Iowa men’s wrestling will continue its season at a historical site on Friday.

The No. 4 Hawkeyes will take on the Penn Quakers at 6 p.m. in The Palestra, the oldest major college arena still in use today. The meet will be streamed live on ESPN+. 

Iowa has not competed in The Palestra since November 2021. The two teams met last season at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and the Hawkeyes won, 26-11. 

Eight Iowa wrestlers are ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight classes, while eight of Penn’s grapplers are ranked in the top 32. 

“Now we’re going to Penn, and we’re going to be in a lion’s den there or whatever you want to call it, a beehive. We got to be ready to go,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said. 

Probable lineups

All rankings come from Intermat.

125 POUNDS: No. 15 Drake Ayala (IA) vs. No. 19 Max Gallagher or Ryan Miller (PENN)

Ayala will go into this match with some momentum. The Hawkeye rebounded from his loss against Oregon State’s Brandon Kaylor with a 7-2 victory over Iowa State’s then-No. 8 Kysen Terukina to kick off the Cy-Hawk dual.

Miller was one of three Quakers to win in last year’s dual meet between Penn and Iowa.

133 POUNDS: No. 9 Brody Teske (IA) vs. No. 13 Michael Colaiocco or Alex Almeyda (PENN)

Teske is coming off of a tough 8-1 loss against Iowa State rookie Evan Frost. Colaiocco won his 133-pound bout last year against Iowa’s Cullan Schriever, who has not wrestled this season.

141 POUNDS: No. 1 Real Woods (IA) vs. No. 11 CJ Composto (PENN)

149 POUNDS: No. 15 Victor Voinovich III or Caleb Rathjen (IA) vs. No. 24 Kelly Dunnigan or Jackson Polo (PENN)

157 POUNDS: No. 2 Jared Franek (IA) vs. No. 26 Jude Swisher or Lucas Revano (PENN)

165 POUNDS: No. 6 Michael Caliendo (IA) vs. Kaya Sement (PENN)

174 POUNDS: No. 14 Patrick Kennedy or Drake Rhodes (IA) VS. No. 10 Nick Incontrera (PENN)

Kennedy made his season debut against Iowa State at 174 pounds and won a 14-13 thriller over MJ Gatian with a wrap of padding around his right knee.  Kennedy said earlier this week he has been recovering from knee scope surgery and will continue to take things “day by day.”

“It showed that you can battle through pain, and anything can happen,” Kennedy said of what he learned from his match against Iowa State. “So you just got to stay in there and wrestle all the way.”

Kennedy earned Big Ten runner-up honors at 165 pounds last season. Brands emphasized the starting lineup will become more clear after the Soldier Salute on Dec. 29-30, so he’s not sure what weight class Kennedy will stick with come tournament time in March.

“When he’s given options that are maybe a little limited, he’s gonna take the opportunity,” Brands said of Kennedy shifting weight classes. “He is a soldier, loyal, loyal teammate. And he’s what anybody would crave to have on their team, no matter what kind of team you have. Unbelievable character that guy.”

184 POUNDS: Aiden Riggins (IA) vs. No. 38 Maximus Hale (PENN)

Riggins is 6-1 this season with a major decision win over Peter Acciardi in Iowa’s season-opening dual at Cal Baptist.

True freshman Gabe Arnold bumped up from 174 to 184 against Iowa State and defeated a past All-American to bring his record to 3-0. Under new NCAA guidelines, freshmen can wrestle in five dates of competition during the student-athlete’s initial year of collegiate enrollment without using a season of eligibility.

Brands has not said if Arnold will redshirt or not this season, but it is understandable why the coaching staff would not waste one of Arnold’s competition dates against a non-conference opponent.

197 POUNDS: No. 22 Zach Glazier (IA) vs. No. 26 Martin Cosgrove or Cole Urbas (PENN)

Glazier clinched the Hawkeyes’ 19th straight dual meet victory over the Cyclones with his 7-3 win over Julian Broderson. Glazier said he tried not to think about sealing the meet for his team during his match, but it felt “really good” after he won.

Despite hailing from Minnesota, Glazier always envisioned himself wrestling in a Hawkeye singlet.

“I don’t know if waiting is the right word, but I’ve been waiting to have that opportunity for a handful of years now,” Glazier said.

Brands said Glazier’s “wrestling IQ” has been shining through more and it’s crucial to keep the athlete healthy.

“His best wrestling is showing up and that is because of his efforts,” Brands said of Glazier. “It is because of his mindset, his attitude, and his approach.

HEAVYWEIGHT: Bradley Hill (IA) vs. John Stout (PENN)