Iowa Wrestling Weekend Preview: Let's Make a Dual
Week 3 of the NCAA season serves up a (somewhat) less hectic schedule for Iowa wrestling fans to follow along with.
Both the men’s and women’s programs will be in action once again. However, it’ll be a duals-only weekend for the Black & Gold grapplers – spanning Friday evening into Saturday afternoon.
Up first, Tom Brands’ #2 Hawkeyes (2-0) will make the unconventional road trip to Bellarmine University (KY).
The Knights (0-0), in just their fifth season as a Division I program, have yet to qualify a wrestler for the national tournament. However, the program (a member of the Southern Conference) has made obvious strides since hiring now fourth-year head coach Ned Shuck back in 2021.
Shuck has led Bellarmine to a 26-9 dual record (8-8 in conference) over the past two seasons. That followed a two-year stretch – including Shuck’s first season in charge – where the Knights went a paltry 3-24 (2-14 in conference).
And it’s because of Shuck – a Hawkeye alum (2000-05) – that Iowa is making the trek to Louisville for this matchup.
The following day, the second-ranked Iowa women (2-0) will host their home opener at Carver-Hawkeye Arena – welcoming NCAA programs Cornell College (IA) and #21 William Jewell (MO).
Division III Cornell (0-1) – in its third season of competition – will make the half-hour drive from Mount Vernon to Iowa City. Division II William Jewell (1-1) will trek slightly further – about 290 miles – from its campus in Liberty, Missouri.
Saturday marks the second edition of the ‘Trailblazer Duals.’ A year ago, Iowa broke a world record for attendance at a college women’s wrestling event when it drew 8,207 fans to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the program’s first-ever competition held at home.
And now, on to the preview!
#2 Iowa men @ Bellarmine (Friday, Nov. 15th – 6:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+)
We don’t need to beat around the bush here.
The most interesting part of this matchup between the Hawkeyes and the Knights has nothing to do with the hosts from Louisville. Bellarmine doesn’t have a single ranked wrestler in its lineup. Iowa could have as many as ten (per Intermat).
Instead, I’ll specifically be watching two separate components for the Hawkeyes:
One, does Kale Petersen make his ‘official’ debut at 125 pounds, and how does he look?
The redshirt freshman stepped onto the mat last weekend only to receive a forfeit against Stanford. And with 125 being one of the few spots in the Iowa lineup with questions as to both its keeper and competitive ceiling, it’d be nice to see if Petersen can begin to lay claim to it on Friday night.
The level of competition – no matter how badly Iowa rips through it – won’t allay all concerns about 125. But hey, you’ve got to start somewhere.
And two, is a new contender about to enter the race at 174?
Another notable aspect of this week’s probable lineup is the addition of Patrick Kennedy.
A multi-year starter for the Hawkeyes, ‘PK’ appears set to make his season debut following his return from the Under-23 World Championships in Albania. He’s also listed at a weight class toward which curiosity has persisted since this time a year ago.
The early returns from 2023 All-American #10 Nelson Brands have been underwhelming thus far. Brands has yet to register a takedown in two matches this season, including last weekend’s 4-1 loss to now ninth-ranked Lorenzo Norman.
Kennedy – along with Kale Petersen – spoke with the media midweek, which suggests he’ll get the nod against Bellarmine.
That doesn’t so much matter for this dual’s outcome, but it could for next week’s Cy-Hawk showdown.
#2 Iowa women vs. Cornell College AND #21 William Jewell (Saturday, Nov. 16th – 1:30 p.m. CT start on B1G+)
Much like the men’s dual, it’d be a shock to see the Hawkeye women challenged in a serious manner this weekend – apart from a few potential matchups.
Iowa will be a massive favorite in most of the 20 scheduled bouts, especially in its first dual against Cornell College.
#21 William Jewell does have two wrestlers ranked in the NWCA Preseason Coaches Poll – #10 Emily Mendez (110) and #5 Alex Waitsman (124) – plus a few others who could test the Hawkeyes.
At 160 pounds, Athena Willden was the third seed (at 143) entering last year’s national tournament. Meanwhile, Erica Pastoriza (103) is a two-time U17 World finalist (gold in 2021, silver in 2022).
If Pastoriza takes the mat for the Cardinals, she will likely face either of Iowa’s fellow past U17 World team members, #2 Sterling Dias or Rianne Murphy. Sign me up for that, please.
Also worth watching for: will several Hawkeyes make their season and/or home debut(s)?
Recent Senior (and U23) World medalists Kylie Welker and Macey Kilty have yet to don the Black & Gold singlet through two weeks. Could Iowa fans be treated to their World-class talents on Saturday?
The same goes for Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades. The first-year Hawkeye ran through the Luther Hill Open 12 days ago before taking this past weekend off. If Blades takes the mat Saturday, fans in attendance will get to say they watched a current Olympic medalist compete for the Hawkeyes.
That’s pretty cool.
A final name to watch for is true freshman Karlee Brooks. The top high school recruit in Iowa’s incredible 2024 Class has seen her debut delayed due to illness, but could return to action on Saturday as she vies for the starting spot at 124 pounds.
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How to watch
Friday night’s men’s dual will be streamed live on ESPN+ starting at 6:00 p.m. CT.
As usual, Iowa wrestling fans can also listen to the action via the Hawkeye Radio Network (YouTube link below):
Saturday’s women’s duals will be streamed on B1G+. I realize that’s viewed as a bit of an inconvenience by some Iowa fans, however, B1G+ will be the place to watch no fewer than eight different Iowa wrestling events (men’s and women’s) this season.
Among those events are next Saturday’s rivalry dual against Iowa State, the Soldier Salute in late-December (29-30) where both the men and women will be competing, and portions of the Big Ten Championships in March.
So, while you may not like it, it’s probably worth getting the best deal possible right now if you’re planning to follow both Iowa wrestling teams this season.
The Cornell/William Jewell duals this Saturday will also be available on the Hawkeye Radio Network – making it (I believe) just the second-ever broadcast solely for the women’s program:
Iowa wrestling radio stalwart Steven Grace is set to pull double duty this weekend and call play-by-play for both duals this Friday/Saturday.
A final nugget on the B1G+ broadcast; Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club (IWWC) coach Jan Rosenberg will be doing color commentary. Rosenberg – a 2016 DIII All-American at Coe College – figures to have some rare insight into many of the Hawkeye women given that he regularly helps to coach them with the club program.
*The IWWC is the women’s version of the ‘Hawkeye Wrestling Club’ (HWC), the long-standing post-graduate home/training ground for many of Iowa’s greatest men’s wrestlers and World/Olympic medalists.
Short time
Like I said, Week 3 may not be the most glamorous in terms of competition for the Hawkeyes.
But we’re not even a month into the season, so none of us have any real reason to gripe. For whatever this weekend may lack, fret not, because we’re in for an absolute bonanza in the days to follow.
(Much more to come on that next week.)
Perhaps as important as anything that happens will be the fan turnout at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday. I noted earlier that last year’s home opener set a world record for college women’s wrestling.
Whatever the final numbers are for this Saturday, it’d just be great to see another big, energetic turnout for what is pound-for-pound the most dominant of Iowa’s athletic programs at present.
For those who’ve yet to see the Hawkeye women compete in-person, I can’t recommend the experience enough.
The wrestling is great. The environments at both of last season’s home dates were great. And at the center of it all is a team (and coaching staff) full of individuals whom I’d imagine Iowa fans would be thrilled to have representing the Hawkeyes if they got to know them.
I’ll be in the house on Saturday to cover my first live wrestling event of the season. I’m excited to get down to Iowa City and hope to see plenty of you guys there.
Thanks as always for reading. Check back in late-Friday and Saturday for recaps on both the men and women, and until then, enjoy the heck out of the wrestling.
