The No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling team defeated No. 12 Minnesota, 18-13, on Friday at a sold-out Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis.

The Hawkeyes are now 13-1 on the season and 6-1 in the Big Ten.

Hawkeyes take six of 10 bouts

Iowa’s top-ranked 125-pounder Spencer Lee kicked off Friday’s matchup with a 7-1 decision victory against Minnesota’s No. 6 Patrick McKee for his 50th consecutive dual meet win. Lee is now 2-0 all-time against McKee.

The match also marked Lee’s smallest margin of victory this season, as the three-time national champion is 12-0 with 11 bonus-point wins, including seven falls, two technical falls, and two major decisions. 

Iowa’s 17th-ranked Brody Teske rebounded from his loss to Penn State’s top-ranked Roman Bravo-Young with a 4-3 victory over Minnesota’s Jake Gliva in the 133-pound bout on Friday. 

Gliva scored a takedown early in the third period to take a 3-1 advantage. Teske then escaped and mustered a takedown in the final 15 seconds of the match to clinch his fifth victory of the season. 

The Hawkeyes’ second-ranked 141-pounder Real Woods is now 11-0 on the season after defeating the Gophers No. 15 Jake Bergeland by decision, 8-1. Woods led, 7-0, with riding time locked up, but Bergeland escaped in the waning seconds of the match to prevent the major decision. 

Woods has now held 10 of his 11 opponents this season to two points or fewer. He beat Nebraska’s then-No. 4 Brocky Hardy, 6-4, on Jan. 20.

Iowa’s seventh-ranked Max Murin had a back-and-forth battle with No. 15 Michael Blockhus in the 149-pound bout. Blockhus led, 4-3, heading into the final period. Murin claimed a 6-4 advantage with an escape and takedown, but Blockhus didn’t let up and scored a reversal to knot it at six.

Murin turned a cradle lock into a takedown and two-point near fall to run away with an 11-7 victory. Murin is now 4-0 all-time against Blockhus.

The Hawkeyes’ 15th-ranked 157-pounder Cobe Siebrecht came out firing against his fifth consecutive ranked opponent — No. 20 Brayton Lee.

Siebrecht scored a takedown 15 seconds into the match and mustered 2:43 of total riding time en route to a 4-0 victory. 

Iowa’s seventh-ranked Jacob Warner was upset in the 197-pound bout by unranked Michael Foy. The match was scoreless after two periods. Warner started on bottom in the third, and Foy let him escape with 35 seconds left. Foy then mustered a buzzer-beating takedown on the edge to win, 2-1. Warner is now 11-4 on the season. 

Happy homecoming for Kennedy

Iowa’s seventh-ranked 165-pounder Patrick Kennedy returned to his home state on Friday and defeated Cael Carlson, 13-8.  The four-time high school state champion out of Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota, exhibited a quick and relentless attack on Friday, scoring six takedowns throughout the match. Six of Carlson’s eight points came via escapes. 

“I felt good with effort; I went out and scored points,” Kennedy said in a release. “Points are what wins matches, you can beat a guy on the mat, but ultimately you have to win on the scoreboard.  It felt great to get a win [in Minnesota]. My parents got a coach bus and brought a ton of people. I was happy to send them home with a win.”

Three true freshmen in lineup

Hawkeye freshman Aiden Riggins filled in for No.16 Nelson Brands on Friday at 174 pounds. Riggins fell to Minnesota’s 11th-ranked Bailee O’Reilly, 4-1. The match marked Riggins’ second-career varsity start, as he defeated Purdue’s Stoney Buell, 9-4, on Jan. 8 at 165 pounds. 

Iowa freshman Drake Rhodes got the nod over 12th-ranked Abe Assad in the 184-pound bout. Rhodes took on Minnesota’s 10th-ranked Isaiah Salazar and fell, 13-5. It looked like Rhodes didn’t have much of a chance against Salazar, who led 10-1 after the first period. But Rhodes took control of the pace in the final two periods to limit the damage. 

Hawkeye freshman Bradley Hill made his varsity debut, filling in for third-ranked Tony Cassioppi in the heavyweight bout. The Bettendorf, Iowa, native fell to Minnesota’s Garrett Joles, 5-0. 

“We responded pretty well [from last week] with the older guys,” Kennedy said in the release. “We had three true freshmen in the lineup tonight, and I don’t think that has ever been done. We had two at Wisconsin and that had never been done.  These guys go out and fight hard. We work year-round. We’re building and working for the postseason.”

Next up

Iowa will be back in action on Feb. 10 against No. 6 Michigan at 8 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The match will be televised live on BTN.