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Teemer's return + team effort help Iowa wrestling defeat #4 Ohio St.

by:Tanner Lafever•01/25/25•

TannerLafever

Jacori Teemer
Top-ranked Jacori Teemer put on a show in his long-awaited return at 157 pounds. (Photo Credit: Dennis Scheidt - @webcentrick on Twitter)

It’s already an event when an Iowa wrestling team takes the mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Add an undefeated record and an undefeated opponent to the ledger and things ramp up another notch.

Now throw in some last-minute lineup absences/additions and it’s nearly enough to make a Hawkeye fan burst with anticipation/anxiety.

Saturday afternoon’s dual between #2 Iowa and #4 Ohio State had all those elements. And by dual’s end – a 24-13 victory for the Hawkeyes – boy had it delivered.

The home team won 7/10 matchups in front of more than 13 thousand raucous fans, overcoming an early seven-point deficit to crush the Buckeyes’ hopes of their first win in Iowa City since 1929.

Here’s how it all went down on an absolutely spectacular afternoon of college wrestling.

Ayala = out, Teemer = in

I spent plenty of this weekend’s preview article highlighting the significance of one Hawkeye’s (potential) return on Saturday.

What I didn’t foresee was that Iowa would be without different star instead.

#3 Drake Ayala was a late scratch against OSU, having not weighed in at 133 pounds after being the lone Iowa wrestler listed on the midweek probables.

Based on some information I received today; I don’t believe the cause to be of serious long-term concern.

However:

  1. That has yet to be confirmed by Ayala/Iowa.
  2. Either way, that wasn’t going to help the Hawkeyes in today’s dual.

In his place, true freshman 125-pounder Keyan Hernandez (4-3) was forced to bump up and face the music.

That wouldn’t go so well, as the Montana native fell via 19-4 tech. fall to stud OSU freshman Ben Davino – himself ‘filling in’ for a top-10 ranked starter at 133.

Suddenly, a pre-dual expectation of three teams points for Iowa had flipped to five for the Buckeyes.

Good thing that not long afterwards the Hawkeyes would re-integrate some previously absent firepower.

At 157, top-ranked Jacori Teemer was back in a big, bad way – and just as Iowa needed him most.

Nine weeks after suffering a leg injury against Iowa State, Teemer looked every bit his explosive, showman self on Saturday. It may be an unorthodox stop-and-go style for many Iowa wrestling fans to watch, but it sure is effective.

The graduate transfer was dinged for stalling three times against two-time NCAA finalist #17 Sammy Sasso, all while scoring the lone three takedowns of a 10-5 match (each in scintillating style).

Perhaps as important, the victory pulled Iowa within one point of the Buckeyes (10-9) entering the break.

Not long before that, things weren’t nearly so nip and tuck.

More wild swings pre-intermission

Even before Ayala would’ve been scheduled to take the mat, things had already taken a turn at Carver.

At 125 pounds, #28 Joey Cruz notched the biggest win of his college career, defeating #16 Brendan McCrone, 6-5.

A matchup that some had viewed pre-dual as a bonus-point possibility for McCrone would prove to be quite the opposite. Cruz lived on the Buckeye’s legs during the opening two periods. And on a pair of occasions, he was able to convert for takedowns.

That success gave him a 6-2 lead entering the third period, and the latitude to be extremely defensive once McCrone chose the top position – where’s he’s proven to be quite dangerous.

It wasn’t pretty, but Cruz never got too close to being turned. Instead, he’d happily concede a pair of stall points plus riding time to get the 6-5 upset win.

That result proved even more important after OSU earned bonus points at 133, and again at 141.

There, reigning NCAA champ #1 Jesse Mendez had his way with Iowa redshirt freshman #31 Ryder Block, 19-2.

Those back-to-back tech. fall wins pushed OSU in front 10-3 and surely had the Carver crowd a bit antsy. Thankfully, some wins (and team points) were on the way.

Just before Teemer’s triumphant return, his old Arizona State teammate scored a key victory of his own at 149 pounds.

As the famous Dan Gable mantra goes: “I shoot, I score. You shoot, I score.”

Well, the second half of that sure was true for #2 Kyle Parco against #9 Dylan D’Emilio on Saturday.

Parco’s two takedowns both came after countering D’Emilio shots. After adding a couple points for an escape and riding time, it was more than enough to get the 8-3 win.

Riding the wave

Coming out of intermission, Iowa had to be feeling OK all things considered.

Allowing four bonus points between 133/141 wasn’t great, but given Ayala’s absence, it was probably expected. Cruz’s upset, plus wins by Parco/Teemer meant the Hawkeyes trailed by just one entering the heart of their lineup.

Tom Brands surely felt even better after #2 Michael Caliendo went to work at 165.

The electric junior racked up three takedowns – two in the first period, another in the third – in an 11-3 major decision. That was no small feat either, coming against #9 Paddy Gallagher.

Michael Caliendo darts in against Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher. (Photo Credit: Dennis Scheidt – @webcentrick on Twitter)

Caliendo’s win gave Iowa its first lead of the dual (13-10) since 125 pounds – nearly an hour of real time.

The three-bout ‘wave’ of momentum would halt there, however.

Iowa’s first loss in a while and Patrick Kennedy’s first loss of this season would both occur at 174.

The fifth-ranked Kennedy could never really solve #6 Carson Kharchla. The Buckeye converted takedowns in the first and second periods, while PK largely struggled to near a score of his own.

A 7-3 final scoreline would tie up the dual with just three bouts remaining.

Next up was a more-nervy-than-necessary, albeit much-needed win for Iowa at 184 pounds.

#5 Gabe Arnold entered as a sizable favorite on paper over #19 Ryder Rogotzke. That said, Rogotzke is as dangerous as they come, registering pins in 80 percent of his 20 victories a season ago.

Perhaps that was in Arnold’s mind as he couldn’t quite convert several excellent shot attempts. Whatever the reason, they’d go to sudden victory knotted up at one-apiece.

At long last, the Carver crowd could exhale as Gabe thwarted a Rogotzke trip attempt and landed in the match-winning double-leg score.

Simply put, it was a huge result for the Hawks – especially given the dude on deck.

Buchanan slams the door, Kueter has a Carver moment

Now leading OSU 16-13, a decision win by #1 Stephen Buchanan at 197 pounds would effectively seal the dual for the Hawkeyes.

Instead, Buchanan would leave no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

As the Oklahoma transfer has done all year long, he unleashed his offense upon an opponent incapable of stopping it. This time the recipient was #17 Seth Shumate.

Buchanan registered four takedowns, plus five near fall points on a pair of tilts to earn the dominant 18-1 victory.

The dual now officially in hand, all that remained was opportunity for Hawkeye heavyweight, Ben Kueter.

Needless to say, he seized it.

The Iowa City native looked as good as he has during a somewhat frustrating redshirt freshman season. His (and Iowa wrestling fans’) reward was a career-best win over #6 Nick Feldman.

Against the returning All-American (fifth place) Kueter was more active and engaged than we’ve seen recently. And while it may not have shown itself in his own offense, it was key to keeping the Buckeye at bay.

In the second period, Kueter scored the bout’s only takedown thanks to a very un-heavyweight-like counter off a Feldman shot.

The two athletic big men (both weighed in around 237-238 pounds according to the Iowa radio broadcast) then traded reversal/escape, leaving the Hawkeye ahead 5-2 entering the third period.

From there, Kueter kept both his own composure and his opponent from the (potential) winning score. As the final horn sounded Iowa fans roared with approval for their hometown hero.

The bloodied heavyweight responded in kind:

Kueter lets out a roar of his own to match the Carver faithful after defeating #6 Nick Feldman, 5-4. (Photo Credit: Dennis Scheidt – @webcentrick on Twitter)

Short time

So, there you have it.

What a wild afternoon of Iowa wrestling at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t always pretty. But the #2 Hawkeyes (9-0, 3-0 B1G) rose to the occasion in several critical moments, and in the face of adversity.

They’ll need to apply those lessons (at least) twofold next week as #1 Penn State awaits.

But we’ll have plenty of time to discuss that monumental challenge in the coming days. For tonight, Hawk fans can relish knocking #4 Ohio State from the ranks of the unbeatens.

Saturday was an awesome scene and an awesome dual in the heart of ‘Wrestletown USA.’

Not that anyone asked, but I’m sure glad I got the opportunity to cover it.

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