With seven of its wrestlers winning individual titles at the Soldier Salute, the No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling team is heating up as Big Ten competition kicks off this weekend.
The tournament, held from Dec. 30-31 at the Xtream Arena in Coralville, saw the Hawkeyes capture the team title with 248 points over the likes of ranked opponents such as Nebraska, Northern Iowa, and Iowa State.
And a handful of head coach Tom Brands’ strongest wrestlers won out for first place in their respective weight class brackets with big victories in the championship rounds, starting with No. 4 Drake Ayala at 133 pounds. Ayala won by technical fall, 20-5, over teammate Kale Petersen, who bumped up from 125 pounds for the event.
And at 149 pounds, No. 4 Kyle Parco snagged a massive ranked win over No. 6 Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina by a slim 8-5 margin. Likewise, No. 2 165-pounder Michael Caliendo beat No. 9 Andrew Sparks of Minnesota by just one at 7-6.
Patrick Kennedy continued his — some might say surprisingly — dominant win streak at 174 pounds with a gritty 6-2 win over Navy’s No. 18 Danny Wask. And in what could have been a stellar match, No. 6 Gabe Arnold forfeited to teammate Angelo Ferrari for the 184-pound title instead.
Rounding out the strong back-end of the lineup came No. 2 Stephen Buchanan at 197 pounds with a 15-4 championship win over Aeoden Sinclair of Missouri. A win is a win, as proven by No. 12 Ben Kueter winning the 285-pound title with an anti-climactic 1-0 victory over Bennett Tabor of Minnesota.
Starting things off
The Hawkeyes kick off Big Ten competition with cross-state rival Wisconsin in Wisconsin Field House in Madison, Wisconsin, at 2 p.m on Sunday.
The last time the Hawkeyes lost in Madison was 1945, and they’ve won 43 of the last 44 contests with the Badgers — dating back to 1975. This weekend should be no different as Wisconsin is historically solid but now unranked.
In a common theme for the Hawkeyes this year, though, Wisconsin will test Iowa’s lighter weights early on that have been shaky and rather inconsistent this season.
The Badgers’ No. 27 125-pounder Nicolar Rivera will see either Joey Cruz or Petersen, the latter listed back down at 125 in the probable lineup after the jump to 133 at the Soldier Salute. And Ayala will get a little test in freshman No. 29 Zan Fugitt at 133 pounds.
With 141-pound starter Ryder Block absent for the Soldier Salute leaves a question mark at the weight class even with no Badger ranked there. Iowa’s Jace Rhodes or Cullan Schriever are listed in the probable lineup at the spot with Block still gone.
It will be interesting to see who Brands leans on at 157 pounds with No. 1 Jacori Teemer still out due to a leg injury suffered against Iowa State. It’s currently freshman Miguel Estrada listed as the sole starter in the probable lineup too.
And it’s nice to see Kennedy now ranked sixth at 174 pounds by FloWrestling, a massive jump for who will be the Hawkeyes’ starter this weekend over Nelson Brands.
But the Badgers have no other ranked opponent beyond 133 pounds, so fans might see Brands shuffle his lineup up — like Arnold or Ferrari still as probables at 184 pounds — or let the back half with his heavier weights shine as they have.