University of Iowa, Iowa State, University of Northern Iowa and a handful of others with state ties will compete at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia from Thursday through Saturday. Here are five storylines to follow at the national tournament.
All three state NCAA Division I wrestling programs received at least one at-large berths to the national tournament March 20-22 in Philadelphia. The three schools qualified 27 of 30 starters combined.
For the second straight year, second-ranked Iowa did not crown a champion at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Sunday at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Hawkeye trio of Drake Ayala, Michael Caliendo and Stephen Buchanan all earned runner-up finishes in their first conference finals and Iowa toted home a third-place finish.
Top-seeded Stephen 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.
Iowa experienced multiple ups and downs during the opening session of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. Overall, the Hawkeyes advanced into the semifinals. Here are some takeaways from the first session.
Kyle Parco has wrestled at Fresno State, Arizona State and now Unviersity of Iowa. Parco, a four-time All-American, has experienced success at each stop. He enters his final postseason with Iowa, competing in his first Big Ten Wrestling Championships.
The Big Ten Conference released pre-seeds Wednesday for this weekend’s conference tournament and NCAA qualifier hosted at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. Drake Ayala (133) and Stephen Buchanan (197) earned No. 1 seeds.
Iowa freshman Angelo Ferrari has contributed in some key spots this season. He defeated NCAA finalist Dustin Plott in sudden victory, creating an instant classic moment in the Hawkeyes dual win over Oklahoma State Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Cullan Schriever grew up in Mason City, which is actually closer to Minneapolis and Iowa City. Schriever is a diehard Hawkeye and is looking for his first opportunity to wrestle at Minnesota in the border brawl.
Second-ranked Iowa won eight matches and rolled to a 34-9 victory over No. 25 Maryland in a Big Ten Conference dual Sunday at College Park, Md.
Second-ranked Iowa dominated Wisconsin in the Big Ten Conference opening dual Sunday. The Hawkeyes won all 10 bouts, including seven bonus-point victories, in a 45-0 shutout.
University of Iowa’s No. 4 Kyle Parco used a first-period takedown and nearfall points and posted an 8-5 decision over North Carolina’s No. 6 Lachlan McNeil for the 149-pound title Monday night at the Soldier Salute. Iowa swept the men’s and women’s titles.
From hanging out in the wrestling room of the high school team his dad coached to the NCAA Division I awards stand, wrestling has always been Michael Caliendo’s top sports love. He reached his second straight Soldier Salute finals Monday at Xtream Arena in Caliendo.
Stephen Buchanan has enjoyed success in each of his college wrestling stops. After competing for Wyoming and Oklahoma, the top-ranked 197-pound his making an impression of the Iowa men’s program.
University of Iowa wrestled former Hawkeye Ned Shuck’s Bellarmine men’s program, which is in its first year of NCAA Division I postseason eligibility. The No. 2 Hawkeyes beat the Knights, 49-0, Saturday in Louisville, Ky.
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