Iowa men’s wrestling notebook | NCAA Tournament Session I recap, Session II preview

The Hawkeyes won eight of their 10 Session I bouts. Iowa is currently in second place in the race for an NCAA team title.

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Jerod Ringwald

Iowa’s No. 2 Jaydin Eierman celebrates a win over Franklin and Marshall’s No. 31 Wilfredo Gil during session one at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Little Caesers Arena in Detroit, Mich., on Thursday, March 17, 2022. Eierman defeated Gil in a 141-pound match, 11-4.

Austin Hanson, Sports Editor


DETROIT — The Iowa men’s wrestling team won eight of its 10 bouts in Session I of the 2022 NCAA Championships Thursday afternoon. True freshman Drake Ayala and junior Abe Assad were the lone Hawkeyes to suffer losses during round one.

Chattanooga’s Fabian Gutierrez, who was seeded 20th at 125 pounds, defeated No. 13 Ayala via 12-9 decision. Virginia Tech’s 15th-seeded Hunter Bolen beat No. 18 Assad, 6-3, with a late escape and takedown.

Ayala was one of five Big Ten 125-pounders to be upset in the first round of the NCAA Championships.

Three Hawkeyes earned bonus points during Session I at Little Caesars Arena: Seniors Austin DeSanto, Max Murin, and Jacob Warner. DeSanto blew past Air Force’s 133-pounder, Sidney Flores, via 19-3 technical fall. DeSanto is a No. 5 seed in his bracket.

Murin, the NCAA Tournament’s eighth-seeded 149-pounder, pinned Central Michigan’s Corbyn Munson after four minutes and 49 seconds of wrestling. The sixth-seeded Warner pushed past Northern Colorado 197-pounder Alan Clothier by way of 8-0 decision.

“We have to get ready for 10 matches tonight,” Iowa men’s wrestling head coach Tom Brands said via release. “We got bonus points at three weights. We need more bonus points. We need to win tough matches. There is a lot of wrestling left.”

Below is a full recap of Iowa’s Session I matches:

125 POUNDS: No. 20 Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) over No. 13 Drake Ayala (Iowa) via 12-9 decision

133 POUNDS: No. 5 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) over No. 28 Sidney Flores (Air Force) via 19-3 technical fall

141 POUNDS: No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) over Wilfredo Gil (Franklin and Marshall) via 11-4 decision

149 POUNDS: No. 8 Max Murin (Iowa) over No. 28 Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) via fall

157 POUNDS: No. 9 Kaleb Young (Iowa) over No. 24 Doug Zapf (Penn) via 3-2 decision

165 POUNDS: No. 3 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) over No. 3 Evan Barczak (Drexel) via 7-2 decision

174 POUNDS: No. 5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) over No. 28 Benjamin Pasiuk (Army) via 4-0 decision

184 POUNDS: No. 15 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) over No. 18 Abe Assad (Iowa) via 6-3 decision

197 POUNDS: No. 6 Jacob Warner (Iowa) over No. 27 Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) via 8-0 major decision

HEAVYWEIGHT: No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) over No. 30 Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) via 4-0 decision

Iowa sits in second place in team standings

After Session I of the NCAA Tournament, Iowa is in second place as a team with 12.5 points. The Hawkeyes trail the Penn State Nittany Lions’ 15.5-point total.

Below are the top 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament standings:

1. Penn State, 15.5

T2 Iowa, 12.5

T2 Michigan, 12.5

4. Arizona State, 11.5

5. North Carolina State, 11

6. Northern Iowa, 11

7. Nebraska, 10

8. Oregon State 9

T9.  Oklahoma State, 8

T9. Virginia Tech, 8

Session II matchups preview

125 POUNDS: No. 13 Drake Ayala (Iowa) vs. No. 29 Joe Manchio (Columbia)

  • Ayala’s will wrestle Manchio in the consolation bracket.

133 POUNDS: No. 5 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) vs. No. 12 Micky Phillippi (Pitt)

  • DeSanto is 1-0 all-time against Phillippi. He beat him via 13-5 major decision at last year’s NCAA Championships.

141 POUNDS: No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) vs. No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (UNC)

149 POUNDS: No. 8 Max Murin (Iowa) vs. No. 9 Kaden Gfeller (OKST)

  • Murin is 1-0 all-time against Gfeller. He defeated him in this year’s Iowa-Oklahoma State dual at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The event was dubbed “Bout at the Ballpark.”

157 POUNDS: No. 9 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. #8 Will Lewan (Michigan)

  • Young is 1-0 all-time against Lewan, picking up a 7-3 win in the 2020 Iowa-Michigan dual.

165 POUNDS: No. 3 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. No. 19 Justin McCoy (Virginia)

174 POUNDS: No. 5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) vs. No. 12 Cade DeVos (SDSU)

184 POUNDS: No. 18 Abe Assad (Iowa) vs. No. 31 AJ Burkhart (Lehigh)

  • Assad is 1-0 all-time against Burkhart. Assad downed Burkhart via 16-5 major decision at the Rokfin duals in Destin, Florida, earlier this season.
  • Assad will wrestle Burkhart in the consolation bracket.

197 POUNDS: No. 6 Jacob Warner (Iowa) vs. No. 11 Thomas Penola (Purdue)

  • Warner is 3-0 all-time against Penola. Warner has won by decision in all three of his meetings against Penola.

HEAVYWEIGHT: No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. No. 14 Luke Luffman (Illinois)

  • Cassioppi is 2-0 all-time against Luffman. Cassioppi has won both his matches with Luffman via pin