Eight Hawkeyes claimed individual titles at the second annual Soldier Salute at Xtream Arena over the weekend. Iowa tallied 251.50 total points to win the team title.

Coming into the tournament, one of the biggest storylines was AJ Ferrari registering to compete unattached. The 197-pounder and former Oklahoma State grappler recently took an official visit to Iowa, according to his social media. It was suspected the 2021 NCAA champion would compete for the Hawkeyes starting second semester, but a drama-filled ending to Ferrari’s Soldier Salute outing may have slimmed those chances. 

Ferrari took on Iowa’s No. 19 Zach Glazier in the finals. The pair were tied at the end of the third period, which sent the bout into sudden victory. 

Ferrari scored a takedown to seemingly win the match, but a shove, thrown punch, and middle finger after the whistle disqualified him, awarding Glazier the victory. 

Here is the video of what went down at the Soldier Salute championship match. @mrfasttwitch AJ Ferrari secures the match-winning takedown on @Zglazier Zach Glazier, before things get out of hand, resulting in the victory given to the Hawkeye#SoldierSalute #wrestling #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/pKIFV169qQ

— Curtis Feder (@CurtisFeder_) December 31, 2023

Ferrari posted a statement on his Instagram on Sunday apologizing for his actions. 

AJ Ferrari has made a statement: pic.twitter.com/MZsNRvcSY2

— The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) (@MrPatMineo) December 31, 2023

Kicking things off

The Hawkeyes had 16 wrestlers advance to the quarterfinals of the Soldier Salute with 16 bonus point victories. Iowa wrestlers combined for six tech falls and two pins to open the action.

At 165 pounds, Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy pinned Iowa State’s Connor Euton in the first round. At 133 pounds, Iowa’s No. 10 Brody Teske pinned Garret Totten from Navy in the third round. 

On the other side of the bracket, Iowa first-year Kale Petersen knocked off No. 12 Angelo Rini from Columbia with a 12-5 major decision in the third period. Petersen was wrestling unattached at the event. 

Iowa had 12 wrestlers advance to the semifinals at the end of day one, with three advancing at 133 in Teske, Petersen, and Cullan Schriever. 

Competing unattached, Iowa first-year Gabe Arnold advanced to the 174-pound semifinals after back-to-back major decisions.

Crowning the champs

Day two provided several Hawkeye matchups in the semifinals and title bouts. 

In the 133 semifinals, Teske beat Petersen, 15-0. In the 149 semifinals, Iowa’s Caleb Rathjen earned a 6-3 decision win against teammate and eighth-ranked Victor Voinovich. 

The semifinals also provided three top-20 matchups. At 125 pounds, Iowa’s No. 14 Drake Ayala beat Minnesota’s No. 20 Patrick McKee, 5-4. Ayala scored a takedown with under 30 seconds left in the bout to secure the win. 

At 141 pounds, Iowa’s top-ranked Real Wood beat Navy’s No. 18 Josh Koderhandt, 9-4. At 197, Iowa’s No. 19 Zach Glazier beat No. 17 Garrett Joles out of Minnesota, 5-4.

Including Arnold, Iowa had at least one wrestler in eight of the 10 title bouts, with the Hawkeye logo missing in the heavyweight finals. 

In the 125 finals, No. 14 Ayala pulled off a 4-2 upset of Wyoming’s No. 7 Jore Volke to be the first Hawkeye crowned champion.

“I think from his first matches at the beginning of the year to now, there’s been a lot of mat time,” Brands said about Ayala. “You can see that he’s getting his; I don’t know if it’s confidence or not, but just belief in, ‘Hey, I can get to anybody’s legs.’ And then it’s finishing in tough situations against guys that are rolly-polly and flexible.”

No. 10 Teske continued his run and beat No. 32 Jacob Van Dee out of Nebraska 5-4 to give Iowa its second title of the day.

In the 133 third-place bout, Iowa’s Schriever and unattached Petersen went head-to-head, with Schriever coming out on top, 2-1.

A top-five matchup ensued at 141 as No. 1 Woods took on No. 5 Lachlan McNeil from North Carolina. Woods kept Iowa’s hot streak going, beating McNeil, 8-4.

At 149 pounds, Rathjen beat AJ Ferrari’s younger brother, Anthony Ferrari, 7-2. Anthony Ferrari gave Rathjen a shove after the final whistle, and Rathjen responded with a flex. Rathjen was named the 2023 Soldier Salute’s Outstanding Wrestler. 

“He showed me that he’s pretty determined to be the guy,” Brands told Hawkeye Sports about Rathjen. “Not just because he went through the tournament and was the champion but because of some of the emphasis, the verbal emphasis. He’s letting it be known what he believes himself to be about. That’s a good thing, and you gotta back it up, and he backed it up.”

Iowa’s No. 2 Jared Franek beat South Dakota State’s No. 17 Cael Swensen in sudden victory for the 157-pound title. 

At 165, it was an all-Iowa final with No. 7 Michael Caliendo up against teammate Patrick Kennedy. Caliendo won the match, 7-3.

In the 174 finals, Arnold beat No. 24 Lenox Wolak from Columbia, 4-1.

Up next

Brands hoped the Soldier Salute would bring clarity to Iowa’s starting lineup with tougher competition looming and provide valuable experience to the underclassmen. Iowa starts its conference schedule with an away dual against Nebraska on Jan. 12. 

“We’re going to be in the thick of it in the Big Ten,” Brands said. “We got to take a breath a little bit and evaluate and go from there.”