Watch: Iowa Wrestling Presser 2-18-24
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The fourth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team defeated Wisconsin, 34-7, on Sunday afternoon on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa won eight of 10 bouts, including six via bonus points. The Hawkeyes recorded 30 takedowns to Wisconsin’s six, and Iowa outscored the Badgers 120-49 in match points.
“We have to focus on what is ahead,” said head coach Tom Brands. “That’s what we did after those losses. We are going to Stillwater, Oklahoma, in one week, and the postseason looms.”
The dual started at 125 pounds with Wisconsin getting on the board first. Third-ranked Eric Barnett won an, 8-0, major decision over Joey Cruz.
The Hawkeyes responded with a pair of big wins from a pair of wrestlers making their final appearance in Carver-Hawkeye arena. At 133 Brody Teske put together a 19-4 technical fall win over Nicolar Rivera, and at 141 No. 2 Real Woods needed just 4:37 to pin Felix Lettini.
“Winning just brings good spirits,” said Woods. “So, I guess spiritually it helps. But this team is full of men who know how to fight through adversity and adversity catapults people like us. It doesn’t bring us down. It really helps us more than anything.”
“Sometimes you have to right the wrongs and right the ship,” said Brands. “Real went out there and got back to the roots a little bit. I think it was partly my fault, trying to push him into certain things. Just go out and wrestle your match how you want to wrestle and score a lot of points. It doesn’t matter how you get it done. He righted the wrong. We are on a one-match win streak, and we are going to Stillwater, Oklahoma.”
Iowa won two more matches before the break to push its lead to 18-4. Eighth-ranked Caleb Rathjen picked up a ranked victory over No. 19 Joseph Zargo, winning 8-1. No. 5 Jared Franek tallied a major decision over Luke Mechler, 17-5.
Wisconsin got their only other win of the dual at 165 as No. 5 Dean Hamiti defeated No. 7 Michael Caliendo, 14-11.
Iowa got back on track at 174 with a tech. fall victory from No. 7 Patrick Kennedy over Cale Anderson. Kennedy used six takedowns to outscore Anderson, 19-4.
Gabe Arnold made his third dual appearance and picked up his fourth ranked win defeating No. 16 Shane Liegel, 8-6. Arnold had two takedowns and fended off a late push from Liegel to earn the win.
No. 11 Zach Glazier improved to 20-1 with a 13-4 major decision over Josh Otto. Glazier now has 14 bonus point wins on the season.
No. 28 Bradley Hill closed out the dual for the Hawkeyes with a major decision. Hill defeated Gannon Rosenfeld, 11-3.
#4 Iowa 34, Wisconsin 7
125 – #3 Eric Barnett (W) major dec. Joey Cruz (I), 8-0
133 – Brody Teske (I) tech. fall Nicolar Rivera (W), 19-4
141 – #2 Real Woods (I) pinned Felix Lettini (W), 4:37
149 – #8 Caleb Rathjen (I) dec. #19 Joseph Zargo (W), 8-1
157 – #5 Jared Franek (I) major dec. Luke Mechler (W), 17-5
165 – #5 Dean Hamiti (W) dec. #7 Michael Caliendo (I), 14-11
174 – #7 Patrick Kennedy (I) tech. fall Cale Anderson (W), 19-4
184 – Gabe Arnold (I) dec. #16 Shane Liegel (W), 8-6
197 – #11 Zach Glazier (I) major dec. Josh Otto (W), 13-4
285 – #29 Bradley Hill (I) major dec. Gannon Rosenfeld (W), 11-3
Attendance: 14,847
Officials: Nicholas Grosso, Matt Zeits