The Iowa women’s wrestling team hosted the second edition of the Iowa Duals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday. The Hawkeyes dominated both duals, defeating Cornell 47-0 and topping William Jewell 43-3.
Iowa scored an astounding 90 team points across both bouts, while allowing their opponents to record only three. Additionally, each Hawkeye grappler won each of their matches, totaling a 20-0 record on the day.
Cornell
Brianna Gonzalez led off the dual for the Hawkeyes following forfeit victories at 103 and 110 pounds for first-years Rianne Murphy and Valarie Solorio. Gonzalez took down Cheyenne Mulford quickly via a tech fall at 117 pounds, firing up the crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Second-year Cali Leng added on to the Iowa lead with a 9-0 victory over Addison Thrash, while fifth-year Emmily Patneaud followed up by recording a quick pin over Kyla Andrew in the 131-pound bout. Patenaud’s quick triumph marked Iowa’s fastest of the day at 17 seconds.
Fellow-fifth-year Nanea Estrella kept the momentum going with an 8-0 fall to increase the Hawkeye lead to 29-0. At 145, Second-year Reese Larramendy followed with a dominant triumph over Jasmine McCaskel.
First-year Rose Cassioppi, the sister of former All-American Iowa men’s wrestler Tony Cassioppi, mimicked her brother with a quick victory over Emily Grassham that took only 22 seconds.
First-year Naomi Simon and third-year Katja Osteen wrapped up the dual with wins at 180 and 207 pounds, respectively. Simon and Ostenn dispatched their opponents in a combined 44 seconds, a common theme on the day.
William Jewell
After a short break, the Hawkeyes returned to the mat and decimated William Jewell, capping off a terrific afternoon of wrestling.
Murphy and Emilie took forfeit victories to open the dual against William Jewell to give Iowa a 10-0 lead. Brianna began the competition at 117 pounds, and defeated Alexandra Waitsman via tech fall after an impressive takedown in the second period.
Leng and Emarie Bolosan faced off in a tight, competitive match at 124 pounds, but Leng prevailed with the hard-fought triumph 5-4. The sophomore found herself down 3-2 in the second, but secured a crucial two-point takedown to take the lead, fending off several attacks from Bolosan to clinch the win.
“I knew that was going to be a great challenge for Cali,” head coach Clarissa Chun said. “Cali Leng is one that puts in a lot of work and made a lot of adjustments from last year to this year and has grown a lot. I’m so happy and proud of her for competing the whole six minutes.”
Third-year Skye Realin followed with a 5-1 fall victory over Shelby Kemp. The junior led just 1-0 after the first period, but tacked on a big takedown in the second frame to extend her lead.. Estrella continued the Iowa dominance up with a quick tech fall victory at 138, winning her match in just 45 seconds.
Macey Kilty increased Iowa’s lead to 30-2 with a tech fall win over Paige Barber at 145 pounds, and Kennedy Blades got the Hawkeye faithful roaring with a 12-1 tech fall victory over Nylease Yzagere, using a couple of her signature “Blades Bombs” suplex takedowns. Blades claimed a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics before transferring to Iowa in the summer.
“I just wanted to go out there and have fun,” Blades said. “I knew that we’re freestyle so we can hit Greco moves, so I definitely wanted to hit throws. I thought it was the perfect place, Carver Arena, especially in my first match here so I just went big.”
Second-year Kylie Welker picked up a quick tech fall win at 180 pounds over Athena Wilden, and Jaycee Foeller closed out the day with a 9-0 win over Peyton Welt in the 207-pound bout.
Up Next
Iowa will return to action on Nov. 22 when they head to Marshall, Missouri to compete in the Missouri Valley Open. The event is slated to begin at 12:30 p.m and will be live-streamed on FloWrestling.