The No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling team proved its strength in a 28-6 win over No. 9 Illinois inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday.
Iowa’s No. 4 Drake Ayala highlighted the early slate of matches with a massive upset win over Illinois’ No. 2 Lucas Byrd in a low-scoring 4-2 finish.
From there, Iowa head coach Tom Brands’ back-half of the lineup continued its stellar season, beginning with No. 5 Patrick Kennedy’s quiet 5-0 win over No. 21 Danny Braunagel at 174 pounds. No. 5 Gabe Arnold and No. 2 Stephen Buchanan both won for the Hawkeyes too.
Ryder Block returned to the lineup at 141 for Iowa against No. 12 Danny Pucino but lost, 4-3, in his inability to find takedown points. And freshman Miguel Estrada showed the future is bright at 157 pounds with No. 20 Jason Kraisser as he secured a 3-2 upset win.
Piece by piece
Iowa’s No. 28 Joey Cruz got the nod again at 125 pounds for Caelan Riley, which he started off with over a minute of first-period riding time after a persistent attack and takedown on the right leg.
Another body slam into a takedown made it 6-2 in Cruz’s favor and 9-2 entering the third as he continued working the flexibility of Riley’s leg. Cruz could not find the technical fall but secured a 13-3 major decision for the 4-0 lead.
“I just like to score,” Cruz said. “I just like shooting, shoot until I get it. I’m not going to stop until I get it.”
Ayala and Byrd tested each other out to start the 133-pound matchup, but the ranked defensive prowess was on center stage as the first period ended scoreless. The same went for the second, Byrd taking a 1-0 lead into the third with the escape.
“I’ve been prepared to go into deep waters my whole life, and college wrestling is no different,” Ayala said. “So I’m confident there.”
Ayala got out quickly to tie it at one with just under two minutes left. And Carver erupted when he hooked Byrd’s leg and pushed up and over into a three-point takedown. Byrd got aggressive at the end but found nothing, leaving Ayala to shrug his celebration into a 4-2 win and 7-0 Iowa lead.
“I was happy I won, I guess,” Ayala said. “But the adrenaline’s going that whole match. I black out the whole time.”
With a hint of team momentum, Block had a few chances to score takedowns but lost his finishes in Pucino’s defense for much of the 141-pound bout. A 0-0 tie after one became 4-1 in Pucino’s favor with a slam into a takedown — to which Block had no answer.
The lead shortened to 7-3, No. 12 Kannon Webster proved a solid match for Iowa’s No. 3 Kyle Parco with another scoreless first period, and Parco’s quickness did not find him his usual fast finishes. His escape point was the only one scored in the 1-0 win for a 10-3 Iowa lead.
“I know that we have to work harder at scoring points overall,” Brands said.
Estrada’s grit held Kraisser close for the first period, snatching the latter’s backside into a three-point takedown in the second. In the neutral position for the end of the match, Estrada ducked any offense into the 3-2 win and 13-3 Hawkeye lead at the break.
With some patience, Iowa’s No. 2 Michael Caliendo caught a quick takedown on Illinois’ No. 11 Braeden Scoles for a 3-1 lead after one. His technique and IQ shined as he worked Scoles’ balance but let him back up for point after point, which included a four-point near-fall and ended in a 21-4 technical fall.
A takedown machine, Kennedy opened his 174-pound bout with an 18-3 Iowa team lead and ended it with a calmer showing but a 5-0 win nonetheless. So the Hawkeyes led the Illini, 21-3 moving onto 184 pounds.
Arnold flipped No. 10 Edmond Ruth over the former’s head into an acrobatic three-point takedown to start the next one. Jumping over Arnold’s sweeping leg that looked for a takedown, Byrd rotated him into a few dangerous positions, which Arnold jumped out of at the last second.
Leading at 4-1 with 30 seconds left, Arnold dodged Ruth’s shots and won a tester for the 24-3 Hawkeye lead. And Buchanan started his 197-pound match in a quieter fashion too, deadlocked with No. 18 Zac Braunagel after one.
Snagging Braunagel’s right leg when it opened up, Buchanan jumped into a takedown and 4-0 lead, from which the former escaped. Starting on top for the third period, Buchanan kept his grip for a riding time point and threw in a four-point near-fall for a 13-2 win and 28-3 Iowa lead.
Illinois’ No. 11 Luke Luffman rounded the dual out as he took on No. 12 Ben Kueter for an uneventful and scoreless first period at 285 pounds. A two-point reversal favored Luffman, and Kueter did not respond for a 3-1 loss — that saw Kueter just narrowly miss a buzzer-beating takedown.
Up next
The Hawkeyes, now 8-0, pass the first test and move onto another in No. 4 Ohio State — again inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25.
The Buckeyes are undefeated at 10-0 but last just narrowly beat Rutgers, 17-15, on Sunday.