No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling goes undefeated in three-dual road trip to New York

Heavyweight Tony Cassioppi recorded three straight pins in Iowa’s duals against Army, Sacred Heart, and Buffalo.

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Grace Smith

Iowa’s No. 2 Tony Cassioppi celebrates after defeating Penn State’s No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, 6-4, during session three of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday, March 5, 2022.

Kenna Roering, Sports Reporter
November 19, 2022

The No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling team went undefeated in its three-dual road trip to New York on Thursday and Friday. 

The Hawkeyes defeated Army on Thursday in West Point, New York, inside Christl Arena. 

On Friday, Iowa routed Sacred Heart and Buffalo in the Arm Bar at the Armory tournament in Albany, New York. 

Iowa is now 4-0 on the season. 

Army 

The Black Knights, who received votes in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association poll, posed a challenge for the Hawkeyes. But Iowa posted bonus points in five matches to come back from a 9-3 deficit to win, 28-13.

Army won the first match of the dual at 125 pounds as No. 24 Ethan Berginc pinned Iowa junior Aidan Harris — a transfer from Iowa Central —  in the first period, putting the Black Knights up, 6-0. 

Hawkeye junior Cullan Schriever, who took home a title at the Luther Open in the elite 133-pound weight class on Nov. 12, picked up his first attached win of the season versus Army’s Rich Treanor, 2-0. Schriever earned points via riding time and a third-period escape. Junior 133-pounder Brody Teske did not make the trip to New York. 

Iowa suffered another loss at 141 pounds, as Hawkeye senior Drew Bennett fell to Black Knight Julian Sanchez by a 5-3 decision. Bennett secured a reversal at the start of the third period to make it 4-3 in favor of Sanchez, but he could not finish it off. Army increased its lead to 9-3. 

Hawkeye junior Cobe Siebrecht, who got the nod at 157 pounds against Army over redshirt freshman Caleb Rathjen, notched a win against No. 28 Nate Lukez, 8-0. Siebrecht recorded three takedowns and 4:01 of riding time to secure the major decision victory and give Iowa its first lead of the dual, 11-9.

“We want to see our guys go out and fight like Cobe did,” head coach Tom Brands said in a statement.  “When you have your opportunity, you go out.  That’s what we’re looking for.”

Iowa dominated the only ranked matchup of the night at 165 pounds. Hawkeye sophomore No. 13 Patrick Kennedy secured a 22-9 major decision over No. 28 Dalton Harkins. It marked Kennedy’s first win over a nationally-ranked opponent. 

“I was staying tough with the guy,” Kennedy said in a statement. “I felt good putting points up, but it could have been better. If I would have walked out of here with a tech fall maybe I would have smiled a little harder, but we have a good thing going right now.”

RELATED: No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling ready for three-dual road trip to New York

Iowa freshman 174-pounder Carson Martinson, a Southeast Polk High School alum, made his Hawkeye debut against No. 21 Ben Pasiuk and lost by major decision, 15-4.

The Hawkeyes officially clinched the dual victory with a major decision victory by No. 2 197-pound senior Jacob Warner. He defeated sophomore Kyle Swartz, 20-7. 

Iowa heavyweight senior No. 4 Tony Cassioppi was the fifth Hawkeye to earn bonus points when he pinned Kade Carlson in 1:26 for his second fall of the season. 

Sacred Heart 

Iowa experimented in several weight classes in its 33-6 win at the Arm Bar at the Armory tournament over Sacred Heart. 

The Hawkeyes got down, 3-0, as Harris suffered his third loss of the season against Pioneer Mikey Manta at 125.  Iowa put its first points on the board at 133 pounds when Schriever downed Sacred Heart’s Andrew Fallon, 20-13. 

Bennett showed resilience in the 141-pound match, earning a near fall late in the second period to come back from a 8-4 deficit and win, 12-8. 

Rathjen made his 157-pound season debut against Sacred Heart’s Nick Palumbo and fell, 8-4. 

Senior Hawkeye Joe Kelly, who posted a 4-4 record at 157 pounds last season, made his season debut against Sacred Heart at 174 pounds.  He earned the major decision over Ryan Bolletino, 17-7. 

Iowa junior Zach Glazier —- who went 3-2 at 197 pounds and won a title at the Luther Open last season —- made his season debut and recorded a second period tech fall against Sacred Heart’s Nick Copley. 

Cassioppi closed out the duel with his third consecutive pin of the season in 1:28 over Marc Berisha.  

Buffalo

Iowa completed its three-dual road trip against Buffalo at the Arm Bar at the Armory tournament, defeating the Bulls, 35-7. 

The Hawkeyes continued to struggle at 125 pounds without three-time national champion Spencer Lee. 

Iowa sophomore Charles Matthews,  who recorded a 4-6 record at 133 pounds last season, made his season debut at 125 pounds against Buffalo’s Pat Adams and fell, 11-2. 

But, the Hawkeyes responded by reeling off five straight victories and winning eight of the final nine matches.

Schriever closed out the road-trip undefeated with a 24-9 tech fall over Buffalo’s Mason Bush to give Iowa a 5-4 lead. Then, Rathjen redeemed his loss to Sacred Heart at 157 pounds and notched his first career victory over Buffalo’s Nick Stampoulus, 6-0. 

Siebrecht moved up to 165 pounds against Buffalo to take on Noah Grover and won, 8-0. No. 8 Abe Assad won the only ranked matchup of the dual with a 22-7 tech fall over No. 32 Giuseppe Hoose. Cassioppi finished off the duel with his fourth straight pin, downing Greg Hodulick in 53 seconds.