The Iowa men’s and women’s wrestling squads continued their success in the third session of the Soldier Salute at Xtream Arena in Coralville on Monday, advancing nine and 10 wrestlers to the finals, respectively.
The Hawkeye men maintained their lead in team points with 215.5 — 94.5 points ahead of second-place Minnesota. On the women’s side, Life University pulled closer to the Hawkeyes, making for a tight final race in the fourth session this afternoon.
At 125 pounds, No. 29 Joey Cruz started semifinal action for the Hawkeyes and faced Kysen Terukina of Iowa State in a Cy-Hawk battle, to whom he lost, 8-4. But Kale Petersen faced Logan Swensen from South Dakota State at 133 pounds. Petersen took a 6-3 lead into the third period and held onto it to advance to the finals with an 8-6 victory by decision.
No. 4 Drake Ayala took on Wyoming’s Stockton O’Brien in semifinal action and dominated his way into the semifinals with a 21-5 tech fall victory. And No. 4 Kyle Parco beat Gabe Willochell of Wyoming at 149 pounds, 12-6, to move on to the finals too.
No. 2 Michael Caliendo took a 6-3 lead into the third period against Blaine Brenner from Minnesota in the 165-pound semifinals. And he extended his lead to 15-4 in the third period to secure a bid to the final with a victory by major decision.
Patrick Kennedy faced North Carolina’s Joshua Ogunsanya at 174 pounds in semifinal action. Kennedy gained a 3-1 lead in the first period before Ogunsanya cut that to 3-2 in the second. Kennedy extended his lead to 6-2 after a takedown and Kennedy rode it out to an 11-3 major decision victory to advance to the final. Likewise, Iowa star freshman Angelo Ferrari faced South Dakota State’s Brock Fettig. Ferrari received an ovation from the Iowa faithful as he advanced to the finals at 184 pounds with a 9-1 victory.
In more semifinal action, No. 1 Stephen Buchanan took on Oklahoma State’s Cody Merrill at 197 pounds. And following a scoreless first period, Buchanan got on the board to take a 1-0 lead and ultimately advanced with a slim 2-0 victory by decision. Fan favorite No. 4 Gabe Arnold took on Jersey Robb of Oklahoma State also in the 184-pound semifinals to secure a 4-1 victory.
Finally, No. 13 Ben Kueter took on Spencer Lanosga of Navy with a chance to advance to the 285-pound final. Kueter secured an early go-behind to take a 3-0 lead and then extended that with a two-point reversal to move further ahead to 5-0. Kueter went on to defeat Lanosga, 10-0, by major decision.
Women ebb and flow
Sterling Dias started day two for the Hawkeyes with an 8-2 victory by fall over Olivia Atkins of William Penn. Dias was set to face Jaclyn Bouzakis of Life University but was unable to compete due to injury.
Hawkeye freshman Valarie Solorio faced Kaci Bice of Life University in quarterfinals action at 110 pounds. Solorio led, 8-2, after the first period and never allowed another point as she claimed a 14-2 victory — ultimately by fall. Solorio returned for the Hawkeyes in a semifinal bout against Anaya Falcon of Life. She kept the bout close the entire way through but ultimately fell, 8-7.
Ava Bayless secured a tech fall victory over Tehani Soares to advance to the semifinals at 110 pounds. Bayless returned to the floor to battle with teammate Emilie Gonzalez, where she secured an 8-4 victory by points to advance to the final to face Falcon.
Brianna Gonzalez defeated Vaea LaMoureaux of Umpqua Community College at 117 pounds in the quarterfinals. Gonzalez returned for semifinal action against Katherine Heath of Baker University, taking care of business in a 10-0 technical superiority win — and advancing to the 117-pound final to face Life University’s Salyna Shotwell.
Hawkeye sophomore Cali Leng fell in her semifinal match, 7-0, to Rose Kaplan of Indiana Tech at 124 pounds. And Ava Rose was eliminated from the tournament at 124 pounds, losing her wrestle-back match, 17-6, by technical superiority to Anna Krejsa of Life University.
Emily Frost needed just 23 seconds to advance to the semifinals at 131 pounds, defeating Jordyn Chrisco of Life University by fall. Frost returned for semifinal action against Carley Ceshker of Team Nazar Training Center for a 12-3 victory by fall to advance to the finals. There, she is set to face Sarah Savidge of Life University.
Iowa freshman Cadence Diduch advanced to the final at 138 pounds with a victory by fall over Kendall Bostelman of William Penn and is now set to take on Samantha Barragan of Texas Wesleyan.
Hawkeye and Olympic medalist Kennedy Blades then took on Destiny Ware of Umpqua Community College in the 160-pound quarterfinals. Blades found no trouble with Ware, though, defeating her by 11-0 margin. She returned for her semifinal match against Alexandra Hofrichter of Dubuque with a bid to the final on the line. Blades jumped out to an early lead with two takedowns to go ahead, 4-0. She continued to grow her lead as she advanced to the final with a technical superiority win and is set to face Latifah McBryde of Life for the 160-pound title.
Reese Larramendy defeated McKenna Haltom of Baker University by fall at 145 pounds to advance to the semifinal. There, she faced beat Life’s Jamilah McBryde and is set to see teammate Macey Kilty in the final, the latter having won with technical superiority wins.
Alivia White secured a victory by fall over Riley Dempewolf of Indiana Tech at 207 pounds to advance to the semifinals. Also at 207, Jaycee Foeller went to work against Daisy Cabriales of William Penn with a semifinal bid on the line. Foeller took care of business too, winning by technical superiority and then defeating defeated teammate White, 6-0, to advance to the final where she will face Savannah Isaac of Life.
Kylie Welker advanced to the semifinals at 180 pounds with a quick 10-0 technical superiority win over William Penn’s Grace Gray. Welker returned to the mat with a chance for a championship bid and took advantage of the opportunity, defeating Margaret Graham of Life. Welker is set to face teammate Naomi Simon in the 180-pound final. Indeed, Hawkeye freshman Naomi Simon defeated Nevaeh Wardlow of Baker University by technical superiority in just under two minutes. This win secured Simon a spot in the semifinals at 180 pounds where she beat to see Welker with a shot for gold on the line.