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5 takeaways from Iowa men’s wrestling Soldier Salute performance
Jordan Williams won the 157-pound title; Arnold earns runner-up finish at 174; Tom Brands said Iowa is committed to the tournament’s future; Petersen, Ludington with notable showings
Jan. 5, 2026 12:56 am, Updated: Jan. 5, 2026 3:05 pm
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University of Iowa returned to action at the Soldier Salute on Saturday and Sunday at Xtream Arena in Coralville. The Hawkeyes were limited on starters but still had some notable performances. Here are Iowa takeaways from the Soldier Salute.
JORDAN WILLIAMS CAPTURES 157-POUND TITLE
Williams tallied twice as many wins at the Soldier Salute than he had in the first two months of the season. He claimed Iowa’s only title, beating Missouri’s Teague Travis, 7-3, in the championship. He controlled the final, scoring a takedown in each of the final two periods.
“There's progress with the energy,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. “We got to be very consistent. That's what we're looking for.”
Williams started Day 2 with an 8-2 semifinal win over Missouri’s James Conway. He demonstrated more of a complete effort, looking to score late instead of sitting on a lead.
“Building leads is important,” Brands said. “That's what we want. That's what he did. He had energy out there, and we got to keep a good thing going. We got to be consistent.”
Williams also proved he can score in clutch moments, needing a late takedown to produce a quarterfinal win.
“He’s also got to be able to go get one when you need to get one, and if you remember the UNI match earlier yesterday, we were behind and we had to go get one in short time and we went and got one,” Brands said. “So, a lot in this tournament that he had scenarios where he overcame.”
Williams looked more comfortable at the bigger weight class than he’s wrestled the last two seasons. He may have put his stamp on the starting spot after sharing time with Victor Voinovich III, who placed fifth. With his performance he certainly has earned the opportunity to man the weight to start, but his effectiveness in the upcoming Big Ten Conference duals will determine whether it’s his for good.
GABE ARNOLD FINISHES RUNNER-UP AT 174
Arnold made his season debut at 174 and placed second to Navy’s No. 9 Danny Wask, a returning All-American. The pair exchanged escapes in regulation, continuing into sudden victory. Wask countered an Arnold’s shot and scored the decisive takedown on the mat’s edge in the final seconds for a 4-1 decision.
“The guy came out hard,” Brands said. “Took us a while to respond, had a couple opportunities, probably need to be more like initiation minded.”
Arnold, an NCAA qualifier at 184, is down at 174 for the first time in two years. He will joined All-American teammate and third-ranked Patrick Kennedy. The Hawkeyes have two quality, potential podium finishers at the weight. It provides some good depth, especially since Arnold was able to make the weight and perform decently. Kennedy is the front runner but Arnold gives the coaches options. Arnold adds to a spicy upper weight lineup that includes No. 1 Angelo Ferrari at 184.
IOWA COMMITTED TO SOLDIER SALUTE
Tournament director Josh Schamberger confirmed the tournament will remain the first weekend of January in the future. Brands said it comes at a great time and has great competition, which could include Olympic and World champions with its open format.
This marked the fourth edition of the two-day event. It was created as an option to the Midlands Championships that was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We want to keep this tournament running hot,” Brands said. “We want to keep it going. We want it stronger, stronger, stronger every year. The conversations that I have with Josh Schamberger, this is Wrestle Town, USA, and this is part of Wrestle Town USA.”
Brands praised the tournament for honoring soldiers, which included a moment of silence for Staff Sgts. Edgar Torres-Tovar and William Howard, the Iowa National Guard soldiers who were killed in action last month in an attack in Syria.
Brands insisted Iowa is committed to the Soldier Salute, despite not sending the majority of the starting lineup to the event. Whether it was due to the upcoming conference slate, injury or illness, there was an undisclosed reason for the decision.
“So, we got to honor it right, make sure that the timing is right and we bring our entire team and we've done that every year,” Brands said. “This year, with five days to go before the Wisconsin dual, and some of the things that we're dealing with internally, that you don't need to know about because it's none of your business, this is the right call.
“The guys that are wrestling are wrestling, and the guys that aren't wrestling aren't wrestling and it's all for a reason. But all that being said, we got to keep this tournament, we got to keep it strong, and we got to have our best guys in it.”
KALE PETERSEN AVENGES LOSS FOR 3RD AT 141
Petersen had a notable finish, placing third at 141 and concluding a 6-1 weekend with a victory over Navy’s 28th-ranked Caedyn Ricciardi. Petersen earned a 4-2 decision, avenging his only loss of the tournament and overturning a 7-2 quarterfinal loss to the No. 3 seed.
One of Petersen’s wins was a medical forfeit from teammate and 11th-ranked Nasir Bailey, who dropped out of the tournament after a semifinal loss, which included injury time. Keep an eye on probable lineups, leading up to Iowa’s home dual against Wisconsin on Friday.
“We’ve got to figure that out and we got to figure out some individual things for the individuals, and we go from there,” Brands said. “So, we're figuring it out for Kale Peterson, individually, getting him better, and we're figuring it out for Nasir Bailey.”
LUDINGTON SHOWS PROMISE
Harvey Ludington was a three-time New Jersey state champion from Tinton Falls, N.J. He was deemed the No. 14 prospect in the Class of 2025 by Flowrestling and the top-ranked 190-pounder by Matscouts in high school, tallying 154 career wins.
Ludington placed fifth at 197 Sunday, falling to Wyoming’s All-American, seventh-ranked and top-seeded Joey Novak, 6-1, in the semifinals. North Carolina’s 32nd-ranked Robert Platt edged Ludington, 2-1, in the consolation semifinals. He rebounded with a 7-6 decision over North Carolina’s Mikey Calcagno for fifth.
Ludington could be the next successful 197-pounder, following NCAA finalist Jacob Warner, NCAA champion Stephen Buchanan and Massoma Endene, a three-time NCAA Division III national champion at Wartburg that transferred this season and is ranked fourth, nationally.
Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com
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