The 133-pound spot for Iowa men’s wrestling has been wide open, with Brody Teske, Kale Petersen, Jace Rhodes, and Cullan Schriever having each seen the mat so far this season.
But Schriever may have narrowed that gap with a 20-7 win over Purdue’s Dustin Norris on Friday night. After the dual meet, Iowa head coach Tom Brands confirmed that Schriever would start again next Friday against Illinois.
“He hasn’t been feeling good. I mean, there’s a lot of crap going around in the flu realm, and he stepped up,” Brands said.
The night started with a Hawkeye defeat, as second-ranked Matt Ramos defeated top-ranked Drake Ayala, 4-1. Schriever’s win got Iowa back on track and those in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on their feet.
Schriever, wrestling in his first dual meet since beating Columbia’s then-No. 11 Angelo Rini in sudden victory on Dec. 8, trailed early against Norris, who notched a three-point takedown in 37 seconds. Norris rode the Hawkeye for 1:17, but Schriever responded and ended the first period on top, 4-3. Schriever stayed in attack mode, scoring five more takedowns, including one in the final 20 seconds of the match, en route to his major decision victory.
Brands complimented Schriever on his ability to bounce back and turn the match in his favor. Schriever’s victory was one of six bonus point wins for the Hawkeyes on Friday.
“I think he could have probably ended that match. We got bonus points, but I think he could have ended that match with the tech fall,” Brands said. “I think our intention releases have to be quicker. I think we got to know what we’re doing out there more but, hey, good job. Good job not getting rattled.”
Hailing from Mason City, Iowa, Schriever now holds a 6-1 record and has shown aggressiveness and a lack of fear at 133 pounds. His only loss came against Nebraska’s then-No. 32 Jacob Van Dee at the Soldier Salute, where he placed third. Schriever defeated Petersen, his Hawkeye teammate, in the Soldier Salute consolations. While Teske won the Soldier Salute title at 133, he has dropped his last two dual starts against Nebraska and Iowa State.
It is expected that the battle for a starting spot at 133 will continue through the regular season, but Schriever helped his case with Friday’s win. No matter who gets the starting nod, Brands wants to see lots of points on the board.
“I think that we have to continue that,” Brands said of his squad’s offensive attack on Friday. “And we’re up for that challenge. We’ve gotten better there, but we can’t go to sleep on them. We got to convert.”