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Iowa men's wrestling readies for ranked showdown vs #7 Nebraska

by:Tanner Lafever•about 10 hours•

TannerLafever

Kyle Parco
At 149 pounds, #4 Kyle Parco welcomes the headline match of Friday's dual against #7 Nebraska. (Photo Credit: Hawkeyesports.com)

Another week comes with another major test for the #3 Iowa men’s wrestling team (10-1, 4-1 B1G).

Such is life in the Big Ten Conference.

There’s no rest for the weary (nor the sprightly). So, however the Hawkeyes are feeling following the highs and lows of last weekend’s East Coast road trip they’d better be ready to go again.

Up next, #7 Nebraska (9-2, 4-1 B1G) visits Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

On Friday night, the Hawkeyes will look to continue a recent run of dominance against their western neighbors. Iowa has won the last 15 meetings between the two programs and hasn’t lost to the Cornhuskers in Iowa City since 1937.

Keeping the streak going will be no easy task, however. Nebraska is 10-deep with ranked wrestlers in its lineup and could face an Iowa side just shy of full strength.

Much like the Ohio State dual two weeks ago, things could very much be in the margins if the Hawkeyes don’t come ready to perform.

They certainly rose to the occasion against the Buckeyes. Now it’ll be up to Tom Brands’ bunch to replicate that type of performance against another top-tier opponent donning a red road singlet.

Here’s what to watch for when Iowa and Nebraska square off this Friday evening.

All eyes on 149

Seven days ago, Kyle Parco entered a premier matchup at 149 pounds as the higher ranked wrestler despite having lost twice previously to his opponent – Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness.

Well, the rolls are reversed now. #4 Parco (14-1) is set to face #2 Ridge Lovett (14-1) – whom he defeated twice late last season.

Against Van Ness, Parco’s higher ranking did him no favors in a competitive-bout-turned-lopsided-loss. Iowa fans will be hoping that principle holds true when Parco/Lovett meet again on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Lovett – a 2022 NCAA finalist and 2024 Big Ten champion – will do everything he can to buck the ‘trend.’

In both of their previous bouts, Parco (then at Arizona State) scored the only takedown. And in both bouts Parco also chose neutral rather than bottom against Lovett – one of the best wrestlers in America from the top position.

Can Iowa still beat Nebraska without a victory at 149? Yes. In fact, on paper the Hawkeyes would still be favored to do so.

That said, if Parco comes up big in front of the home crowd against the ‘Huskers best wrestler the odds of Iowa winning its 16th-consecutive dual in this series would take a sizeable jump.

Do your job

One of several problems Iowa had last Friday in its blowout loss to #1 Penn State was allowing bonus points.

That didn’t prove to be dual altering against the Nittany Lions, but it very well could be against Nebraska.

With no Jacori Teemer listed on the probable lineup, the Hawkeyes will be definitive underdogs in a trio matches: 125, 141 and 157 pounds.

All three will be against highly ranked Cornhuskers: #8 Caleb Smith, #6 Brock Hardy and #4 Antrell Taylor.

Will the Hawkeyes limit the damage in each of them? That’d be asking a lot. But if #26 Joey Cruz (125), Cullan Schriever (141) and Miguel Estrada (157) can avoid hemorrhaging bonus points both as a collective and/or in any particular match it’d be a major boon for Iowa.

Win or lose, Iowa needs guys to perform admirably when called upon.

Last weekend’s results, while hardly 100 percent predictive, would seem to provide a mixture of hope/anxiety for Iowa fans:

  • Cruz lost 22-6 to #7 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State)
  • Shriever lost 7-3 to #3 Beau Bartlett (Penn State)
  • Estrada lost 4-2 to #6 Ethen Miller (Maryland)

I realize all these guys came to Iowa to win watches, not avoid giving up bonus points. But as it pertains to the team winning this specific dual against Nebraska, I’d argue the latter is Objective 1A.

And while #3 Drake Ayala doesn’t fit neatly into the theme of this (or any other) category – Iowa needs its star 133-pounder to keep his nose to the grindstone too.

Ayala will face the mercurial, but dangerous #15 Jacob Van Dee, in a match that could just as easily get out of hand in favor of the Hawkeye as it could become uncomfortably close for the home fans in attendance.

Finish strong

As has been the case in (almost) every dual this 2024-25 season, Iowa’s greatest strength is the back-half of its lineup.

From 165-285 pounds, Friday’s presumptive starters have combined for a competitive record of 61-6.

(This excludes Gabe Arnold’s medical forfeit ‘loss’ to Angelo Ferrari at the Soldier Salute – which doesn’t count against his NCAA resume anyway.)

And while Nebraska is far from a slouch at those weights itself, Iowa will be favored to win all five.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on 174/184.

Surprisingly, neither Lenny Pinto (ranked 14th at 174) nor Silas Allred (8th at 184) have ever earned All-American status. Both, however, are dangerous opponents for Patrick Kennedy and the aforementioned Arnold.

PK needs to finish quickly against the scrambly, athletic Pinto. And Arnold would be well served to find some more offense of his own after wrestling back-to-back matches without a takedown during regulation.

His opponent – the apply named Silas ‘Allred’ – has proven to be a guy who can find his offense in big matches, including the 2023 Big Ten Championship bout he won at 197 pounds.

Elsewhere among the final five Hawkeyes – assuming, per tradition, this dual starts at 125 – Iowa could have a few bonus-point opportunities.

Can #11 Ben Kueter run it up at heavyweight versus #21 Harley Andrews? It’s possible, though I wouldn’t predict it.

#2 Michael Caliendo has an intriguing matchup with #8 Christopher Minto – a redshirt freshman who stepped in mid-season for Nebraska. But when Caliendo’s wrestling anybody not named ‘Mitchell Mesenbrink’ I feel like he can rack up plenty of points.

Meanwhile, one would expect #1 Stephen Buchanan to earn bonus points of some sort at 197. He’s been that good all year, so #20 Camden McDanel will have his work cut out for him.

How to watch

Iowa’s lone dual of the weekend will be available for your viewing pleasure in primetime on the Big Ten Network.

7:00 p.m. (CT) Friday is the start time for this three-versus-seven showdown at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Zach Mackey (play-by-play) and Tim Johnson (color) will have the call for BTN.

Meanwhile, the ever-reliable duo of Steven Grace/Mark Ironside will handle things for the Hawkeye Radio Network at AM 800 KXIC or the YouTube link below:

I’ll also have my usual live coverage of the dual on social media.

Short time

That’s all I’ve got for you guys this week.

The top-ranked Iowa women are off as part of their two-week break before Regionals on February 22nd.

So, it’ll be all eyes on the Hawkeye men this Friday and then you’re free to spend the rest of your weekend however you so choose.

In some ways I’ll miss the constant stream of multiple events to keep me occupied. But in truth, it’s probably good to mix in this lighter weekend before we really ramp things up with the impending postseason run.

(It’ll be here before you know it.)

Thanks as always to you guys for reading. And don’t forget to check back in for my Iowa/Nebraska dual recap.

‘Till then.

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