Working itself back into winning ways, the No. 3 Iowa men’s wrestling program welcomes another nationally ranked Big Ten opponent to town this weekend.
The Hawkeyes dropped to third in the NCAA Division I Coaches Poll with a 10-1 record and 375 points. Penn State remains at the summit with a perfect 10-0 record and 400 points while Oklahoma State jumped to next at 12-0 with 376 points.
The program had a hit-and-miss weekend, starting with a crushing and all-around disappointing 30-8 effort at Penn State on Friday.
The Nittany Lions came out firing with upsets in Iowa’s No. 2 Kyle Parco’s loss to No. 4 Shayne Van Ness in a 17-6 thrashing at 149 pounds before No. 1 Jacori Teemer had a weak motor against No. 3 Tyler Kasak in a 5-2 loss of his own.
The Hawkeyes’ No. 2 Michael Caliendo still can’t get by No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165 pounds in a 19-4 technical fall loss — his fourth-straight to the latter. And head coach Tom Brands walked Gabe Arnold back to the tunnel and out of sight as freshman Hawkeye Angelo Ferrari got the nod at 184 pounds instead, losing to No. 2 Carter Starocci, 2-1.
“You’re wrestling the best team in the country, and it’s a measuring stick,” Brands said before the Penn State dual. “There are individual matchups that have postseason seeding implications, so you’ve got to be ready. And it’s really no different than any other weekend, but it’s different.”
But wins from No. 3 Drake Ayala at 133 pounds over Kurt McHenry in a 19-4 technical fall and No. 1 Stephen Buchanan at 197 pounds over No. 4 Josh Barr in a 5-1 decision provided some momentum moving forward — and hope for the postseason.
“We wrestled pretty dang good against a good team,” Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson said after the dual. “I think I say it every year, but Iowa does a really good job at figuring guys out and scouting them. So they always go back and see what they can do better. They’re usually very prepared for matches.”
So moving into No. 25 Maryland at College Park, Maryland, on Sunday, the Hawkeyes jumped right back with a 34-9 win.
Parco bounced back with a 17-1 technical fall over Michael Pizzuto, as did Caliendo with a 26-10 technical fall over Alex Uryniak. Arnold, ranked fifth, got back onto the mat with a 2-1 decision win over No. 11 Jaxon Smith.
But nothing’s ever perfect. Ayala sat out on Sunday to continue nursing an arm injury, and Teemer was absent too. Still, Buchanan continued his tear with a pin of Chase Mielnik in just 2:50, proving himself a good bet for an NCAA title next month.
There and back again
The Penn State loss should light a fire under the seat as the Hawkeyes now see their fifth-straight ranked opponent in No. 7 Nebraska at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday at 7 p.m.
The Cornhuskers are 9-2 overall with a 24-9 loss to then-No. 10 Northern Iowa one month ago and a 31-7 loss to Penn State too. But a 21-13 win over No. 6 Minnesota proves Nebraska has the same upset potential as the other Big Ten foes Iowa has seen.
Indeed, the front piece of Brands’ lineup is going to be tested.
Iowa’s No. 23 125 pounder Joey Cruz has a massive test with some serious implications in No. 6 Caleb Smith. Ayala, ranked second at 133, needs a ranked win against No. 16 Jacob Van Dee, although the latter is listed alongside unranked Omar Ayoub in the probable lineup.
Cullan Schriever will start for Iowa at 141 pounds, a weight class that has been too shaky for Brands this season, but he will likely match up against No. 4 Brock Hardy, listed alongside unranked Blake Cushing in the probables.
The match of the night could come at 149 pounds in Parco seeing No. 2 Ridge Lovett — with a 14-1 record who beat Penn State’s No. 2 Van Ness in a 10-2 whooping. Another could come at 184 pounds in Arnold against No. 7 Silas Allred.
“As a veteran, this month is … the most active for sure,” Parco said at media availability on Tuesday. “I think last week was a really good learning point for me … I think I need to expect more out of myself.”
There’s again no Teemer listed at 157 pounds, so Miguel Estrada gets the nod for No. 4 Antrell Taylor in a sneaky upset-to-watch bout.
The backside of the lineup will get ranked opponents too, though each Hawkeye will be favored. That begins with Caliendo at 165 pounds for No. 13 Christopher Minto before No. 6 Patrick Kennedy looks to smooth the boat at 174 pounds for No. 13 Lenny Pinto or Ethan DeLeon.
Buchanan gets a shot to continue his dominance at 197 pounds with No. 22 Camden McDanel, and No. 11 Ben Kueter at 285 pounds could jump into the class’ top-10 with a win over No. 21 Harley Andrews.
Friday’s dual will test Iowa’s resiliency as it enters must-win territory over the next month of wrestling.
“We need examples,” Brands said during media availability, although noting there is no lack thereof in the wrestling room. “We need spoken leadership. There’s a lot of ways to lead … I know we got our a—s handed to us, and I know we’ve got a lot of work to do.”