PHILADELPHIA — All five Hawkeye wrestlers from session four have secured All-American status.
Three of those wrestlers — 133-pounder Drake Ayala, 165-pounder Michael Caliendo, and 197-pounder Stephen Buchanan — are set to compete for an individual title on Saturday night, while 174-pounder Patrick Kennedy is on the quest for third place.
Ben Kueter suffered a loss in the 285-pound consolation bracket and was eliminated from competition.
The Hawkeyes sit in fourth place with 73.5 team points behind Penn State’s 135.5 points, Nebraska’s 101.5 points, and Oklahoma State’s 91 points.
133 pounds — Second-seeded Drake Ayala will make his second consecutive appearance in the 133-pound title match after defeating Wisconsin’s No. 14 Zan Fugitt by a 6-1 decision.
After a scoreless first period, Ayala logged an escape and a takedown and rode the momentum all the way to the finish. The junior from Fort Dodge, Iowa, will compete for his first national title against Illinois’ No. 1 Lucas Byrd.
Byrd and Ayala met in the 133-pound title match at the 2025 Big Ten championships, where Ayala was pinned. Byrd has only lost one match this year and is also on the quest for his first national title.
165 pounds — Third-seeded Michael Caliendo heads to the title match after his 14-10 decision over West Virginia’s Peyton Hall. Caliendo’s three takedowns and one near-fall overcame a strong, late push from Hall. The Hawkeye will have a much-anticipated rematch against Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink for the title.
Mesenbrink took down Caliendo in the 2024 Nationals third place match as well as the title match in this year’s Big Ten championships.
174 pounds — Patrick Kennedy, a fifth-year senior, secured an All-American bout and his first podium spot with the 7-6 decision over Pittsburgh’s Luca Augustine. Kennedy trailed by three before an escape and a takedown gave him the one-point advantage. Augustine got the last second escape to tie, but riding time went to Kennedy at the end of regulation.
197 pounds — In a highly anticipated semifinal matchup, second-seeded Stephen Buchanan defeated third-seeded AJ Ferrari of Cal State-Bakersfield, 3-0, for a title berth. All of Buchanan’s points came in the third period through an escape, a tech point from a Ferrari violation, and riding time. He will face Penn State’s top-seeded Josh Barr in the final.
Barr and Buchanan met in the Iowa-Penn State duel meet back on Jan. 31, where the Hawkeye took the 4-1 decision.
285 pounds — Ben Kueter secured a podium spot in his first year after his 4-1 decision over Pittsburgh’s Dayton Pitzer. Both opponents each logged an escape, but Kueter’s second period takedown was the deciding factor. The second-year Hawkeye is expected to rejoin Iowa football as an All-American wrestler after splitting time between the two sports last season.