TULSA — The Iowa men’s wrestling team won eight of its 10 bouts in Session I of the 2023 NCAA Championships Thursday afternoon. Juniors Brody Teske and Cobe Siebrecht suffered losses at 133 and 157 pounds, respectively.

Teske fell to Illinois’ No. 10 seed Lucas Byrd, 13-10. Teske scored a few reversals at the end of the match to keep it close, but Byrd’s relentlessness and eight back points sealed the deal.  Siebrecht lost, 10-5, to Wisconsin’s No. 19 seed Garrett Model. Siebrecht led early, but Model put him in a cradle and was in charge the rest of the way.

Three Hawkeyes earned bonus points during Session I at the BOK Center, including 125-pound Spencer Lee, 141-pound Real Woods, and heavyweight Tony Cassioppi.

Lee came out and did typical Lee things against Air Force’s No. 33 seed Tucker Owens.  He scored a takedown in the first 15 seconds and then executed his notorious tilt to pin Owens in 36 seconds. The fall marked Lee’s quickest pin of the season and the third-fastest of his career. It was also Lee’s 16th bonus-point victory of the season and his 56th consecutive win.

Woods came out firing against Maryland’s No. 32 seed Kal Miller. He scored three takedowns in the first period and added back points en route to a 13-1 victory with 4:06 of total riding time.

Cassioppi shut out Maryland’s No. 29 seed Jaron Smith, 10-0. Cassioppi now has 15 bonus-point victories on the season, including four major decisions and 11 pins.

Iowa’s No. 11 seed Nelson Brands had a gritty win against North Carolina State’s No. 22 seed Alex Faison. Brands was trailing, 3-2, in the final minute and mustered a takedown and two-point near fall to clinch a 6-3 decision victory and ignite cheers from the Hawkeye faithful in attendance.

Iowa head coach Tom Brands said after the conclusion of Session I that the Hawkeyes must keep winning close matches.

“We have two on the back side and we have another round today,” Brands said in a release. “If they came out slow, (they need to) make adjustments. If they are where they want to be, we have to keep getting better as the tournament goes on. It’s a simple philosophy; we have a lot of wrestling left.”

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

125 POUNDS: No. 1 Spencer Lee (IA) over No. 33 Tucker Owens (AF) via fall

133 POUNDS: No. 10 Lucas Byrd (ILL) over No. 23 Brody Teske (IA) via 13-10 decision

141 POUNDS: No. 1 Real Woods (IA) over No. 32 Kal Miller (MD) via 13-1 major decision

149 POUNDS: No. 8 Max Murin (IA) over  No. 25 Caleb Tyus (SIUE) via 6-3 decision

157 POUNDS:  No. 19 Garrett Model (WIS) over No. 14 Cobe Siebrecht (IA) via 10-5 decision

165 POUNDS: No. 6 Patrick Kennedy (IA) over No. 27 Will Formato (APP) via 7-2 decision

174 POUNDS: No. 11 Nelson Brands (IA) over No. 22 Alex Faison (NCST) via 6-3 decision

184 POUNDS: No. 12 Abe Assad (IA) over No. 21 Giuseppe Hoose (BUFF) via 6-2 decision

197 POUNDS: No. 14 Jacob Warner (IA) over No. 19 Cameron Caffey (MSU) via 5-1 decision

HEAVYWEIGHT: No. 4 Tony Cassioppi (IA) over No. 29 Jaron Smith (MD) via 10-0 major decision

Iowa sits in third in team standings

After Session I of the NCAA Tournament, the Hawkeyes are third in the team standings with 12 points. Iowa trails North Carolina State’s 12.5 and Penn State’s 16-point total.

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

1. Penn State, 16

2. NC State, 12.5

3. Iowa, 12

4. Northern Iowa, 10

4. Ohio State, 10

6. Minnesota, 9

T6. Missouri, 9

T6. Wisconsin, 9

9. Nebraska, 8.5

10. Cornell, 8

T10. Illinois, 8

T10. Iowa State, 8

T10. Michigan, 8

Session II matchups preview

Session II will begin at 6 p.m. and be televised live on ESPN.

125 POUNDS: No. 1 Spencer Lee (IA) vs. No. 16 Jack Medley (MICH)

• Lee is 2-0 against Medley this season with an 11-2 major decision in this year’s dual meet and tech fall in five minutes at the 2023 conference tournament

141 POUNDS: No. 1 Real Woods (IA) vs. No. 17 Dylan D’Emilio (OSU)

149 POUNDS: No. 8 Max Murin (IA) vs. No. 9 Jaden Abas (STAN)

165 POUNDS: No. 6 Patrick Kennedy (IA) vs. No. 11 Cameron Amine (MICH)

• The pair met in the 2023 Big Ten Tournament semifinals and Kennedy scored a takedown in the last 30 seconds to win, 3-2

174 POUNDS: No. 11 Nelson Brands (IA) vs. No. 6 Ethan Smith (OSU)

184 POUNDS: No. 12 Abe Assad (IA) vs. No. 5 Marcus Coleman (ISU)

• Assad lost to Coleman, 3-2, in this year’s CyHawk dual meet in Iowa City

197 POUNDS: No. 14 Jacob Warner (IA) vs. No. 3 Rocky Elam (MIZZ)

• The pair met at the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic in November 2022, and Warner lost in overtime, 8-6

285 POUNDS: No. 4 Tony Cassioppi (IA) vs. No. 13 Tyrell Gordon (UNI)

CONSOLATION MATCHUPS

133 POUNDS: No. 23 Brody Teske (IA) vs. No. 26 Connor Brown (MIZZ)

• When Teske wrestled for Northern Iowa, he faced Brown and defeated him, 12-10, in sudden victory

157 POUNDS: No. 14  Cobe Siebrecht (IA) vs. No. 30 Jared Hill (OU)/ No. 33 Nathan Lukez (ARMY)

• The pair met at the Arm Bar at the Armory Tournament on Nov. 18, 2022, and Siebrecht won, 8-0