the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships to advance to the tournament’s quarterfinals.
Mar 18, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes wrestler Jaydin Eierman wrestles Indiana Hoosiers wrestler Cayden Rooks during the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
March 18, 2021
ST. LOUIS — Four Hawkeyes advanced out of Session II of the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships and into the tournament’s Session III quarterfinals slated for Friday.
Iowa wrestling went 4-1 in Session 2A Thursday afternoon at the Enterprise Center.
RELATED: Follow along: Iowa participates in Session II of the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships
Senior 125-pounder Spencer Lee, 133-pound Austin DeSanto, 141-pound Jaydin Eierman, and 149-pound Max Murin all advanced to the quarterfinals.
Lee wrestled West Virginia’s Killian Cardinale, and for just the second time this season, Lee wrestled into the third period.
Cardinale forced Lee to compete for a full seven-minute bout for the first time this season, though Lee won via 15-5 major decision.
Cardinale is the first opponent Lee did not defeat via fall or technical fall in 2021.
While Lee did not earn a pin in Session 2A, his teammate, DeSanto did. The Exeter, Pennsylvania, native pinned West Virginia’s Ryan Sullivan late in the first period.
Just relentless! Austin DeSanto picks up the 📌.#NCAAWrestling x 🎥 @espn pic.twitter.com/khOhbOW57s
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 18, 2021
Eierman was challenged in his second match of the tournament. The Missouri Tiger transfer clawed his way past Pittsburgh’s Cole Matthews, 5-3.
Murin earned the only Hawkeye upset of the subsession, defeating No. 5 seed Ridge Lovett via 5-3 decision.
Max Murin! Clutch takedown in the final 30 seconds and Iowa starts 4 for 4 in session two. #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/YCv76QakI9
— Grant Becker (@GBeckTV) March 18, 2021
Lovett previously upset then-No. 2 seed Murin at the 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships as a No. 7 seed.
Senior 157-pounder Kaleb Young was the only Hawkeye that did not advance to the quarterfinals. Young fell to Penn State’s Brady Berge in upset fashion, 3-2.
Five more Hawkeyes will compete in Session 2B beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday — 165-pound Alex Marinelli, 174-pound Michael Kemerer, 184-pound Nelson Brands, 197-pound Jacob Warner, and 285-pound Jacob Warner.
Session 2A results:
125-pounds: Spencer Lee (Iowa) over Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) via 15-5 major decision
133-pounds: Austin DeSanto (Iowa) over Ryan Sullivan (West Virginia) via fall.
141-pounds: Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) over Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) via 5-3 decision.
149-pounds: Max Murin (Iowa) over Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) via 5-3 decision.
157-pounds: Brady Berge (Penn State) over Kaleb Young (Iowa) via 3-2 decision