The No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling team survived a battle with No. 12 Iowa State before back-to-back dual meets in St. Louis this Friday.
The Hawkeyes are still ranked second behind Penn State with 383 points to the latter’s 400. But that ranking comes with a still-perfect 4-0 record after they beat the Cyclones, 21-15, with some highs and lows.
After losses at 125 and 141 pounds from Kale Petersen and Ryder Block, respectively, Iowa bounced back with a massive ranked win from No. 5 Drake Ayala over then-No. 5 Evan Frost at 133 pounds in an 11-7 decision.
Similarly, Patrick Kennedy made his season debut at 174 pounds instead of No. 8 Nelson Brands, which Iowa head coach Tom Brands attributed to simply “shaking it up.” Kennedy delivered too, dominating Aiden Riggins in a 19-4 technical fall.
That was followed by true freshman Angelo Ferrari taking No. 6 Gabe Arnold’s spot at 184 pounds to beat No. 15 Evan Bockman in an 8-2 upset decision.
“What’s a big deal is we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Brands said. “And we’ve got a lot of guys in the wrestling room that like doing the work.”
But on the other side of the coin came 157-pound No. 1 Jacori Teemer’s apparent hamstring injury against Paniro Johnson.
After Johnson had his leg locked and held up high while the two were still standing at the edge of the mat, their fall to the ground resulted in Teemer unable to put too much weight on said leg. So Teemer lost in an injury default.
“Uncivil War”
The Hawkeyes this weekend have the Journeymen Wrestling-hosted “Uncivil War” in St. Charles, Missouri, at Francis Howell High School, just outside of St. Louis. The event on Friday, Dec. 6 will see Iowa wrestle Princeton in a dual at 6 p.m. and Army in another dual at 8 p.m.
“They want to do what they do well,” Brands said of both teams. “It’s a style that you see a lot, and so we’ve got to be ready for that.”
It’s most important to note the probable lineup at 157 pounds is “TBA.” With Teemer’s status unknown, it’s quite possible 5-foot-9 149-pounder Caleb Rathjen moves up to fill his spot. But Miguel Estrada and Isaiah Fenton are the only 157-pounders on the roster behind Teemer.
“We’re excited to bring a lot of guys to this trip,” Brands said bluntly of the situation at 157.
Both teams bring some ranked talent to the table this Friday.
Regarding Princeton, expect good battles at 149 pounds between sophomore No. 8 Ty Whalen and Iowa’s No. 4 Kyle Parco and 197 pounds between No. 16 Luke Stout and Iowa’s No. 1 Stephen Buchanan.
“Having a double-dual is not usually normal,” Buchanan said. “I think it just presents challenges in having a match, preparing for it, and then getting back into that mindset of having another match right after that.”
And with Army, who is receiving votes in the rankings, the front end of its lineup will be a strong test against Iowa’s that has been hit-or-miss thus far this season. The Black Knights boast No. 24 Charles Farmer at 125, No. 22 Ethan Berginc at 133, No. 24 Braden Basile at 141, and No. 32 Trae McDaniel at 149.
But Army’s best wrestler is in No. 18 Gunner Flipowicz at 165 pounds for a matchup for No. 2 Mikey Caliendo, but the Hawkeyes’ back end should dominate beyond that.
“[I’m looking forward to] just [improving] my wrestling and use the skills I’ve been working on,” Caliendo said. “Two matches, got some time in between — I think it’s just like a regular other dual.”