Iowa Wrestling Weekend Preview: Cy-Hawk awaits

What an awesome weekend lies ahead for fans of all things Iowa wrestling.

Week four of the 2024-25 season offers the perfect combination of events on the mat:

1. A prestigious open tournament stocked with talented teams/individuals from around the country.
2. An in-state rivalry as contentious as you’ll find, staged at the greatest home venue the sport has to offer.

The top-ranked Hawkeye women are sending a large, talented group of athletes down to Marshall, Missouri for a major early-season test. For years, the Missouri Valley Open has been one of the best tournaments in all of women’s college wrestling. That doesn’t appear set to change with its latest edition.

A total of 23 ranked NCAA and NAIA programs will descend upon the Show Me State. That group includes:

• Five of the top eight teams from the latest NCAA Women’s Coaches Poll
• Six of the top eight teams from the most recent NAIA Coaches’ Top 20

As many as half of the 20 top-ranked individuals from across the two divisions could be present this weekend. And that’s not even mentioning the elite high school and senior-level entries which often make an appearance as well.

Conversely, the #2 Iowa men (3-0) will be focused on one team/opponent only.

It’s been since 2004 that the Cy-Hawk dual wasn’t won by the Hawkeyes – a streak they’ll be looking to extend to 20-consecutive victories against #12 Iowa State (1-1) on Saturday night.

A win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena would give Iowa 35 of the last 36, and 59 of the last 63 meetings in the series.

Intrigue permeates across all ten weight classes as the Hawkeyes look to extend their run of dominance over their in-state rival.

This is your latest ‘Iowa Wrestling Weekend Preview’ – and boy is it a good one.

#1 Iowa women @ Missouri Valley Open (Friday, Nov. 22^nd – 12:00 p.m. CT start // Saturday, Nov. 23^rd – 9:00 a.m. CT start)

I mentioned the prestige of the Missouri Valley Open in my introduction, as well as the elite talent it attracts from all corners of women’s college wrestling. But besides that, it’s also just a massive tournament.

A year ago, 461 wrestlers weighed in at the Burns Athletic Center – site of this weekend’s action. That number is expected to exceed 700(!) this year per Missouri Valley head coach Kevin Corbett.

45 different colleges are currently registered for the event, the majority of those coming from the NCAA/NAIA ranks.

It’ll likely take wrestlers at least six-consecutive wins to top the podium at their respective weight classes. That’s one more victory than is necessary to win a national title in March.

Like I said, this tournament is massive.

The Hawkeyes will be sending an appropriately large contingent – 18 wrestlers in total.

MVO 🔜 #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/Xq4peUVo84

— Iowa Women's Wrestling (@IowaW_Wrestling) November 21, 2024

A lot of the names will be familiar to Iowa wrestling fans from this season. Among them is a quartet of top-ranked individuals: Rianne Murphy (103), Ava Bayless (110), Brianna Gonzalez (117) and Jaycee Foeller (207).

Two debutants of note, however, are freshman Karlee Brooks (131) and sophomore Alivia White (207).

Brooks was arguably the top high school prospect in Iowa’s star-studded 2024 class. The Hawaii native won just about everything at the prep level and finished 5^th at the 2023 U17 World Championships.

*While Brooks will compete at 131 pounds this weekend, expect her to slide down to 124 as the season progresses – where I believe she can contend with just about anyone in the country.

Conversely, White returns for her second year as a Hawk. In 2023-24 she rose as high as #5 in the national rankings during an impressive 19-5 freshman campaign.

They’ll throw their proverbial ‘hats in the ring’ for the first time on Friday, each against formidable brackets.

#2 Iowa men vs. #12 Iowa State (Saturday, Nov. 23^rd – 6:00 p.m. CT start)

Tom Brands (18-0) has never lost against Iowa State as head coach of the men’s Iowa wrestling program.

You can bet he’s not intending to break the streak this year, either.

Intentions aside, however, the 12^th-ranked visitors aren’t about to make it easy. As many as seven different ranked Cyclone wrestlers could take the mat on Saturday night (per Intermat). That figure also doesn’t include two others who are currently ranked by other services.

Here are the probable lineups for the dual as currently constituted:

I think the simplest way to break down this matchup is into three separate categories – Hawkeye favorites, underdogs, and toss-up matches.

I’d give Iowa a definitive edge at each of 157, 165, 174, 184 and 197 pounds entering the dual.

I’d extend the same to the Cyclones at just one weight class – 285 pounds (heavyweight).

And that leaves four bouts this weekend which I feel can be considered relative toss-ups. They also happen to be (presumably) the first four bouts of the dual – 125, 133, 141 and 149 pounds.

Simple math says that by taking care of business in those five ‘favored’ matchups Iowa would be right on the doorstep of it’s 20^th-straight victory over ISU. And I’d like the Hawkeyes’ chances even more given that 165 and 174 might be the most likely bouts of the dual to result in bonus points.

But let’s look a little deeper at each of the three categories I’ve assigned.

Because while the outcome of this dual could certainly hang in the balance given several breaks in ISU’s favor, I also think one can reasonably argue for each of the 10 wrestlers in Iowa’s lineup getting their hand raised on Saturday.

The Favorites

Top-ranked Jacori Teemer (157) won’t have a cakewalk against #10 Paniro Johnson.

Johnson – a redshirt sophomore who missed last season due to the whole sports gambling fiasco – has beaten top-tier competition before. The 2023 NCAA qualifier also won in his last visit to Carver, a 3-1 victory over Max Murin.

Regardless, Teemer has looked excellent since arriving in Iowa City via Arizona State. I expect him to prevail in this top-10 matchup.

At 165, #2 Michael Caliendo might be the biggest favorite of the dual. ISU’s #9 MJ Gaitan has a propensity to look for big moves, but if Caliendo can avoid that it wouldn’t shock me to see the junior push for bonus points.

I noted 174 pounds as another potential bonus point opportunity for the Hawkeyes. That may surprise some given #10 Nelson Brands’ lack of offense this season before last week’s 20-point outburst at Bellarmine. However, I think his opponent – former Hawkeye Aiden Riggins – could play right into his hands.

Riggens, who admirably filled in for Iowa at 184 a year ago, is a volume shooter but can struggle finishing. If Brands can score a go-behind or two off that aggression, this bout could approach bonus territory.

#7 Gabe Arnold projects to keep Iowa rolling in the middle/upper weights. The redshirt freshman faces three-time NCAA qualifier #15 Evan Bockman (a Utah Valley transfer). A year ago, Arnold gave the Hawkeyes a huge boost in the team’s 18-14 road victory in Ames – bumping up to 184 to defeat a returning All-American.

My last Iowa ‘favorite’ is #2 Stephen Buchanan, who will be tested by talented ISU freshman #20 Christian Carroll.

For a time, Carroll – an Oklahoma State transfer – was the top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2023 (above the likes of Ben Kueter/Gabe Arnold).

The Toss-ups

The tenor of this dual figures to be set via a quartet of too-close-to-call matchups.

If Iowa merely splits the four bouts, Hawk fans should feel ecstatic about the odds of another rivalry win.

125 pounds is full of unknowns for both teams. #27 Kale Petersen figures to get the nod for Iowa after winning his first ‘official’ match of the season last Friday (26-6). Meanwhile, Iowa State lists a trio of options for its starting spot.

Most notable among them is a three-time NCAA qualifier. Senior Kysen Terukina (35-26) has spent portions of his career ranked inside the top 10. However, inconsistencies have also led to losses against opponents across the spectrum.

I view this as a winnable match for Petersen, especially in what would be the season debut for Terukina.

Next up is arguably the match of the dual, as we’ll see returning (125-pound) NCAA finalist Drake Ayala take on returning All-American (sixth) Evan Frost.

#9 Ayala hasn’t appeared at his sharpest through three weeks. However, that was also the case in 2023 before he knocked off a top-eight ranked opponent in the Cy-Hawk dual.

He can do the same this go-around against #5 Frost, but he’ll need to be at/near his best to pull it off.

141 is another unknown, as 31^st-ranked Ryder Block could see either Jacob Frost or Zach Redding.

Block and (Jacob) Frost met in the 2022 Iowa high school state finals – a 2-0 win for Block. And Redding – a Round of 12 finisher at NCAAs in 2023 – is winless so far this season (0-2).

Finally, another top-10 matchup awaits at 149 pounds where #4 Kyle Parco gets #7 Anthony Echemendia in a battle of returning fifth-place NCAA finishers.

If Iowa wins several of these toss-ups, the Cy-Hawk could quickly become a blowout.

The Underdog

On paper, the biggest Iowa State favorite on Saturday probably comes at heavyweight.

There, Hawkeye freshman Ben Kueter will have his hands full with #4 Yonger Bastida.

Bastida entered last year’s national tournament on a tear, seeded second and with an undefeated record (26-0) in tow. But a pair of narrow losses would leave him just short of the second All-American finish of his career.

A minor knee sprain has kept him out of action to date this season. However, ISU head coach Kevin Dresser said midweek that Bastida appears good to go for Saturday.

The dynamic Cuban (a 197-pounder until 2023) presents a major test for Iowa’s 13^th-ranked heavyweight.

Kueter likely won’t be phased after competing for an Under-20 World title back in September against one of the best heavyweights in the world. In addition, a primetime Carver-Hawkeye Arena stage won’t be unfamiliar to him either. Last February, Kueter took his first (and only) collegiate loss to #1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) in front of a sold-out home crowd.

Having now dedicated himself solely to wrestling for the past 5-6 months, I’m fascinated to see how Kueter stacks up in his next matchup against an elite college heavyweight. A win Saturday could signal that he’s right there with anyone at the weight (not named Gable Steveson).

That’s how impressive Bastida was at his best last season.

How to watch

The entirety of this weekend’s Iowa wrestling viewing experience comes via streaming.

Up first, the Hawkeye women will contest both days of action at the Missouri Valley Open live on FloWrestling (subscription required).

Competition begins at noon (CT) on Friday and will continue well into the evening. The championship side of the bracket will run through the quarterfinals, in addition to several rounds of consolations.

The tournament resumes at 9:00 a.m. (CT) on Saturday morning, progressing all the way through the finals – set for 1:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Cy-Hawk dual is set to bow at 6:00 p.m. (CT) Saturday night on B1G+ (subscription required). Per usual, the Hawkeye Radio Network will also carry a call of the action (YouTube link below):

Of note, B1G+ has introduced a one-time Pay-Per-View option ($9.99) for the dual. This serves as an alternative for those who A) don’t already have B1G+ and B) would prefer a one-time payment option as opposed to signing up for a monthly/yearly subscription.

Of course, you can always just join me, and 15 thousand others live in Carver – if that’s your thing.

(I’m anticipating quite the ‘spirited’ environment on Saturday night.)

Short time

I sure hope all (or at least most) of you guys enjoyed this ‘ample’ Iowa wrestling weekend preview.

This should be an incredible few days of action for the two Hawkeye programs, and I wasn’t about to shortchange it with anything less than 2000 words of preview content.

(OK, if I was a better, more succinct writer I probably could’ve kept it to 1500 or so.)

And what better way to lead into Thanksgiving week than with a glorious ‘smorgasbord’ of Iowa wrestling?

Come and get it while it’s hot. Come back again later for seconds. And save some room for ‘dessert’ – as the Cy-Hawk dual brings everything home on Saturday night.

Thanks as always for reading. I’ll be back throughout the weekend with recaps for both the men and women.

‘Till then, enjoy the heck out of the wrestling and I’ll talk to you guys real soon.