Iowa advances trio into finals of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships

EVANSTON, Ill. – Good enough is not good enough for University of Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan.

He may have been OK with the result but he was not satisfied with his performance. A sign of high standards for a three-time All-American.

“I don't think I I'm performing at my best yet,” Buchanan said after his 4-0 win over Illinois’ No. 5 Zach Braunagel in the 197-pound semifinals of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday night at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena. “Slow feet. Not a lot of shots, not a lot of offense.

“If I'm going to win tomorrow, I'm going to have to pick up my feet. I'm going to have to ride hard. I'm going to have to wrestle hard in all the positions and be the best in all the positions to win.”

Top-seeded Buchanan, No. 1 Drake Ayala and No. 2 Michael Caliendo each advanced to the finals, helping Iowa to third place with 98 points after the opening day of the conference tournament. The Hawkeyes also secured eight automatic berths to the NCAA Championships on March 20-22 in Philadelphia, Pa.

“We have work to do at other weights,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. “We have some guys in the championship finals and that’s what we have to do. Both sides of the bracket. That’s where we’re at.

“We’re going to Day 2 of a qualifier. We have to be at our best on Day 2.”

Buchanan controlled both of his bouts Saturday, pitching two shutouts. He scored an escape in the second and added two nearfall in the third, adding a point for riding time.

It was the second straight match he didn’t surrender a point and pulled away in the third. He scored a second-period escape with a third-period takedown and nearfall for an 8-0 major decision in his debut against Ohio State’s Seth Shumate.

“I think it's a part of the wrestling,” Buchanan said. “I'm just thankful that I'm able to be stingy, able to have a tough ride on top to come out on top on those matches,”

Buchanan remained unbeaten, improving to 21-0. He will face Michigan’s No. 3 Jared Cardenas, who knocked off Penn State’s No. 2 Josh Barr, 4-1, in sudden victory of the other semifinal. Buchanan beat Cardenas, 9-4, in the 2024 NCAA tournament.

“He's a good, strong (and) long wrestler,” said Buchanan, who has placed third at the last two national tournaments and eighth in 2022. “He has a really nice blast double, really tough on top. I'm going to have to come out, wrestle my best and be ready in all positions to win that match.”

Top-seeded Drake Ayala reached his first Big Ten final. Ayala faced defending 133-pound conference champion Dylan Shawver, of Rutgers, in the semifinals. Ayala was effective on his feet and controlling on top. He scored takedowns in the first and third periods with a second-period ride out for an 8-2 decision.

Ayala (16-1) will wrestle Illinois’ No. 2 seed Lucas Byrd (17-1) in the final. He defeated Byrd, 4-2, in the regular-season dual, which is their only previous meeting.

Michael Caliendo was the most dominant of Iowa’s semifinal winners. He posted consecutive technical falls, including a 23-7 win over Illinois’ Braeden Scoles in the 165 semifinal. Caliendo opened with a 21-4 win over Rutgers’ Anthony White to kick off his tournament. He now has 11 technical falls this season.

“He lets it fly very well,” Brands said of Caliendo. “That’s what we want. Score points.”

The Hawkeyes three finalists were joined by No. 2 Kyle Parco (149) and No. 4 174-pounder Patrick Kennedy. Both notched top-six finishes and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament but were denied a spot in the finals.

Nebraska’s No. 3 Ridge Lovett scored 10 points in the opening period, putting Parco on his back for a seven-point move to close the first, and coasted to a 14-2 victory. Penn State’s top-seeded Levi Haines defeated Kennedy, 10-3.

Former Iowa City High duo Ben Kueter and Gabe Arnold both secured their first NCAA tournament berths. They each rebounded from quarterfinal losses for consolation wins to advance. Arnold beat Northwestern’s Jon Halvorsen, 10-1, to reach the top eight at 184. Kueter downed No. 8 Jacob Bullock, 5-1, to move into the top eight and earn one of the conference’s 10 automatic bids at heavyweight.

Penn State was in first with 145 points, advancing six to the finals. Nebraska was second with 118 ½ and four finalists.

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