Heavyweight Night: Hawkeyes Strike Late To Topple Penn State
Michael Kemerer had to step away.
It’s No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 2 Penn State on a rowdy Friday night, the sellout crowd of 14,905 turning Carver-Hawkeye Arena into a heated cocoon of emotion, and when that’s happening and you’re not wrestling until later in the night, it’s best to escape.
“Whether you know it or not, you can wear that,” the Hawkeyes’ 174-pounder said.
When it was his turn, Kemerer went out and started the winning rally.
Kemerer’s rousing victory over top-ranked Mark Hall helped Iowa to a 19-17 win.
The Hawkeyes (9-0 overall, 6-0 Big Ten) won three of their last four matches, a heavyweight comeback conducted by the heaviest weights, sealed by Tony Cassioppi’s 7-0 win over Seth Nevills at 285.
It magnified the depth of this Iowa team, a showcase of the upper levels.
“Everyone talks about Iowa being a light-weight school,” said Kemerer, smiling after he won 11-6 in the loudest match of the night. “We can finally get some clout.”
The Hawkeyes certainly have clout. They took down the team that has won the last four national titles and eight of the last nine.
“Love it,” said Iowa coach Tom Brands, his fist pound on the table in the post-dual press conference an exclamation point to finish the sentence on this night. “That’s a dual meet. That’s a heavyweight boxing match. Fistfight.”
It was the closest dual of the season for the Hawkeyes, one that swayed from triumph to uneasiness from beginning to end.
Brands gave every one of his wrestlers the same message — just wrestle your match. The Hawkeyes ignored the raucous twists around them.
“We stayed in our matches,” Cassioppi said. “We didn’t let the effects of the other matches boil over into our match. We were all focused in what we had to do.”
Kemerer, undefeated this season and ranked second nationally, swung the dual after another 1-2 battle didn’t go the Hawkeyes’ way.
No. 2 Alex Marinelli suffered his first loss of the season, falling 7-5 to top-ranked Vincenzo Joseph. At that point, Penn State led 14-10, and another defeat would have had the Hawkeyes staggering.
“It doesn’t change what I’ve got to do,” Kemerer said. “I’ve got to go out and wrestle and do what I was trained to do. If we’re getting blown out or we were winning, it doesn’t change what I’ve got to do.”
Kemerer’s takedown at 1:07 of the second period gave him a 7-5 lead, then he closed the match with an escape and a takedown in the third period, adding a point for 1:22 of riding time.
“It was a steady onslaught,” Brands said.
Kemerer said he didn’t hear it, but the noise shook the arena.
“It’s a blur to me right now,” he said.
“Our fans will reward you with applause, they will shower you with applause, if you do your job,” Brands said. “They want, and they crave, point-scoring wrestling.”
Penn State’s Aaron Brooks defeated Abe Assad, 7-3, in a matchup of freshman 184-pounders.
Then the Hawkeyes closed out the Nittany Lions.
Jacob Warner’s 4-2 win over Shakur Rasheed at 197 set up the all-or-nothing match of Cassioppi and Nevills, two undefeated freshmen.
Cassioppi redshirted last season, and Brands learned quickly what he could do.
“We knew when we started to lean on him in his training, that the response that he gave us was exactly what was going to get you to where you could win consistently at the highest level,” Brands said.
His response in this dual was the same as Kemerer’s — control what you can control.
“Just satisfied to do my part,” Cassioppi said. “It’s just another wrestling match, you know?”
Cassioppi pitched the shutout with two takedowns, an escape, a stalling point and riding time.
Spencer Lee, Iowa’s top-ranked 125-pounder, opened the night with a technical fall in the second period over Brandon Meredith.
But the 133-pound match was costly for the Hawkeyes in two ways. Austin DeSanto lost by injury default, and Iowa lost a team point for what Brands said was a “lack of control of the mat,” when he and his brother, assistant coach Terry, argued with officials while DeSanto was being treated for his injury.
“We’re better than that. We have to be better than that,” Tom Brands said. “That’s a waste of (Lee’s) skill and talent and overwhelming firepower.”
When Penn State’s Nick Lee scored a technical fall over Carter Happel at 141, the Nittany Lions led 11-4 and the arena was stilled. But Pat Lugo’s 6-1 win over Jacob Verkleeren at 149 and Kaleb Young’s 6-1 win over Bo Pipher at 157 cut the Penn State lead to 11-10 at intermission.
The heaviest weights then finished off the heavyweight night.
It was not a convincing night, Brands said, pointing out the Hawkeyes had just a 6-4 edge in match victories.
“They’re nipping,” he said. “So you can’t crown us right now.”
Crowns come in March. Now, Brands said, it’s about just moving on.
“We didn’t overcome some adversity tonight,” he said. “We overcame a lot of adversity tonight.”