Ohio State hands Iowa its fifth loss of season

No. 8 Iowa lost to No. 2 Ohio State for the second time this season Friday night at the sold-out Covelli Center (4,749) in Columbus, Ohio.

The Buckeyes won 24-9 to wrap up an undefeated season at home (7-0). Ohio State is 17-0 for the first time in program history. They also beat Iowa 27-12 in the finals of the National Duals on Nov. 16 in Tulsa, Okla.

The loss dropped Iowa’s dual record to 9-5 overall, and 2-3 in the Big Ten Conference.

Coach Tom Brands, who came into this season with a 140-15 record in Big Ten duals, had not lost 3 Big Ten duals in a season since 2018. He has never lost 4 in his first 19 years at Iowa.

“We’ve got opportunities we have to capitalize on,” Brands said. “That is probably the biggest thing, where you’re looking to improve and that is capitalizing on opportunities to score.”

The dual started at 157 pounds, and Iowa won three straight decisions — from Victor Voinovich III (157), Michael Caliendo (165) and Patrick Kennedy (174). Kennedy, ranked No. 3, earned a tight 2-1 win over No. 5 Carson Kharchia.

“Kennedy won a tough match, and I think we can score there,” Brands said. “He had a lot of looks and opportunities, and we have to capitalize on those.”

From there, higher-ranked Buckeyes wrestlers beat Hawkeyes in seven straight matches, including top-ranked Jesse Mendez recording a technical fall over unranked Kale Petersen at 141 and No. 10 Luke Geog earning a major decision over unranked Brody Sampson at 197, 13-4, for the only bonus points of the dual.

Iowa wrestles today at Michigan State (4-8, 1-4) at noon (B1G+). The Hawkeyes close out their Big Ten dual schedule next week against No. 10 Michigan (8-4, 4-2) on Friday at home, and at Purdue (9-4, 2-3) on Sunday, Feb. 15.