Iowa Wrestling Weekend That Was: More takeaways from Iowa-Iowa State dual

The CyHawk Series is in the books. Brianna Gonzalez wins title for the Hawkeyes. UNI survived a test. Coe hosted its home tournament and Upper Iowa dominates in the Wrestling Weekend That Was.

RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM THE CYHAWK SERIES DUAL

Iowa’s 21-15 win over Iowa State on Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena marked the 20 th straight Hawkeye win in the series and 35 th in the last 36 meetings. Tom Brands remains unbeaten as a coach in the rivalry and the Dan Gable Traveling Trophy (introduced at CHA in 2010) has never left Iowa City.

The dual included a couple side notes.

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Injuries: Iowa’s top-ranked 157-pounder Jacori Teemer injury defaulted after hurting his right hamstring. Iowa State’s Connor Euton was dinged up at 165. Neither Tom Brands, nor Kevin Dresser, wanted to speculate on the severity of the injury. Obviously, Teemer is a bigger blow to the Hawkeyes. The transfer from Arizona State was a key acquisition, giving Iowa an immediate national title contender. If it’s not series, it’s a good thing Iowa only has a double dual on Dec. 6 and the Soldier Salute before they start the Big Ten Conference duals begin Jan. 12. If it is a season-ending injury, the question is who steps in. Caleb Rathjen has the most experience and wrestled in the season-opener at Oregon State. Former West Burlington-Notre Dame prep Isaiah Fenton is also listed at 157, while Miguel Estrada as a 149/157 option. Euton was originally listed with M.J. Gaitan in the probable lineup. Gaitan is ranked, so the Cyclones can plug in a capable competitor.

Transfers: Much has been made of the transfers that have solidified the Iowa lineup. Dresser even made comments in the post-dual interview. He said it might be the best Iowa team that he has faced during his tenure as the Cyclones head coach. Interestingly, Iowa and Iowa State had the same number of transfers in introductions. Iowa’s Kyle Parco (149) and Stephen Buchanan (197) joined the team along with Teemer this season. Michael Caliendo (165) came in last season. Iowa State transfers included Anthony Echemendia (149), Aiden Riggins (174) and Evan Bockman (184). Last year’s Iowa State starter Cody Chittum was announced with Paniro Johnson at 157. Johnson got the nod but Chittum is a former Hawkeye. Iowa’s transfers went 3-1, while Iowa State’s went 0-3.

Fantastic Ferrari: Freshman Angelo Ferrari was a surprise to take the mat at 184 against an experienced Bockman when each team had a slim margin for error in the upper weights. He was offensive and aggressive and had no issue with a pressure-packed position. Even more impressive, he was shooting until the final seconds looking for bonus points and not coasting to the end. Ferrari is part of a logjam of talent that includes Gabe Arnold, who is ranked at 184, All-American Nelson Brands and NCAA qualifier Patrick Kennedy, who delivered a high-powered performance with a technical fall over his former teammate Riggins.

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Bastida’s Back: The CyHawk dual ended with the season debut of Yonger Bastida. The 2022 All-American made his first appearance since the second day of the NCAA tournament in March where he suffered a quarterfinal injury and fell one win shy of the podium. Bastida tallied two takedowns and beat young talent Ben Kueter, 7-2. Bastida showed his athleticism and what made him so effective as one of the nation’s top heavyweights a year ago with the takedowns. Kueter did have a cradle locked up in the third and threatened Bastida shortly. Bastida showed poise and fended it off. He will be a key component to Iowa State’s success again.

Iowa State 125-pounders: Adrian Meza started at 125 for the Cyclones. Senior NCAA qualifier Kysen Terukina hasn’t wrestled yet this season. Meza is a strong option for Iowa State, scoring the only takedown and accumulating 1:44 riding-time advantage. He is now 8-0.

UNI WINS OPENER

Sometimes cliches prove true. When coaches say, “Every point counts,” it is true. The prime example was University of Northern Iowa’s 16-15 win over No. 13 South Dakota State. The two teams split the 10 matches without any bonus points, but UNI won the tiebreaker with a 62-51 edge in match points. Two scrambles throughout the dual could have flipped the outcome. The Panthers also had the next two criteria (12-9 in takedowns and then 2-0 nearfall points), so they were covered. The Panthers are 41-6-1 against SDSU, including six wins under Coach Doug Schwab but first since 2021. UNI continues a challenging start, facing No. 9 Missouri on Tuesday.

Speaking of transfers, SDSU has some familiar faces to Iowa wrestling fans. Former Hawkeyes Cobe Siebrecht (157), Drake Rhodes (165) and 197-pounder Zach Glazier wrestled for the Jackrabbits. Rhodes and Glazier won, while Siebrecht, a former Lisbon state champion, lost a decision to No. 6 Ryder Downey.

GONZALEZ WINS TITLE AT MISSOURI VALLEY OPEN

Iowa’s Brianna Gonzalez captured the 117-pound title at the Missouri Valley Open. She scored a pin and four technical falls, including a 10-0 win over Texas Wesleyan’s Camille Fournier in the finals. Hawkeye freshman and former Decorah state champion Naomi Simon reached the finals at 180. Simon rolled to the championship match with three technical falls and two pins before an 8-4 loss to Grand Valley State’s Sabrina Nauss. Iowa’s Rianne Murphy (103) and 110-pounder Ava Bayless each placed second. Emilie Gonzalez was third at 110.

RICHARDSON’S REVENGE HIGHLIGHTS COE’S 7 TITLES

Coe’s L.J. Richardson exacted a little revenge, winning the 174-pound title of the Coe Invitational Saturday at Kohawk Arena. Richardson pinned Millikin All-American Dejon Glaster in 5:40 of the final. Glaster placed sixth at the NCAA Division III Championships with a 27-7 record last season and earned a national berth by beating Richardson in the third-place match of the Lower Midwest Regional.

Richardson, who was a 2023 All-American, posted two pins and a technical fall Saturday. He was one of seven Kohawk champions.

Former Linn-Mar preps Brayden and Bryce Parke won the 125 and 133 crowns, respectively. Brayden recorded four pins. Bryce opened with a pin and closed with two straight technical falls, outscoring his opponents, 31-0, in his last two bouts. Dresden Grimm (149), Ty Koedam (157), former West Delaware prep Jared Voss at 184 and 197-pounder Mathieu Arsenault also won titles for Coe.

UPPER IOWA SWEEPS FIRST DUALS

The Peacocks opened their dual season in dominant fashion Friday at Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette. They trounced University of Sioux Falls 32-12 and followed with a 44-3 win over Newman, winning 16 of 20 weight classes overall.

Dawson Schmit (133), Ethan Doty at 141, Dalton Schams (157), 184-pounder Colter Bye, Geoffrey Freeman (197) and heavyweight Clayton Ours all went 2-0 for the Peacocks. Doty and Freeman each posted a pin and technical fall, while Schams posted two major decisions. Bye had a technical fall and Ours won by fall against Newman.

Heath Grimm is entering his 25 th season as Upper Iowa’s men’s wrestling coach. With the 2-0 start, Grimm moves to 229 career dual victories.

CORNELL KNOCKS OFF OHIO NORTHERN

Cornell went 2-2 at the Olivet Comet Duals at Olivet, Mich., on Saturday, improving to 4-3. The 24 th-ranked Rams defeated No. 14 Ohio Northern, 17-16, top start the day. Jase Van Pelt (125) and No. 4 Cael McLaren (184) posted major decisions, which proved to be the difference.

Cornell added a 34-7 win over Heidelberg.

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