ANN ARBOR— Seven Iowa men’s wrestlers will compete in Session III of the 2023 Big Ten Championships on Sunday at noon. Iowa is in second place in the team standings, trailing Penn State, 120 to 108.5.

Headlining the consolation semifinals for the Hawkeyes are 149-pounder Max Murin, 174-pounder Nelson Brands, 197-pounder Jacob Warner, and heavyweight Tony Cassioppi. If they win their match, these Iowa grapplers will wrestle for third place. In the event of a loss, they will battle in the fifth-place bout.

Iowa 133-pounder Brody Teske and 157-pounder Cobe Siebrecht will wrestle for seventh place. Hawkeye 184-pounder Abe Assad has already claimed seventh place after his opponent, Michigan State’s Layne Malczewski, medically forfeited the match.

Consolation Semifinals 

149 POUNDS: No. 6 Max Murin (IA) over No. 3 Yahya Thomas (NU) via injury default

Thomas advanced to the semifinals after his Maryland opponent, Ethen Miller, medically forfeited the match. Murin dropped to the consolation bracket after his 8-2 loss to Ohio State Sammy Sosso on Saturday night. 

Murin is 1-1 in his career against Thomas.  

Period 1: Murin and Thomas trade multiple attempted shots without scoring. With 1:19 remaining in the period, Murin bulldozed Thomas to the edge of the mat, nearly colliding with the Mat 3 scorers’ table. Thomas was shaken up by the play, received medical attention, and was then helped out of the arena to be evaluated.

Thomas was not allowed to return and Murin was declared the victor for his second injury default win of this year’s tournament. He now advances to tonight’s third-place match against Penn State No. 5 seed Shayne Van Ness.

174 POUNDS: No. 4 Bailee O’Reilly (MINN) over No. 7 Nelson Brands (IA) via OT decision 

Brands did not wrestle in the Hawkeye dual meet at Mineanapolis this season. O’Reilly dropped to the semifinal match after falling to Penn State No. 1 seed Carter Starocci, while Brands scored a sudden victory in the previous round of consolations to advance. 

Period 1: Three scoreless minutes of mostly hand-fighting between the two, Brands starts on top to start the second.

Period 2: With 1:34 remaining in the second, Minnesota’s coaches throw the challenge brick, but were unsuccessful. O’Reilly then opens the scoring with an escape. The Golden Gopher leads, 1-0, at the end of the period.

Period 3: Brands ties the bout with an escape of his own. The match now heads to sudden victory.

Sudden Victory: O’Reilly dives for Brands’ legs to complete the match-winning two-point takedown. Brands now heads to the fifth-place match, where he will face Illinois No. 5 seed Edmond Ruth.

Brands has only scored eight points this tournament.

197 POUNDS: No. 6 Jaxon Smith (MD) over No. 5 Jacob Warner (IA) via OT decision 

After narrowly falling to his Penn State nemesis Max Dean in the semifinals of the main bracket, Warner faces Smith, a Terrapin sophomore who finished the regular season with a 19-6 record. 

Period 1: No scoring from either side, Warner will start on the bottom to start the second.

Period 2: Warner musters an escape to open the scoring. With about 20 seconds remaining, Warner snatches Smtih’s leg but can’t complete the takedown.

Period 3: Warner plows Smith out of bounds multiple times, but Smith evens the scoring with an escape. With 10 seconds remaining, Warner makes a last-ditch shot attempt, but can’t convert.

Sudden Victory: Smith scores a takedown in the center of the mat to win the bout. Warner slams his fist to the mat in frustration. He now heads to the fifth-place match.

HEAVYWEIGHT: No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (IA) over No. 4 Lucas Davison (NU) via OT decision

Cassioppi was shut out by his Penn State counterpart Greg Kerkvliet in the semis of the main bracket and now is slotted to fight Davison, who pinned his previous opponent 1:40 into the match. 

Cassioppi is undefeated against Davison in his career, winning via regular decision in two regular-season matchups. 

Period 1: In a battle between the third and fourth nationally ranked heavyweights, the two big men get into a scramble near the edge of the mat but don’t score.

Period 2: Cassioppi opens the scoring with a reversal, and Davison counters with an escape. Cassioppi leads, 2-1.

Period 3: Davison evens the match with another escape. With riding time not a factor, the match now heads to sudden victory on Mat 3.

Sudden Victory: Cassioppi makes a strong dive toward Davison’s ankles and puts the Wildcat on his back for the match-clinching takedown.

Seventh-Place Matches

133 POUNDS: No. 8 Brody Teske (IA) over No. 7 Joe Heilmann (RUT) via decision 

Tekse dropped a 9-4 decision against Northwestern No. 4 seed Chris Cannon in the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket. Heilmann was shut out in the same round. 

Period 1: Teske starts quickly with a takedown and rides Heilmann the rest of the way.

Period 2: The Hawkeye adds to his lead with an escape and another two-point takedown while holding the Scarlet Knight scoreless.

Period 3: Heilmann prevents the shutout with an escape point, but Teske counters with another takedown. Heilmann makes things interesting with a takedown of his own, but Teske’s 2:15 of riding time gives him an 8-4 victory. Teske now claims seventh place at 133 pounds and is now signing shirts for some young fans.

157 POUNDS: No. 5 Cobe Siebrecht (IA) over No. 10 Derek Gilcher (IND) via decision 

Siebrecht and Gilcher both suffered narrow defeats in the consolation quarterfinals, with Siebrecht getting upset by Northwestern No. 8 seed Trevor Chumbley. Siebrecht has never faced Gilcher in his career. 

Period 1: A scramble ensues on the edge, but neither scores. A blood time-out was called with 39 seconds remaining, but the score remains, 0-0.

Period 2: Siebrecht is slammed near the end of the mat, but wrangles out for an escape to open the scoring.

Period 3: The Hawkeye glues himself to the top of Gilcher, refusing to let the Hoosier counter with an escape. Siebrecht dominates the rest of the way with 1:27 riding time to take a 2-0 victory and seventh place in his weight class.

184 POUNDS: No. 5 Abe Assad (IA) over No. 6 Layne Malczewski (MSU) via medical forfeit 

Assad’s victory was awarded late Saturday night and gave the Hawkeyes three team points to push their total to 108.5. Assad will still venture to the mat today to get his hand raised.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.