PHILADELPHIA — Five Iowa men’s wrestlers have moved on to day two of the 2025 NCAA championships still in contention for individual crowns. As a team, the Hawkeyes fueled a late push for the fourth spot in the team standings after the first two sessions.
The five two-time Hawkeye victors on the day were 133-pounder Drake Ayala, 165-pounder Michael Caliendo, 174-pounder Patrick Kennedy, 197-pounder Stephen Buchanan, and 285-pounder Ben Kueter.
Kyle Parco and Gabe Arnold fell in their second matches but will still compete for medals at 149 and 184. And two of Iowa’s wrestlers, 125-pounder Joey Cruz and 157-pounder Jacori Teemer, dropped both of their matches and were eliminated from the competition.
125 pounds — Iowa’s Joey Cruz suffered a 12-4 major decision loss to Ohio State’s Brendan McCrone. Cruz jumped out to a 3-2 start before McCrone’s near-fall stole the lead and never let it go. His second loss of the championships eliminates him from competition.
Cruz finishes his sophomore campaign with a 14-12 record.
133 pounds — Second-seeded Drake Ayala dominates Northern Iowa’s Julian Farber, the No. 18 seed, 13-4. All points scored from both grapples were from Ayala three-point near-falls and Farber one-point escapes, with the exception of one Ayala escape. Viewed as a title contender in the 133 bracket, Ayala will face seventh-seeded Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State in session three on Friday.
Bouzakis, a redshirt sophomore, holds a 22-7 record in the 2024-25 season — including the championships — and a 52-19 career record.
149 pounds — One of Iowa’s best wrestlers, fifth-seeded Kyle Parco, was shut out by Oregon State’s No. 12-seeded Ethan Stiles, 8-0. Stiles recorded two near-falls and two escapes and held the four-time All-American scoreless. He’s knocked out of title contention, but can still compete for third place starting Saturday.
157 pounds — Jacori Teemer’s second loss of the day came at the hands of Chattanooga’s Noah Castillo via an 8-5 decision. Teemer made a late push with an escape and near-fall, but couldn’t complete the comeback. After being a runner-up in last year’s championships, he is eliminated from competition after day one.
Teemer ends an injury riddled season with an 8-8 record.
165 pounds — Third-seeded Michael Caliendo keeps his title hopes alive with a 15-3 major decision victory over Northern Iowa’s Jack Thomsen, the No. 19 seed. Caliendo recorded four near-falls and three escapes to Thomsen’s three escapes. He will face Michigan’s No. 6-seeded Beau Mantanona in Friday’s quarterfinal matchup.
The true freshman Mantanona boasts a 15-4 regular season record and finished third in the 2025 Big Ten championship, right behind Caliendo’s second place finish.
174 pounds — No. 11 seed Patrick Kennedy continued his push for a medal with a 3-0 victory over Binghamton’s Brevin Cassella, the No. 6 seed. Kennedy’s near-fall at the start of the first period carried him through the rest of the match as he kept Cassella scoreless. Kennedy’s Friday quarterfinal matchup will be against third-seeded Dean Hamiti of Oklahoma State.
When he was at Wisconsin, Hamiti took the 9-6 victory over then-No. 4 Kennedy in 2022-23. Hamiti was the runner-up in the 2025 Big 12 championships.
184 pounds — In his first NCAA championship bout, 11-seeded Gabe Arnold took an 11-1 loss to Cornell’s six-seeded Chris Foca by major decision. Arnold’s lone point came in the second period by escape, while Foca controlled the rest of the match outside of that. Arnold can still compete for a medal on Friday.
197 pounds — Second-seeded Stephen Buchanan won his second match of the day in a 12-1 major decision win over Wyoming’ Joseph Novak, the No. 15 seed. Novak logged his lone point with less than 30 seconds in the match with a late escape. Buchanan moves on to the quarterfinals, where he will face No. 23-seeded Seth Shumate of Ohio State.
Shumate pulled off the upset over Minnesota’s 10-seeded Isaiah Salazar by pin in the first round of the 2025 NCAA championships. He posted an 18-13 regular season record this year.
285 pounds — Fifth-seeded Ben Kueter kept his title hopes alive with a 7-2 decision win over Ohio State’s 12-seeded Nick Feldman. The former Iowa football player secured a near-fall 23 seconds into the match that drove him to the second round victory. His quarterfinal matchup will be against fourth-seeded Owen Trephan of Lehigh.
Trephan rode a 23-0 record on the way to his third conference title — one EIWA with Lehigh and two ACC with NC State — and his third NCAA appearance.