Battle tested week in and week out, the No. 3 Iowa men’s wrestling squad nears the end of the regular season with its penultimate weekend on Friday and Sunday.
The Hawkeyes sit solidly in third with 370 points — behind Oklahoma State in second at 13-0 with 381 and Penn State in first at 12-0 with 400.
The then-No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers gave them a scare inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena last Friday, the Hawkeyes trailing the entire dual meet until the final match. Iowa’s No. 1 197-pounder Stephen Buchanan found an electric last-second pin to bring his team within one before No. 11 heavyweight Ben Kueter carried the 19-16 win home with his 8-0 decision over No. 21 Harley Andrews.
“That’s the loudest it’s been for me,” Buchanan said of the pop Carver gave him with the win. “So it was definitely a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life.”
The Hawkeyes found big wins early on in No. 3 Drake Ayala at 133 pounds over No. 15 Jacob Van Dee in a 4-2 decision and No. 4 Kyle Parco at 149 pounds in a 3-2 upset over No. 2 Ridge Lovett. And No. 2 Michael Caliendo picked up a top-10 win, 5-1, over the Cornhuskers’ No. 8 Christopher Minto at 165 pounds.
“I think it’s just some satisfaction, obviously joy and happiness, but a lot of satisfaction,” Parco said of his emotions getting his hand raised. “It was good to get a good win back, get back in that column.”
But rocky losses at 174 pounds from No. 6 Patrick Kennedy in a 18-11 shellacking and at 184 pounds from No. 5 Gabe Arnold in a 4-1 shortcoming hurt what had been a steady final five matchups for head coach Tom Brands.
One last time
In its sixth-straight ranked opponent, the Iowa men’s wrestling program will see No. 6 Minnesota at the Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis on Friday.
While the Hawkeye lineup looks much the same, there have been some shakeups in rankings:
- Joey Cruz fell to 23rd at 125 pounds
- Parco rose to third at 149 pounds
- Kennedy fell to seventh at 174 pounds
- Arnold fell to seventh at 184 pounds
But Kennedy is now listed alongside Nelson Brands in the probable lineup at the weight class in the latter’s potential return to the mat after Kennedy took his spot earlier in the season.
Iowa’s No. 2 157-pounder Jacori Teemer is also back in the lineup as the surefire starter, but his road won’t be any easier after a couple of weeks on and off with an upcoming top-10 match against Minnesota’s No. 9 Tommy Askey.
Again, like Nebraska, there’s a lot of upset potential in the Golden Gophers, led by No. 1 285-pounder Gable Steveson — arguably the best pound-for-pounder collegiate wrestler right now. Buchanan will also get another top-10 test from No. 9 Isaiah Salazar as Arnold looks to avoid a consecutive loss as he sees No. 4 Max McEnelly.
Minnesota has the advantage at 141 pounds as its No. 8 Vance VomBaur sees Iowa’s unranked Cullan Schriever. But even Ayala has No. 12 Tyler Wells and Cruz for No. 10 Cooper Flynn in what will be a competitive dual meet regardless.
“We’re ready to go,” Brands said. “[We’ve] got to have fun, compete with some pizzazz, and keep building.”
Two days later, Iowa will face not nearly as much of a threat in Northwestern inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday — but no opponent is to be taken lightly this late in the season.
The Wildcats are just 3-6 overall and 1-5 in Big Ten. No. 12 Trevor Chumbley at 157 and No. 17 Maxx Mayfield at 165 biggest threats, but half of their lineup is unranked.
“You have to score match points in the first, second, and third period in bushelfuls,” Brands said. “You know what a bushel is? Iowa farmers — bushelfuls.”