Rapid Recap: Two Hawkeyes advance out of Session IV of NCAA Wrestling Championships

Hawkeye heavyweight Tony Cassioppi and 174-pounder Michael Kemerer won their quarterfinals matchups to move on to Session V of the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships.

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Mar 19, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes wrestler Alex Marinelli wrestles Stanford Cardinal wrestler Shane Griffith in the 165 weight class during the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Austin Hanson, Sports Editor
March 19, 2021

ST. LOUIS — Two University of Iowa wrestlers advanced out of Session IV of the 2021 NCAA Championships Friday afternoon and into Friday evening’s Session V semifinals.

Hawkeye heavyweight Tony Cassioppi and 174-pound Michael Kemerer will join their teammates 125-pound Spencer Lee, 133-pound Austin DeSanto, and 141-pound Jaydin Eierman in the semifinals — rounding Iowa’s penultimate round participants out at five.

Notably absent from the Hawkeyes’ semifinal lineup is 165-pound senior Alex Marinelli. The Miamisburg, Ohio, native was the top seed at his weight before the NCAA Championships began.

Marinelli was bounced in the quarterfinals by Stanford’s Shane Griffith, who is seeded eighth.

The pair wrestled to a draw through three periods, and then Marinelli surrendered a takedown just 16 seconds into sudden victory.

Juniors Jacob Warner and Max Murin were also defeated in their quarterfinal matchups.

Senior 157-pounder Kaleb Young is the other Hawkeye residing in the consolation bracket. He won two matches in Session III, and now sits three victories away from the third-place bout and two wins shy of an All-America honor.

Nelson Brands, the Hawkeyes’ 184-pound sophomore, was the first Iowa wrestler eliminated from the NCAA Championships entirely, as he fell to North Carolina’s Devin Kane via 15-4 major decision.

Session V’s semifinals begin at 7 p.m. at the Enterprise Center.

Session IV results:

165-pounds: No. 8 Shane Griffith (Stanford) over No. 1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) via 3-1 decision in sudden victory

174-pounds: No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) over No. 8 Daniel Bullard (North Carolina State) via 13-4 major decision

184-pounds (consolation): Devin Kane (North Carolina) over Nelson Brands (Iowa) via 15-4 major decision

197-pounds: No. 4 A.J. Ferrari (Oklahoma State) over No. 5 Jacob Warner (Iowa) via 3-2 decision

285-pounds: No. 5 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) over No. 4 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) via 4-1 decision

Team standings:

1. Iowa (73.5)
2. Penn State (57.5)
3. Oklahoma State (51.0)
4. North Carolina State (46.0)
5. Missouri (40.0)