Skip to main content
iowa logo

Mixed bag of results for Iowa at Big Ten Championships

by:Tanner Lafever•03/10/24•

TannerLafever

Zach Glaizer
Zach Glaizer wrestles for a Big Ten title on Sunday.

An opening day that contained far more good than bad for the Iowa men left the Hawkeyes in fourth place out of 14 teams competing in College Park, Maryland for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships.

By far the biggest development on Saturday was the fact that 9/10 Hawkeyes were able to officially punch their tickets to NCAA’s.

Entering the tournament you’d have felt comfortable with that number being around seven – both in part due to some tricky seeds as well as the competition that always exists when this conference brings all its programs together under one roof.

Now, ‘more good than bad’ doesn’t mean perfect, nor does it mean that Iowa fans should/will be content with the recent results.

But this team has been shorthanded ever since about May due to off-the-mat circumstances I’m sure you’re all too familiar with hearing about. And it stayed even further shorthanded when head coach Tom Brands made (I think) the wise decision to keep a pair of stud freshmen in redshirt this year.

So, it’s within that context that I feel justified in using the ‘more good than bad’ descriptor of the day’s events.

Session I

It was a quick start for the boys in Black & Gold, going a combined 8-1 in first round matches (four of those via bonus points).

The highlight of the round was unquestionably at 133 pounds, where #14 seed Brody Teske staged an incredible comeback to take out the #3 seed Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State).

Teske trailed by as many as eight before getting back into the match with a couple of takedowns, the latter of which trimmed the score to 13-11 with under a minute to go. Then, looking to intentionally release Bouzakis and get back to their feet, he instead slapped a cradle on the Buckeye, first scoring two, then securing all four near fall points to give himself a 15-13 lead.

Not out of the woods just yet, Teske had to hold on for dear life to avoid giving up a reversal that would’ve sent the match to overtime.

There was a lot of talk pre-tournament about the behind-the-scenes machinations that went into Teske being saddled with the lowest seed in the field.

Do you know who apparently didn’t care about that one bit? Brody Teske.

The lone defeat for Iowa was at 184 pounds when Aiden Riggins – after scoring the opening takedown – was reversed to his back and pinned by Ohio State’s #4 Ryder Rogotzke.

Trying to keep a good thing going, the Hawkeyes would advance two-thirds of their nine quarterfinalists on to the semis.

Upset losses by #2 Drake Ayala, a 4-2 decision to #7 Michael DeAugustino (Michigan), and #3 Caleb Rathjen, 7-6 to Maryland’s #6 Ethen Miller, were almost certainly the biggest ‘downs’ of the round – though perhaps #7 Bradley Hill’s questionable status after injury defaulting (knee) against #2 Nick Feldman (OSU) was the most pressing matter at of concern at the time.

Ayala wrestled another slowed-to-a-halt type of match with DeAugustino – who beat him in the very same fashion at the dual between the schools back in early February. Meanwhile, a streaming issue during Rathjen’s quarterfinal leaves me wholly unqualified to give any analysis other than the final score.

Highlights from the quarters included another win by Teske, a pair of (mostly) controlled decisions by Real Woods and Zach Glazier, and three-consecutive middleweight victories, each impressive in their own way.

At 157 Jared Franek widened the gap from his dual performance against Nebraska’s Peyton Robb (a returning Big Ten finalist), winning this go-around 7-3. Then at 165 Michael Caliendo hit a sweet reattack in sudden victory to take out multi-time Michigan All-American Cam Amine.

Those two wins were followed up by Patrick Kennedy at 174, who was able to chase down a 12-2 major decision courtesy of a late final takedown of #6 seed Jackson Turley (Rutgers).

All of that, plus a 2-1 victory by Aiden Riggins in his round one consolation match would leave the Hawkeyes in third place after the first session of the weekend.

Session II

The evening’s action would not be nearly as kind to Iowa.

(That’ll happen when the competition continues to ramp up.)

Just 1/6 Hawkeyes would advance to Sunday’s finals – 197-pounder Zach Glazier.

The ‘Ice Man’ wrestled a pretty tactical match against #2 seed Jaxon Smith (Maryland) – a “slippery” opponent as described by Tom Brands.

Glazier was finally able to convert his offense into points though, horsing Smith to the mat during sudden victory to secure the 4-1 decision. Now 24-1 this season, he’ll get a chance to avenge the lone defeat on his resume when he squares off with #1 seed Aaron Brooks (Penn State) on Sunday afternoon.

Less fortunate were the quintet of Teske, Woods, Franek, Caliendo and Kennedy – all of whom dropped matches to opponents seeded second or higher.

Teske may have had the closest call, jumping out fast against Rutger’s Dylan Shawver before a late takedown (plus near fall) sunk his hopes at a spot in the conference championship bout, losing 12-6.

Meanwhile, Real Woods was similarly tied in the third period of his match with #2 Jesse Mendez (OSU), only for the Buckeye to capitalize for takedown with short time remaining, then ride out the Hawkeye for the 6-3 win.

At 157 Franek would run into a familiar (and exceedingly difficult) foe, and though the North Dakota State graduate transfer would shave seven points off his dual meet loss at Carver to PSU’s #1 Levi Haines (12-0), it wouldn’t get him truly closer to the ultimate goal – a victory – as he dropped to the consis with a 5-0 defeat.

165 pounds was the opposite story, as #3 seed Caliendo seemed to have fewer answers than ever before against #2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU).

What was a 12-6 decision at the dual ballooned to a 23-7 tech. fall loss in their semifinal, with Mesenbrink looking every bit a title favorite at 165 despite the loaded top of the field.

Finally, outside of Teske perhaps the most ‘positive’ result of Iowa’s defeats was at 174, where the third-seeded Kennedy looked a completely different wrestler than the one who was majored 12-1 in Ann Arbor by one-time Stanford national champion Shane Griffith.

This time, PK went blow for blow with the Wolverine for the full seven minutes, nearly scoring the winning takedown late in the third period before ultimately falling 4-3.

Much like Glazier has two weight classes above him, I feel like Kennedy continues to improve with each passing match, making him a threat to do damage at NCAA’s in a few weeks.

But the brightest moments of the evening largely came in the consolation bracket, where three more Hawkeyes clinch postseason berths.

Caleb Rathjen won a pair of decisions by seven and five points respectively at 149 pounds to secure at least a top-six finish.

Perhaps more surprisingly, Bradley Hill did the same at heavyweight. The health of the Bettendorf, IA native was a serious question after a scary-looking knee injury gave enough pause for his corner to have him injury default out of the quarterfinals. Other than sporting a fairly nondescript sleeve on his leg, Hill would show little-to-no ill effects upon retaking the mat – posting 11-1 and 4-2 wins over the numbers nine and six seeds to keep his tournament going.

The big winner though, was Drake Ayala.

Rather than stew over a quarterfinal loss that he almost certainly wouldn’t have been pleased with, the redshirt sophomore came out firing early in both of his matches Saturday evening.

Up first, a pin over #8 Brendan McCrone (OSU) after blitzing the Buckeye for just about all of the 1:46 that elapsed before the fall.

It was a rinse-and-repeat strategy against #3 seed Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), with Ayala just barely missing out on the fall after taking the Badger to his back in the first period.

The 8-1 win will prove to be especially valuable to his future NCAA seed, and it also served as a great opportunity for the Hawkeye social media team to have some fun, particularly given the previous insinuation made by Barnett that Ayala had ‘ducked’ wrestling him a few weeks ago on Iowa’s Senior Day.

The only NCAA automatic bid fallen short of on the day was with Riggins dropping his second-round consi 10-6 to #6 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State).

Looking ahead

With the business of qualifying (almost) everyone now out of the way, Sunday will be all about 1) a massive opportunity for Zach Glazier in the 197-pound finals, and 2) just how high the eight other Hawkeyes alive in the bracket can climb up the podium.

What that means ultimately means for Iowa’s final place on the team podium is anyone’s guess.

But I do know this, winning a lot more matches certainly won’t hurt the cause.

That’ll do it for me.

Thanks as always for reading, and I’ll catch you guys sometime after Sunday’s finals with a recap of Day 2 (sessions III and IV).

Day 1 results:

Drake Ayala (21-4) placed 6th and scored 9.0 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Drake Ayala (Iowa) 21-4 received a bye () (Bye)
  • Quarterfinal – Michael DeAugustino (Michigan) 11-4 won by decision over Drake Ayala (Iowa) 21-4 (Dec 4-2)
  • Cons. Round 2 – Drake Ayala (Iowa) 21-4 won by fall over Brendan McCrone (Ohio State) 18-10 (Fall 1:46)
  • Cons. Round 3 – Drake Ayala (Iowa) 21-4 won by decision over Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) 25-6 (Dec 8-1)

Brody Teske (13-4) placed 6th and scored 8.0 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Brody Teske (Iowa) 13-4 won by decision over Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) 23-9 (Dec 15-13)
  • Quarterfinal – Brody Teske (Iowa) 13-4 won by decision over Dustin Norris (Purdue) 10-16 (Dec 11-5)
  • Semifinal – Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 21-5 won by decision over Brody Teske (Iowa) 13-4 (Dec 12-6)

Real Woods (16-3) placed 6th and scored 9.5 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Real Woods (Iowa) 16-3 won by tech fall over Felix Lettini (Wisconsin) 3-18 (TF-1.5 6:16 (16-0))
  • Quarterfinal – Real Woods (Iowa) 16-3 won by decision over Danny Pucino (Illinois) 15-9 (Dec 13-9)
  • Semifinal – Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) 24-2 won by decision over Real Woods (Iowa) 16-3 (Dec 6-3)

Caleb Rathjen (15-4) placed 6th and scored 8.0 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) 15-4 won by decision over Jake Harrier (Illinois) 3-12 (Dec 12-6)
  • Quarterfinal – Ethen Miller (Maryland) 16-6 won by decision over Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) 15-4 (Dec 7-6)
  • Cons. Round 2 – Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) 15-4 won by decision over Braden Stauffenberg (Michigan State) 7-18 (Dec 8-2)
  • Cons. Round 3 – Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) 15-4 won by decision over Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) 20-8 (Dec 7-2)

Jared Franek (22-4) placed 6th and scored 8.0 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Jared Franek (Iowa) 22-4 won by decision over Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) 6-17 (Dec 5-3)
  • Quarterfinal – Jared Franek (Iowa) 22-4 won by decision over Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 19-6 (Dec 7-3)
  • Semifinal – Levi Haines (Penn State) 17-0 won by decision over Jared Franek (Iowa) 22-4 (Dec 5-0)

Mike Caliendo (20-4) placed 6th and scored 10.0 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Mike Caliendo (Iowa) 20-4 won by fall over AJ Rodrigues (Maryland) 11-15 (Fall 5:30)
  • Quarterfinal – Mike Caliendo (Iowa) 20-4 won in sudden victory – 1 over Cameron Amine (Michigan) 13-6 (SV-1 5-2)
  • Semifinal – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) 21-0 won by tech fall over Mike Caliendo (Iowa) 20-4 (TF-1.5 6:48 (23-7))

Patrick Kennedy (14-4) placed 6th and scored 10.5 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 14-4 won by tech fall over David Ferrante (Northwestern) 11-14 (TF-1.5 6:39 (19-4))
  • Quarterfinal – Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 14-4 won by major decision over Jackson Turley (Rutgers) 14-5 (MD 12-2)
  • Semifinal – Shane Griffith (Michigan) 14-2 won by decision over Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 14-4 (Dec 4-3)

Aiden Riggins (11-13) place is unknown and scored 0.5 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State) 17-7 won by fall over Aiden Riggins (Iowa) 11-13 (Fall 1:02)
  • Cons. Round 1 – Aiden Riggins (Iowa) 11-13 won by decision over James Rowley (Purdue) 10-18 (Dec 2-1)
  • Cons. Round 2 – Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) 13-8 won by decision over Aiden Riggins (Iowa) 11-13 (Dec 10-6)
  • 9th place bracket – Aiden Riggins (Iowa) 1-0 won my major decision over James Rowley (Purdue) 0-1 (MD 10-2)

Zach Glazier (24-1) placed 2nd and scored 16.0 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Zach Glazier (Iowa) 24-1 won by major decision over Josh Otto (Wisconsin) 1-14 (MD 14-3)
  • Quarterfinal – Zach Glazier (Iowa) 24-1 won by decision over Luke Geog (Ohio State) 15-7 (Dec 8-2)
  • Semifinal – Zach Glazier (Iowa) 24-1 won in sudden victory – 1 over Jaxon Smith (Maryland) 16-4 (SV-1 4-1)

Bradley Hill (19-6) placed 6th and scored 9.0 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Bradley Hill (Iowa) 19-6 won by decision over Nash Hutmacher (Nebraska) 7-4 (Dec 4-2)
  • Quarterfinal – Nick Feldman (Ohio State) 24-4 won by injury default over Bradley Hill (Iowa) 19-6 (Inj. 5:54)
  • Cons. Round 2 – Bradley Hill (Iowa) 19-6 won by major decision over Josh Terrill (Michigan State) 25-15 (MD 11-1)
  • Cons. Round 3 – Bradley Hill (Iowa) 19-6 won by decision over Nick Willham (Indiana) 11-10 (Dec 4-2)

You may also like