Iowa Wrestling Recap - #2 Hawkeyes breeze past Bellarmine, 49-0
OK, so it wasn’t exactly the boldest of predictions that Iowa wrestling fans were in for a blowout on Friday night.
Sure enough, that’s exactly what they got.
The second-ranked Hawkeye men ‘lapped the field’ down in horse-racing country – routing hosts Bellarmine (KY) by a final score of 49-0.
It might not have been that ‘close’ either.
Iowa (3-0) finished its evening in Louisville with nine bonus-point victories out of a possible 10. The tally included six technical falls, two pins, one major decision and one (comfortable) 5-3 win.
In three of those six tech. falls Hawkeyes had chances to pin their Bellarmine opponents but couldn’t quite capitalize.
Bellarmine (0-1) didn’t register a single takedown. In fact, arguably two of its most threatening shots of the night both quickly resulted in pins by Iowa wrestlers.
This matchup was never supposed to be in doubt for the Hawkeyes, and it never was. Mission accomplished.
Now, all attention can turn toward next Saturday’s rivalry showdown against Iowa State.
(I think my ears might already be ringing from what’s sure to be a raucous Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd.)
But first, a quick summation of Friday’s blowout in front of a lively, intimate Bellarmine home crowd.
The Good
All three Iowa wrestlers who took losses against Stanford six days ago rebounded with convincing wins tonight.
At 141 and 174 pounds both Ryder Block (19-4) and Nelson Brands (20-5) earned their first bonus-point victories of the season. Overmatched opponents aside – i.e. every Bellarmine wrestler in this dual – it was good to see the pair light up the scoreboard.
Brands in particular, probably needed to get a win like this. He’d yet to score a takedown in either of his first two matches this season. Not only that, but Patrick Kennedy presumably looms as a very real challenger for the spot at 174.
This by no means puts that to bed. It’s a nice (small) step for Brands, though.
Drake Ayala (133) also got back in the win column with a 15-5 major decision over Trayce Eckman. Even so, I’m not sure how thrilled he’ll be to miss out on a tech. fall (or worse).
The junior had a couple of prolonged finishes plus a stalemated scramble that ate up 30-40 seconds of clock. Both of those proved to be an issue in Ayala’s loss last week.
We’re nitpicking, of course – which goes without saying in a major decision victory. But Drake likely has a top-five opponent on deck from Iowa State, so I’m sure he’ll be plenty critical of this 10-point win as well.
The Best
Pins are good in wrestling.
This much I’ve learned while observing the sport.
So, when a Hawkeye wrestler accomplishes that task, it’ll likely earn them a spot here.
Enter Jacori Teemer and Ben Kueter. Both won their matches tonight in the blink of an eye. Both did so by flipping precarious situations for themselves into fatal outcomes for their opponents (in a wrestling sense, of course).
At 157 pounds, top-ranked Teemer defended an early single leg shot from Gray Ortis and then immediately went on offense himself. The Arizona State transfer wound up in a classic Iowa ‘cowcatcher’ position, whipping Ortis to his back for the 0:24 fall.
It seemed like #12 Kueter was trying to one-up his teammate in the final bout of the dual.
A deep shot by Daulton Mayer (and his long, flowing locks) suddenly turned against the Knights’ heavyweight when Kueter locked up a cradle.
From there, it was all but a foregone conclusion. The Hawkeye stuck Mayer in an official 0:32 – just eight shy of Teemer’s mark.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Jake Paul tops Mike Tyson
Netflix fight ends in Paul victory
- 2New
Nico Iamaleava update
UT QB status revealed vs. Georgia
- 3
Nick Saban
Coach regrets leaving LSU
- 4
Gruden talks Tennessee
Ex-NFL coach addresses past rumors
- 5
DJ Lagway
Florida QB to return vs. LSU
And a final submission to ‘The Best’ category comes courtesy of Kale Petersen.
Iowa’s 125-pounder made his long-awaited return to the mat following a January ACL injury. Sporting a Marinelli-esque knee brace, Petersen scored early and often en route to a 26-6 win.
The redshirt freshman is in a battle for the starting spot with redshirt sophomore Joey Cruz. Friday’s win certainly won’t hurt his standing in that competition. That said, it probably did far greater wonders for his confidence as he regains his form post-injury.
Way to go, Kale.
The Rest
The fact that three tech. fall victories have somehow made their way into ‘The Rest’ category should tell you just how lopsided this dual was.
Kyle Parco (149), Michael Caliendo (165) and Stephen Buchanan (197) outscored their Bellarmine foes by a combined margin of 58-11.
Of the trio, Buchanan might be most annoyed given that he had two bites at a cradle during his match. Alas, you’re probably living pretty good when a 16-1 tech. fall is considered ‘settling.’
Speaking of annoyed, Gabe Arnold is likely a bit perturbed with his own outcome. Arnold saw his two-match streak of bonus points end with a 5-3 decision over Devan Hendricks.
Regardless of Hendricks spending the better part of seven minutes keeping his distance, Iowa’s 184-pounder could’ve been sharper as well. The one time Arnold got in deep on a shot he was able to convert for the takedown. Otherwise, he mostly stalked Hendricks around the mat.
Again, we’re nitpicking here. Hendricks’ only points came via a pair of escapes and a penalty for hands to the face called on Arnold. His body language suggested he was thrilled just to keep things ‘close,’ even in an impending defeat.
Even so, Arnold will want to dictate things to any opponent in any match, regardless of their intentions.
Luckily for the redshirt freshman, he could see Hendricks again in late-December at the Soldier Salute. Here’s guessing that potential rematch will see a bit wider of the gap on the final scoreboard.
Short time
That’s all I’ve got for tonight’s dual.
In truth, I probably went longer than necessary given the never-in-doubt nature of this matchup.
As I mentioned earlier, all eyes can now turn squarely toward next weekend’s Cy-Hawk dual in Iowa City.
Bellarmine put together a pretty cool environment tonight – complete with smoke and pyrotechnics. One would surmise that Carver-Hawkeye Arena just might ‘up the ante’ a bit come next Saturday at 6:00 p.m. (CT).
Thanks as always for following along. And don’t forget to check back in this weekend for a recap of the Iowa women’s home opener.
I’ll catch you guys real soon.
