Bringing Hawkeyes wrestling fans to their feet, No. 4 Kyle Parco revived Carver-Hawkeye Arena, sparking life back into thousands of fans after recording a 15-0 technical fall win over Stanford’s Jaden Abas.
Parco’s victory over Abas brought life back into what was a stunned and quiet Carver-Hawkeye Arena after upset losses from Drake Ayala and Ryder Block. And it marked his first win as a Hawkeye in the arena.
Parco’s experience of wrestling at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was like no other.
“You see everything from the YouTube clips to Instrangram Reels, but there’s nothing like it when you get out there,” he said. “The fans here are so passionate. They’re so proud. And I am thankful that I even got the opportunity to come out there today.”
Prior to Parco’s win at 149 pounds, the Hawkeyes had dropped their first two opening matches after a forfeit gave Kale Petersen a win at 125 pounds. No. 7 Draka Ayala was upset, 16-10, by No. 23 Tyler Knox, and Stanford’s Alex Valencia earned a decision win over Ryder Block, 11-6.
So the two Cardinal wins brought the team score to a 6-6 tie — a score no Hawkeye fan wanted to see on this early Saturday afternoon against Stanford as Iowa needs to dominate to compete for hardware at the end of the season.
Carver-Hawkeye Arena was silent — very abnormal for a city that has been coined as “Wrestletown, USA.”
With Parco due up next for the 149-pound weight division, Iowa was in dire need of something to jump-start life back into the crowd.
Parco started slow in the first period but dominated in the second period, scoring 12-straight points against Abas.
In the third period, with 1:18 left, Parco recorded a takedown to score the final three points to push the score to 15-0 in his favor.
This victory marked Parco’s first career win in the Black and Gold singlet and was a special one with both his mom and little brother, EJ — a member of the Stanford wrestling team at 149 pounds — in attendance.
As a first-year, Parco’s little brother has not seen the mat yet, but for a while, the scoreboard had indicated the brothers might be duking it out for a battle-of-the-brother supremacy.
“Just to be in a post where we’re both wrestling in Division I is amazing,” said Parco. “He’s at Stanford. He can’t go better, academically. I’m so proud of him … I really didn’t feel pressure that I was going to wrestle my brother, but I was just so proud that he was here. That’s a really cool thing to be in college with your brother at the same place.”
Parco’s first experience as a Hawkeye was a good one, and fans will continue to keep an eye out to see how the transfer’s season unfolds at Iowa.
“There’s no other place in the country that loves wrestling like Iowa,” said Parco. “It’s a lot different than Arizona; it’s a lot different than California. But there’s no other place in the world that loves wrestling this much.”