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The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Live updates | Three Iowa men’s wrestlers compete in medal round of NCAA Championships

Iowa’s Real Woods at 141 and Michael Caliendo at 165 can wrestle back to place as high as third.
Penn+State+165-pound+Mitchell+Mesenbrink+wrestles+Iowa+Mike+Caliendo+during+the+fourth+session+of+the+NCAA+men%E2%80%99s+wrestling+championships+at+T-Mobile+Center+in+Kansas+City%2C+Missouri%2C+on+Friday%2C+March+22%2C+2024.+Mesenbrink+won+by+major+decision%2C+17-9.
Cody Blissett
Penn State 165-pound Mitchell Mesenbrink wrestles Iowa Mike Caliendo during the fourth session of the NCAA men’s wrestling championships at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday, March 22, 2024. Mesenbrink won by major decision, 17-9.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — We are back for day three of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Session VI gets underway at 10 a.m. in the T-Mobile Center.

The Hawkeyes are in third in the team standings, trailing Michigan by four and a half points and maintaining a half-point lead over Iowa State and Arizona State.

Iowa’s Real Woods at 141 and Michael Caliendo at 165 can wrestle back to place as high as third, and Jared Franek at 157 can finish as high as seventh. All have secured All-American status.

Team standings ahead of Saturday’s matches

1 Penn State, 148.0 (Six finalists)

2 Michigan, 64.5 (Two finalists)

3 Iowa, 60.0 (One finalist)

T4 Arizona State, 59.5 (Two finalists)

T4 Iowa State, 59.5 (One finalist)

 

Consolation semifinals 

141 pounds: No. 3 Real Woods (UI) vs No. 5 Anthony Echemendia (ISU)

Period 1: Woods shoots a takedown early but can’t finish. Scoreless after one.

Period 2: Woods escapes to take a 1-0 lead. A takedown for Woods makes it 4-0.

Period 3: Neutral start. Woods holds off Echemendia’s takedown attempts to win 4-0. He will wrestle in the third-place match against Brock Hardy.

165 pounds: No. 6 Michael Caliendo (UI) vs No. 7 Izzak Olejnik (OKST)

Period 1: Takedown for Olejnik to take a 3-0 lead. Escape for Caliendo cuts it to 3-1. Takedown for Caliendo to take a 4-3 lead.

Period 2: Caliendo starts down and escapes for a 5-3 lead.

Period 3: Olejnik starts down and escapes to make it 5-4. A late takedown for Caliedno makes it 8-4. Olejnik escapes and makes it 8-5. With two seconds left, Olejnik scores a takedown and ties it at eight, but Caliendo gets a point for riding time and wins 9-8. He will wrestle Keegan O’Toole in the third-place match.

Third place matches

141 Pounds: No. 3 Real Woods (UI) vs No. 8 Brock Hardy (NEB)

Period 1: Takedown for Hardy to take a 3-0 lead. Woods answers back with an escape and a takedown for a 4-3 lead. Robb escapes to tie it at four.

Period 2: Woods starts down. and escapes for a 5-4 lead.

Period 3: Neutral start. Hardy scores a late takedown for a 7-5 lead. Woods escapes but loses 7-6. He finishes fourth.

165 Pounds: No. 6 Michael Caliendo (UI) vs No. 1 Keegan O’Toole (MIZZ)

Period 1: A takedown for O’Toole opens the scoring at 3-0. Caliedno escapes, but O’Toole’s takes him down against for a 6-1 lead. A second escape for Caliendo makes it 6-2, but a third takedown makes it makes it 9-2.

Period 2: O’Toole starts down and escapes for a 10-2 lead, but Caliedno scores a takedown of his own and makes it 5-10. O’Toole escapes and makes it 11-5 after two.

Period 3: Neutral start. Caliendo scores a takedown, and O’Toole escapes and wins the match 12-8. Caliendo finishes in fourth.

Seventh place match

157 Pounds: No. 10 Jared Franek (UI) vs No. 8 Peyton Robb (NEB)

Period 1: Robb scores a takedown for a 3-0 lead. Franek escapes, making it 3-1 to end the first.

Period 2: Robb starts down and escapes early for a 4-1 lead. Robb scores a second takedown to make it 7-1 after two.

Period 3: Franek starts down. Robb lets Franek up and makes it 7-2. Robb scores a third takedown and earns a point for riding time to win 11-2.

Franek finishes in eighth place at 157.

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About the Contributors
Isaac Elzinga
Isaac Elzinga, Sports Reporter
(he/him/his)
Isaac Elzinga is a junior at the University of Iowa majoring in Journalism and Mass communication. This is his first year working at The Daily Iowan; he also works as a producer for 1600 ESPN a sports radio station in Cedar Rapids.
Cody Blissett
Cody Blissett, Visuals Editor
he/him/his
Cody Blissett is a visual editor at The Daily Iowan. He is a third year student at the University of Iowa studying cinema and screenwriting. This is his first year working for The Daily Iowan.