Following their dominating victory over Augustana in the opening dual of the Iowa Duals, the No. 1 Iowa women’s wrestling showed no signs of slowing down, defeating Grand Valley State 35-7 to maintain their perfect record and close out their home schedule on a high note.
Sterling Dias opened things up for the Hawkeyes at 103 pounds, facing Rayana Sahagun. Both Dias and Sahagun looked to be aggressive early, but neither could find a clean shot. Dias got on the board early with a step-out, and Sahagan was hit with a passivity warning and was unable to score in time, giving Dias another point to go ahead 2-0, a lead she would carry to the end of period one.
Following the break, Dias was put on the activity clock with her second passivity warning. Dias was unable to score in time, putting Sahagun on the board. Sahagun followed with a four-point takedown to take a 5-2 lead, but Dias shot right back, executing a double-leg takedown to cut the lead to 5-4. Dias attempted a takedown late, but wasn’t awarded the points as the Iowa corner begged for the two-point call. After the bout ended, coach Chun tossed in the challenge block to take another look at the call. After a lengthy official review, the call stood as Sahagun picked up the victory by decision to put Grand Valley State ahead 3-1.
Following a forfeit triumph at 110, Brianna Gonzelez faced Kiely Tabaldo in the 117 bout. Gonzalez secured a takedown on the edge of the circle to jump ahead 2-0, but Grand Valley State head coach Jake Short wanted to take another look at it. The call stood after a short review, pushing Gonzalez’s lead to 3-0 due to the lost challenge. Another point was awarded to Gonzalez after a stepout, and she continued to strengthen her lead after that.
Gonzalez added on by securing another takedown to push her lead to 8-0 at the end of period one. Out of the break, Gonzalez extended her lead with a step-out point followed by a takedown to lock in the technical superiority victory, delighting the Hawkeye faithful.
At 124, second-year Cali Leng returned to the mat for her second match of the night, this time against Aspen Blasko. Leng fell behind quickly as Blasko secured a takedown just 15 seconds in, but Leng dialed up a takedown late in period one to knot the score at two apiece while holding the tiebreaker criteria, as she was the wrestler who had the most recent score. Following the break, Leng came out with a defensive approach, as she held the tiebreaker. Blasko could not find a good position for a takedown, as Leng held on to win by criteria.
“I spend a lot of time mentally preparing myself,” Leng said of her approach to challenging matches. “As the season has gone on, I’ve felt that every match has helped me build that inner belief and help me straighten out where I am mentally.”
Emmily Patneaud made her first appearance of the night for the Hawkeyes, taking on Hannah Palise at 131 pounds. Patneaud found the scoreboard first with a takedown in just under 30 seconds. She continued to build her lead to 9-0 before securing the pin to win by fall, extending Iowa’s team lead to 18-4.
At 138, Nanea Estrella faced off with Katerina Lange. Lange grabbed the lead with a takedown and nearly got Estrella in prime position for a fall, but Estrella escaped to get on the board. Lange attempted another shot late in period one, but Estrella narrowly escaped to keep Lange’s lead at 2-1 headed into the break. Lange extended her lead to 4-1 with a single-leg takedown. Estrella responded with a two-point takedown to cut the lead to 4-3, but it was too little too late for Estrella, as she fell by decision, 4-3.
Macey Kilty appeared for the Hawkeyes at 145 pounds, taking on Elleni Johnson. Kilty jumped ahead 4-0 early. Johnson attempted a shot but Kilty countered it beautifully, adding to her lead with a reversal. Kilty secured her tenth point at the buzzer of the first period to secure the victory by technical superiority.
Kilty was happy to get the ranked victory, but expects that result from herself in every match.
“I expect that from myself,” Kilty said. “I expect that from the training situation I’m in. I go out there like it’s any other match, it doesn’t matter what they’re ranked.”
At 160 pounds, Kennedy Blades faced Clarissa Agostini. Blades looked to make quick work, as she executed a huge four-point takedown and by a leg lace to bring her lead to 6-0. Blades ultimately secured the victory by fall, pinning Agostini in just 38 seconds.
Next, top-ranked 180-pounder Kylie Welker took on Emily Medford. Welker jumped ahead 2-0 with two step-outs. Welker added four more with a huge throw, followed by an exposure to extend her lead to 8-0. After a short injury timeout for Medford, Welker showed no mercy as she quickly secured a 10-0 victory by technical superiority, extending the Hawkeye lead to 32-7.
Alivia White finished the night for the Hawkeyes at 207, facing Aaliyah Grandberry. Grandberry was hit with a passivity warning, and was unable to score during the 30-second activity clock. White was awarded a point and added on with a takedown to jump ahead 3-0. She added on with another takedown out of the break, giving her a 5-0 lead, and held on to that lead for the rest of the match, resulting in a victory via decision.
The Hawkeyes remained undefeated on the season. Iowa has beaten a handful of extremely tough opponents this year, and head coach Clarissa Chun knows they have to prove why they are the top-ranked team in the country.
“I believe in my team one hundred percent,” Chun said. “I think they are the best in the country, but we’ve got to prove it. We’ve got to put it out there, nobody is going to hand it to us, so we have to fight for everything.”
Up Next
The Iowa women’s wrestling team returns to action on Jan. 25 for the 2025 College Duals in Albany, New York. The Hawkeyes are set to face four top-twenty opponents at the event.