No. 3 Iowa men’s wrestling traveled north to face off with No. 6 Minnesota in duals action at the Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis on Friday night, escaping with a 23-11 win and capturing four of the first five matches.
The dual started at 125 pounds, where the Hawkeyes sent out No. 26 Joey Cruz to face off with No. 13 Cooper Flynn. Cruz grabbed a 3-0 lead with a takedown late in period one, but an escape late in period three put Flynn on the board, followed by a takedown to knot the match up at four just before the buzzer to force sudden victory. Cruz secured a takedown early in sudden victory to defeat Flynn by decision, a huge victory for Cruz and the Hawkeyes.
No. 3 133-pounder Drake Ayala took the mat for the Hawkeyes next, facing No. 19 Tyler Wells. Ayala cracked the scoreboard with a takedown, taking a 3-0 lead into the break and extending it to 7-0 within the first 40 seconds of period two. Wells secured a huge takedown to cut the lead to 7-5 before Ayala escaped to push his lead to 8-5 while securing riding time. Ayala held on to win, 9-5, by decision to give Iowa a 6-0 team lead over the Gophers.
Hawkeye fourth-year Cullan Schriever fell to No. 8 Vance VomBaur at 141 pounds, though, the weight class still struggling to find a powerful starter. Vombaur pushed his lead to 10-1 by the third period, although Schriever’s two takedowns produced only a decision loss.
No. 3 Kyle Parco faced off with Drew Roberts at 149 pounds, the former executing a single-leg swipe to gain a 3-0 lead early. Parco carried a 4-0 lead into period three as he looked for bonus points, maintaining his lead to secure the victory by decision, 5-0.
A top-10 battle headlined 157 pounds as Iowa’s No. 3 ranked Jacori Teemer made his return to the mat and took on No. 8 Tommy Askey. The first period resulted in no scoring for either wrestler as Teemer and Askey attempted three shots combined. Askey nearly secured a takedown but could not finish the move as a stalemate on the edge brought the wrestlers back to center. Teemer began period three with an escape to knot the match at one apiece. As the Minnesota crowd begged for a stall call on Teemer, the Hawkeye grad transfer responded with a takedown to claim the victory by decision, 4-1, to push Iowa’s lead to 12-3 headed into intermission.
No. 2 Hawkeye third-year Michael Caliendo faced No. 11 Andrew Sparks at 165 pounds, having played him closely in prior bouts. This time around, Caliendo jumped ahead early with a takedown and another in the first. Two takedowns and a near fall in period two pushed Caliendo’s lead to 12-4, and he continued to build his lead in the third as he searched for a tech fall victory. Caliendo did just that, securing a takedown to give the Hawkeyes their first bonus point win of the night with a 21-5 tech fall.
Minnesota native Patrick Kennedy took the mat for the Hawkeyes against Clayton Whiting at 174. Kennedy jumped ahead in the first period with a takedown, which he added onto, finishing the bout on top, 8-4, to pick up his fifth ranked win on the season. At 184 pounds, though, redshirt first-year No. 8 Gabe Arnold faced No. 4 ranked Max McEnelly — who secured a takedown in sudden victory to claim the Minnesota win, 4-1.
Iowa’s top-ranked Stephen Buchanan faced Isaiah Salazar at 197 and continued his dominant run this season. Buchanan and Salazar were tight early before the Hawkeye graduate transfer secured a takedown to ultimately seal the victory, 4-1, by decision.
With the Hawkeyes’ team lead at 23-6, top-ranked heavyweight Gable Steveson on Minnesota — one of the greatest collegiate wrestlers of all time — faced Hawkeye second-year Ben Kueter. Kueter knew he was up against a huge test, but Steveson dominated from the jump on his way to defeating Kueter, 19-3, by tech fall in the first period alone.
The Hawkeyes ultimately won the team score, 23-11, over the Gophers, pushing Iowa’s record to 12-1 on the season and 6-1 in Big Ten Play.
Up next
Iowa men’s wrestling returns to action on Sunday where it takes on Northwestern at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The dual is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. as the Hawkeyes will look for their fourth-straight win.