Wrestling Weekend That Was: Iowa continued its dominance over Ohio State, turns attention to No. 1 Penn State

Second-ranked Iowa men builds momentum for trip to No. 1 Penn State. Iowa women’s team sweeps Journeyman Duals. Oklahoma State’s upper weights turn away University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State. Soldier Salute makes changes, Upper Iowa wins and high school results in the Wrestling Weekend That Was.

HAWKEYES BEAT BUCKEYES, TURN ATTENTION TO PENN STATE

Iowa remained unbeaten with its second straight top-10 dual win. The No. 2 Hawkeyes defeated No. 4 Ohio State comfortably, taking seven of the top bouts. And that’s without NCAA finalist Drake Ayala.

Need some perspective? Iowa hasn’t lost a home dual to Ohio State since 1929. That’s when West Branch’s Herbert Hoover was President.

The series has been one-sided since the first meeting 96 years ago. Iowa owns a 43-4 advantage overall, including a 7-1 mark since 2000 in meetings with both ranked in the top five.

The dual featured the return of Jacori Teemer. He faced Sammy Sasso in a battle of NCAA finalists. Teemer showed his explosiveness in his first action since a leg injury against Iowa State on Nov. 23. He delivered in a way that made him an attractive pick up in the transfer portal. Teemer is a vital part of Iowa’s postseason success, so it was a good sign to beat a quality foe in his return.

Joey Cruz has been a pleasant surprise in the Big Ten Conference season. He is 3-0 with two wins over ranked opponents. Cruz appears to have gained control of the 125-pound spot over Kale Petersen. Hawkeyes will need more performances like this going forward.

If anything, we saw how important Drake Ayala is to this lineup. Saturday was nine-point swing. Iowa Coach Tom Brands discussed Ayala’s absence, noting they talked about him wrestling and Ayala didn’t want to let his team down by not wrestling against a strong opponent. Brands mentioned that if the team lost without him then nine others didn’t do their job, so they made the decision to sit him out. Brands, who has opted not to discuss similar matters or make predictions, said he expects Ayala to be back Friday.

Stephen Buchanan has been ultra consistent for the Hawkeyes. He sealed the dual win with an 18-1 technical fall over Seth Shumate. Top-ranked Buchanan is 13-0 this season with 11 bonus-point victories, tying Kyle Parco for the team lead with six technical falls. Buchanan to Iowa seems to be a mutually beneficial relationship.

Heavyweight Ben Kueter capped the dual with a notable win, topping No. 5 Nick Feldman. It could be the confidence boost he needs. Kueter had the lone takedown in a 5-3 decision.

The performance springboards Iowa into the biggest dual of the season at No. 1 Penn State. The Hawkeyes (9-0, 3-0) wrestle the Nittany Lions (9-0, 3-0) in State College, Pa., Friday, beginning at 6 p.m.

Penn State owns a 65-dual win streak with its last loss to the Hawkeyes, 19-17, in Iowa City on Jan. 31, 2020.

Iowa’s Gabe Arnold has received attention for his comments about the upcoming dual between the programs that have won 15 of the last 16 NCAA team titles. Arnold could see top-ranked four-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci.

“We have Penn State next week,” Arnold said. “We didn’t get the job done last year and that kind of sucks but we’re going to get it done this year.

“This time, we’ll be in your home dojo and I promise your head’s mine. Book it.”

IOWA WOMEN ROLL AT JOURNEYMAN DUALS

The top-ranked Hawkeyes posted four ranked dual wins at the Journeyman College Duals at Albany, N.Y. Iowa defeated No. 12 Lock Haven, No. 15 Sacred Heart, No. 19 Elmira and sixth-ranked Presbyterian (S.C.) College. The Hawkeyes are 19-0 overall.

One of the notable wins came from former Decorah state champion Naomi Simon. Sixth-ranked Simon pinned Sacred Heart’s No. 5 Madison Sandquist in 1:11 at 180 pounds. Simon went 4-0 with two pins and two technical falls. Simon has recorded a technical fall or pin in all 28 wins this season.

SOLDIER SALUTE ANNOUNCES CHANGES

Tournament organizers announced Monday that the event will undergo changes next season. The college tournament will be held Jan. 3-4, instead of the final week of December the last three seasons.

The move will prevent it to be a men’s and women’s tournament. It conflicts with a dead period for NCAA Division II conferences and preparation for the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals, according to the news release posted on X, formerly Twitter. The release also noted that tournament organizers are working with women’s coaches at all college levels to determine a different date for a tournament to showcase women’s wrestling.

OKLAHOMA STATE’S HEAVY HITTERS

Oklahoma State’s upper weights came through in dual wins over UNI and Iowa State this weekend. The Cowboys went 9-1 from 165 through heavyweight in both duals. The lone loss was UNI NCAA champion Parker Keckeisen’s 15-4 major decision over Dustin Plott in a rematch of last year’s national final.

Oklahoma State used major decisions from No. 6 Cam Amine (165), No. 3 Dean Hamiti (174) and a technical fall from No. 3 heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson to pull away for a 22-14 win at the McLeod Center.

The Cowboys were even more impressive Sunday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. They sweep five matches after the break to erase Iowa State’s an eight-point deficit for a 27-12 win to remain unbeaten under first-year head coach David Taylor. Hamiti and Hendrickson scored technical falls, Luke Surber won by injury default at 197 and Plott added a major decision.

UNI and Iowa State each beat Oklahoma. The Panthers rebounded with a 26-13 win over the Sooners on Saturday. The Cyclones kicked off the weekend with a 25-6 win over Oklahoma.

UPPER IOWA UNBEATEN IN GLVC

Upper Iowa beat No. 7 McKendree (Ill.) University , 18-15, Friday at home. The Peacocks avenge a 21-18 loss to the Bearcats at the NWCA Multidivisional Duals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

Upper Iowa, ranked 17 th, improved to 8-4 overall and have won both Great Lakes Valley Conference duals this season.

COE SWEEPS A-R-C DUALS

Coe bounced back from a loss to Loras last Tuesday by sweeping the American Rivers Conference Duals Saturday at Simpson in Indianola. The Kohawks dropped Nebraska Wesleyan (45-6), No. 19 Luther (34-12) and Simpson (53-0). Coe moved to 9-3 overall and 5-1 in the A-R-C, hosting No. 2 Wartburg Feb. 7.

Wartburg beat Dubuque (43-6), Buena Vista (56-0) and Central (35-6) at Pella. The Knights are 12-1 overall, hosting No. 1 Augsburg in the Battle of the Burgs on Thursday, starting at 7 p.m. Augsburg beat Wartburg, 17-16, in the NWCA National Duals final.

CLEAR CREEK AMANA RUNNER-UP AT BEAN-SMITH DUALS

Last year, Brad Smith was honored when Iowa City Smith added his name to the Little Hawks’ home dual tournament. The former Lisbon and City High head coach was in retirement for the second time. This season, he was back in competition mode, leading Clear Creek Amana as the Clippers’ interim head coach for Kyle Forness, who is serving responsibilities to the Army Reserves.

Smith guided CCA to a runner-up finish to Ankeny. The Clippers went 4-1 overall, beating Wamac Conference rival Mount Vernon (44-28), host City High (49-27), Ottumwa (66-12) and Newton (56-21). Ankeny topped CCA, 48-16, for the title.

LINN-MAR CAPTURE LUEDERS INVITATIONAL TITLE

Linn-Mar claimed the team title at Clinton’s Bob Lueders Invitational on Saturday. The Lions scored 267 points, beating runner-up Pleasant Valley by 43. Iowa City West was third with 191.

Malik DeBow (126) and Philip Jacobs at 175 won titles for Linn-Mar. State champion Alexander Pierce (113), Cole Krutzfeldt at 138 and 150-pounder Justin Avila placed first for the Trojans.

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