Weeks of grueling Big Ten competition come to a head this weekend at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois, as the No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling team fights for a Big Ten championship.
The Hawkeyes closed the season 14-1 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten, finishing second in the NCAA Division I Coaches Poll with one loss to top-ranked Penn State. But they sit solidly in second in college wrestling’s best conference with dual meet wins over No. 14 Illinois, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 5 Nebraska, and No. 6 Minnesota.
Kicking things off with Session I at 10 a.m. on Saturday, two Hawkeyes hold top seeds in Drake Ayala at 133 pounds and Stephen Buchanan at 197. But barring upsets, each Hawkeye should see NCAA qualification — except Cullan Schriever at 141 pounds, an 11 seed fighting for one of seven NCAA qualifying spots.
“We are always optimistic,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said at media availability on March 4. “They’re excited. They’re looking forward to the competition … It’s about getting better every day. The most important date on the calendar is the next date.”
125 pounds
Redshirt sophomore Hawkeye Joey Cruz comes in at the five seed at 125 pounds upon finishing the regular season with a 12-9 record and impressive effort over the final few weeks. He’ll see 12th-seeded Christian Tanefeu of Michigan with an 8-9 record.
Should Cruz win, he feeds into a tough second-round matchup presumably with Penn State’s fourth-seeded 15-2 overall Luke Lilledahl of Penn State. Lilledahl crushed Cruz in the dual meet between the two with a 22-6 technical fall.
133 pounds
Ayala is a reliable Big Ten champion hopeful for the Hawkeyes, going 14-1 in the regular season with a massive win over second-seeded Lucas Byrd of Illinois.
“The Big Ten championships are very important,” Brands said. “Your name goes on a wall being the champion.”
The senior will see the win of ninth-seeded 18-5 overall Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State or eighth-seeded 17-7 overall Angelo Rini of Indiana. Ayala has not wrestled either of the two this season.
141 pounds
Schriever will need an upset or two for a shot at one of the seven NCAA qualifying spots, but his road is tough. The iffy starter at 141 pounds, he remains the biggest question mark in the lineup upon finishing the regular season 5-8 overall.
“Hey, relax, take a deep breath — go out and perform,” Brands said of postseason importance. “Put on a show.”
He will see Rutgers senior Joseph Olivieri, 15-6 overall and a sixth seed. Should Schriever win, he’ll then have 14th-seeded Jaden Crumpler of Michigan State or third-seeded Brock Hardy of Nebraska — who beat Schriever in a 14-3 major decision this year.
149 pounds
Redshirt senior Kyle Parco, 18-1 overall, is on a fast track to a rematch with top-seeded Shayne Van Ness of Penn State. Seeded second, Parco is Iowa’s second wrestler with a bye.
“He learned maybe a little baptism by fear when we were out east in State College,” Brands said. “Some of our guys let that environment get to them. I think he realized it’s not that big of a deal. Just go out and wrestle your match. Talk to yourself in the right way and keep things in perspective.”
He’ll match up against either seventh-seeded Sam Cartella of Northwestern or 10th-seeded Drew Roberts of Minnesota — both of which the Arizona State transfer beat via decision this season.
157 pounds
Despite fellow Arizona State transfer Jacori Teemer sitting at or near the top of the national 157-pound rankings this season, he’s just a four seed in the tournament with a 5-2 record marred by injuries and load management.
“They have very seasoned roots underneath them,” Brands said of the transfer corps stepping into the caliber of a Big Ten environment. “I’m not sure that you’re going to get me to say the Big Ten is the all and mighty conference. I think that they are competitors.”
Set to see 13th-seeded Luke Mechler of Wisconsin, Teemer’s matchup feeds into 12th-seeded Ryan Garvick of Indiana or fifth-seeded Tommy Askey of Minnesota — with a 20-3 overall record but 4-1 loss to Teemer this season.
165 pounds
Iowa’s Michael Caliendo is the team’s third wrestler with a bye at 165 pounds, like Parco on a fast track to a rematch with top-seeded Nittany Lion Mitchell Mesenbrink.
While Caliendo has faced neither prospective second-round matchup Tyler Lillard of Indiana or Anthony White of Rutgers this season, he’s lost to Mesenbrink four times in his career — including a 19-4 technical fall this year.
174 pounds
Patrick Kennedy is Brands’ final option at 174 pounds, a 10-3 finish to the regular season making him a fourth seed this weekend. His first-round matchup is Ceasar Garza of Michigan State, a 13th seed with a 12-12 record.
Kennedy is a safer bet to go deep in the bracket, a win over Garza sending him to fifth-seeded Clayton Whiting of Minnesota or 12th-seeded Branson John of Maryland — both of whom he beat in dual meets this season.
184 pounds
The month-old storyline of Iowa’s Gabe Arnold against Penn State’s Carter Starocci has serious potential to come to fruition this weekend should both win out to the second session.
Starocci, the top seed, gets the bye, and Arnold’s 13-2 finish this season for a four seed gives him 13th-seeded and 5-6 overall Orlando Cruz of Purdue. A win there puts him against fifth-seeded Jaxon Smith of Maryland or 12th-seeded Lucas Daly of Michigan State for Starocci next.
197 pounds
Like Ayala, Buchanan is a solid bet for a Big Ten title too. Having decimated opponents in the weight class to a 19-0 finish this season, the Oklahoma transfer should soar to a final matchup with Penn State’s Josh Barr.
First, he’ll have to tackle ninth-seeded Seth Shumate of Ohio State or eighth-seeded Gabe Sollars of Indiana, both with records barely above .500.
285 pounds
Rounding the first session out at heavyweight is Ben Kueter, seeded seventh with a 13-5 record. While it will be near-impossible to crack the final two behind dominance from Greg Kerkvliet and Gable Steveson, Kueter’s focus remains on the first-round bout with Purdue’s 10th-seeded Hayden Filipovich.
Running into second-seeded Kerkvliet next, much of Kueter’s progress will have to come in wrestleback rounds as he shoots to be one of the final 10 Big Ten heavyweights qualifying for the NCAA championships.