The No. 2 Iowa men’s Wrestling team opened its season with a trip west to Corvallis, Oregon, for a dual with No. 23 Oregon State — and won nicely, 30-7.
The Hawkeyes won eight of their 10 matches, propelled by strong action from the transfers and veterans.
The Hawkeyes quickly fell behind at 3-0 after the first match of the night. Third-year Joey Cruz of Iowa took on fourth-year Maximo Renteria at the 125 weight class. Renteria pulled out a 7-3 win, after a tight first and second period.
Iowa quickly wiped away the Oregon State lead, though, with three consecutive victories. Third-year Drake Ayala defeated Damion Elliot by a 26-10 technical fall. Ryder Block picked up his first career win in his Hawkeye debut, a close 5-4 victory after a huge takedown with 33 seconds remaining in the third period.
“It was good to get a win,” Block told Hawkeye Sports. “I still have a lot to do and a lot to get better at. I knew it was going to be there. I just needed to pull the trigger. As soon as I got in, I felt good, and as soon as I got my hands locked on his leg, I knew I was going to finish.”
Sixth-year transfer Kyle Parco also got his first win as a Hawkeye, completing Iowa’s three-match win streak with a 5-1 victory over redshirt junior Victor Jacinto. Oregon State got back on the board with an Ethan Stiles 12-3 major decision victory over junior Caleb Rathjen.
Third-year Michael Caliendo got Iowa back on track following intermission with a quick 18-3 technical fall over third-year Kekana Fouret, needing only 4:37 to do so. Nelson Brands followed up the Caliendo victory with a tight 2-1 win over fifth-year Sean Harman.
Gabe Arnold showed why Iowa fans are jumping from their seats for him, defeating redshirt freshman TJ McDonnell, 20-5. And Stephen Buchanan picked up a ranked win in his Iowa debut at 197, defeating seventh-ranked Trey Munoz, 9-5. Trailing 4-1 after two periods, Buchanan stormed back with two takedowns and riding time to take the victory.
“I fall back on my training,” Buchanan told Hawkeye Sports. “We go through hard practices every day. I have teammates in there who are just as good as Trey, and they are hand-fighting me and pushing me to my limits. It was just another day in the office.”
Ben Keuter wrapped up the night, winning a 10-4 decision over redshirt senior Brett Mower at 285. Keuter’s victory put the final nail in the coffin on Iowa’s 30-7 victory over Oregon State.
Big picture
With the season-opening victory over Oregon State, Iowa improved to 19-0 in season-opening meets under head coach Tom Brands.
Brands is also now 8-1-0 against Oregon State in his coaching career. Each ranked Iowa wrestler picked up a win in the dual, leading to a 30-7 thumping.
Nelson Brands picked up his 15th-career win over a ranked opponent on Saturday night. After being hit with a suspension for gambling last season, Brands returned for his seventh season, looking to end his career on a lighter note than missing all of last year.
Up next
The Iowa men’s wrestling team will return to action on Saturday, when it will face the Stanford Cardinal in a dual meet for its home-opener at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.