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With five quarterfinalists, Iowa in fourth place after Day 1 at NCAAs

by:Tanner Lafever•03/21/25•

TannerLafever

Stephen Buchanan
Stephen Buchanan is one of five Iowa quarterfinalists after his dominant Day 1 at 197 pounds. (Photo Credit: Iowa Wrestling Twitter)

At times trying, at others, triumphant, a long Day 1 at the 2025 NCAA Championships ended with the Iowa men’s wrestling program in fourth place out of 66 qualified schools.

Nine Hawkeye wrestlers began Thursday with championship dreams. Of those dreams, five live on.

Drake Ayala (133), Michael Caliendo (165), Patrick Kennedy (174), Stephen Buchanan (197) and Ben Kueter (285) each punched their ticket to Friday’s quarterfinal round thanks to a pair of Day 1 victories.

Two other Hawkeyes – Kyle Parco and Gabe Arnold – lost their second bout of the day, leaving the consolations ahead of them.

And another pair – Joey Cruz and Jacori Teemer – saw their tournament come to a heartbreaking end.

Here’s the Iowa story from Thursday in Philadelphia – as it happened and in all its tones and colors.

Session I Summary

At least in terms of pre-tournament seeds, there was very little surprise for the Hawkeyes during Thursday morning’s opening session.

All seven of Iowa’s higher seeded athletes won, and both lower seeded athletes lost.

Of course, wrestling fans know things are never that clear-cut – especially amidst the craziness that is the NCAA Championships.

By the time the dust had settled on some 3.5 hours of wrestling, the Hawkeyes sat in a tie for sixth place in the team standings:

As for exactly how Iowa arrived at that point, let’s look at how things shook out for the nine wrestlers who took the mat to open Day 1 in Philadelphia.

Session I – The Good

Starting with the good, #2 Drake Ayala (133), #3 Michael Caliendo (165) and #2 Stephen Buchanan (197) all won their Round 1 bouts via bonus points.

However, only Ayala – with a crippling pace that #31 Kade Moore (Missouri) simply couldn’t keep up with – ended his match early.

One would’ve expected Caliendo/Buchanan to do similarly against foes ranked 30th or worse, but each only mustered a major decision.

A 6-2 first-period lead over former Hawkeye Aiden Riggins mostly stalled thereafter for Caliendo, who’d only record one more takedown over the final four minutes of action. Conversely, Buchanan appeared well on his way to ‘technical fall town’ before hitting a five-point feet-to-back ‘speed bump’ courtesy of a #31 Remy Cotton (Michigan State) double leg.

Besides those three, Iowa’s four other victories came via decisions of varying comfort.

First-period scores by fifth-ranked Hawkeyes Kyle Parco (149) and Ben Kueter (285) would’ve been enough to hold on for victories. But each added to their tallies with a last-second takedown and a second-period reversal, respectively.

Neither, however, meaningfully approached garnering bonus points that appeared very much on the table.

That luxury wasn’t so much on the table for Iowa’s #11 seeds at 174/184 pounds.

Both Patrick Kennedy (4-2) and Gabe Arnold (4-1) knocked off dangerous opening foes courtesy of first-period takedowns.

PK’s effort against #22 Nick Incontrera (Penn) – which got a bit hairy late – was particularly notable given the result of their previous matchup some 15-plus months ago (a 10-2 Incontrera victory).

Meanwhile, Arnold scored with short time remaining, elevating his second slick single leg of the opening stanza and tripping #22 Donnell Washington (Indiana) down with seconds remaining.

*Washington remains the only collegiate wrestler besides Michael Kemerer to defeat four-time champion Carter Starocci in a contested match.

Session I – The Bad

On the flip side, a pair of Hawkeyes weren’t nearly as fortunate in their tournament debut(s).

For #29 Joey Cruz (125), his first-ever match at his first-ever NCAA Championships ended in defeat. The sophomore struggled to muster any offense against #4 Vincent Robinson (NC State), who peppered Cruz with shots in turn.

In the end, a 12-1 major decision for the young Wolfpack star felt like an appropriate outcome for the match.

It’s tough to say the same thing as it pertains to Iowa’s other loss on Thursday morning.

#18 Jacori Teemer won’t have another ‘first match’ at an NCAA Championships. Thursday morning marked the last in the seventh-year senior’s college career and certainly unfolded in less-than-ideal fashion.

Despite a pair of decent scoring chances, the battered and bruised 157-pounder found himself in a 4-0 deficit entering the third period against four-time NCAA qualifier, #15 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan).

After a Teemer escape made it 4-1, Lovett scored off a reattack to extend his lead to six. From there, roughly 50 seconds of oddities ensued.

The Hawkeye was awarded a reversal only to have it wiped away during a brief officials’ conference. Then, that same (iffy) call was upheld upon review following a challenge from the Iowa corner.

Still trailing 7-1, Teemer got away and picked up a pair of rapid-fire stall calls on his opponent to make it 7-3. Seconds later, he nearly drew even closer. But a low-level shot was somehow countered by Lovett for a takedown of his own. Tack on a point for riding time, and suddenly Teemer was heading to the consolations via major decision to boot.

In short, both Hawkeyes found themselves with a long road back to (potential) All-American honors.

Session I Results

125lbs – #29 Joey Cruz

  • Champ. Round 1 – #4 Vincent Robinson (NC State) 19-3 won by major decision over Joey Cruz (Iowa) 14-13 (MD 12-1)

133lbs – #2 Drake Ayala

Drake Ayala (17-2) place is unknown and scored 2.5 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – #2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) 17-2 won by tech fall over #31 Kade Moore (Missouri) 12-18 (TF-1.5 5:30 (21-5))

149lbs – #5 Kyle Parco

  • Champ. Round 1 – #5 Kyle Parco (Iowa) 21-3 won by decision over #28 Dylan Gilcher (Michigan) 10-11 (Dec 7-2)

157lbs – #18 Jacori Teemer

  • Champ. Round 1 – #15 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) 31-5 won by major decision over #18 Jacori Teemer (Iowa) 8-5 (MD 11-3)

165lbs – #3 Michael Caliendo

  • Champ. Round 1 – #3 Mike Caliendo (Iowa) 21-2 won by major decision over #30 Aiden Riggins (Iowa State) 14-18 (MD 11-3)

174lbs – #11 Patrick Kennedy

  • Champ. Round 1 – #11 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 14-5 won by decision over #22 Nick Incontrera (Pennsylvania) 22-7 (Dec 4-2)

184lbs – #11 Gabe Arnold

  • Champ. Round 1 – #11 Gabe Arnold (Iowa) 18-4 won by decision over #22 Donnell Washington (Indiana) 14-9 (Dec 4-1)

197lbs – #2 Stephen Buchanan

  • Champ. Round 1 – #2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) 22-1 won by major decision over #31 Remy Cotton (Michigan State) 12-13 (MD 22-9)

285lbs – #5 Ben Kueter

  • Champ. Round 1 – #5 Ben Kueter (Iowa) 19-6 won by decision over #28 Daniel Herrera (Iowa State) 26-14 (Dec 6-0)

Session II Summary

After losing a pair of wrestlers to the consolations during Session I, the same held true for Iowa on Thursday evening.

Five Hawkeyes got their hand raised to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals. Two others were less fortunate.

For several reasons, Tom Brands & Co. will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself (again) tomorrow.

  1. Every round a wrestler can advance on the top side of the bracket becomes increasingly valuable from here on out.
  2. Both of Iowa’s consolation competitors on Thursday evening were subsequently eliminated from the tournament altogether.

Even so, Iowa managed to climb from sixth to fourth place with its Session II showing:

The details of that journey are equal parts enthralling and excruciating.

*Iowa was docked a team point for a ‘Control of Mat Area’ violation during Joey Cruz’s consolation match.

Session II – The Good

Symmetry abounds as it pertains to Iowa’s first two quarterfinal qualifiers.

Both Drake Ayala and Michael Caliendo found themselves standing across from Northern Iowa opponents in the Round of 16. Both dispatched their Panther foes with little issue.

For Ayala, a 9-3 first-period advantage set the table for a 13-4 victory over #18 Julian Farber.

For Caliendo, takedowns in all three periods helped the junior run away with a major decision over #19 Jack Thomsen.

In the process, both Iowa juniors racked up their second bonus-point win in as many matches.

Elsewhere, Patrick Kennedy became an NCAA quarterfinalist for the first time in his college career.

PK scored the only three points of the match against #6 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton). Following a first-period takedown and ride out for the Hawkeye, Cassella chose top in the second period and collected a ride out of his own.

From there, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to identify the best path to victory – so Kennedy chose neutral in the third. Two (relatively danger-free) minutes later, he got his hand raised.

Iowa’s other two big winners from the evening were quite literally its biggest.

At 197 pounds, Stephen Buchanan faced a familiar old foe in Wyoming’s #15 Joseph Novak. And after winning their two previous meetings (11-4 and 6-4) by a combined margin of nine points, the graduate senior went ahead and surpassed them both in one fell swoop.

Buchanan – 16, Novak – 1.

It was a dominant close to the day for the title hopeful, including 10 third-period points to secure the technical fall.

At heavyweight, a not-too-dissimilar scenario played out for Ben Kueter.

He too, faced a familiar foe – #12 Nick Feldman (Ohio State). And he, too, won more decisively than ever before (8-2), thanks to a pair of first-period takedowns.

Session II – The Bad

It was far from all sunshine and rainbows for Iowa on Thursday night.

The first hit of the session came when Joey Cruz went two-and-out in his NCAA debut.

The sophomore looked excellent for the first 4:45 against #20 Brendan McCrone (Ohio State). But after finally converting on literally his sixth legitimate leg attack of the bout, the seventh proved costly as McCrone countered with a cradle to flip things (and Cruz) on their head.

But unquestionably the most devasting match of the session for Iowa was one that never got the chance to be wrestled to its deserved conclusion.

At 149 pounds, Kyle Parco worked for nearly a minute to convert a scoring opportunity against #12 Ethan Stiles (Oregon State). But rather than being rewarded for his efforts, an apparent knee injury occurred while the two wrestlers scrambled in the final seconds of the opening period.

In clear pain – even after taking the full allotment of injury time – Parco finished the match a shell of himself.

He looked nothing like the four-time All-American he’d been before arriving at Iowa this season. Nor could he muster the version that compiled a 21-3 record before this cruel twist of fate.

One weight class above, Parco’s traveling teammate, Jacori Teemer, saw his own Iowa career come to an unceremonious end.

Banged up with various injuries for most of his one season at Iowa, Teemer was eliminated by #31 Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) – falling into a 7-1 deficit before a late charge came up just short.

The four-time All-American (all at Arizona State) ends his college career with an 85-21 record, but just 8-6 for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa’s other loss of the session came at 184, where an early seven-point sequence doomed Gabe Arnold’s quarterfinal aspirations.

Session II Results

125lbs – #29 Joey Cruz

  • Cons. Round 1 – #20 Brendan McCrone (Ohio State) 22-10 won by major decision over #29 Joey Cruz (Iowa) 14-14 (MD 12-4)

133lbs – #2 Drake Ayala

  • Champ. Round 2 – #2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) 18-2 won by major decision over #18 Julian Farber (Northern Iowa) 18-7 (MD 13-4)

149 – #5 Kyle Parco

  • Champ. Round 2 – #12 Ethan Stiles (Oregon State) 17-5 won by major decision over #5 Kyle Parco (Iowa) 21-4 (MD 8-0)

157lbs – #18 Jacori Teemer

  • Cons. Round 1 – #31 Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) 17-5 won by decision over #18 Jacori Teemer (Iowa) 8-6 (Dec 8-5)

165lbs – #3 Michael Caliendo

  • Champ. Round 2 – #3 Mike Caliendo (Iowa) 22-2 won by major decision over #19 Jack Thomsen (Northern Iowa) 20-11 (MD 15-3)

174lbs – #11 Patrick Kennedy

  • Champ. Round 2 – #11 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 15-5 won by decision over #6 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) 26-5 (Dec 3-0)

184lbs – #11 Gabe Arnold

  • Champ. Round 2 – #6 Chris Foca (Cornell) 21-1 won by major decision over #11 Gabe Arnold (Iowa) 18-5 (MD 12-1)

197lbs – #2 Stephen Buchanan

  • Champ. Round 2 – #2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) 23-1 won by tech fall over #15 Joseph Novak (Wyoming) 24-6 (TF-1.5 7:00 (16-1))

285lbs – #5 Ben Kueter

  • Champ. Round 2 – #5 Ben Kueter (Iowa) 20-6 won by decision over #12 Nick Feldman (Ohio State) 18-8 (Dec 8-2)

What’s next

Everything from Sessions I and II sets up a Friday morning that’ll be even more important.

There are numerous teams hot on the Hawkeyes’ heels, plus two immediately in front of it (excluding Penn State, lol) who would love to create even more separation.

The questions are many, the opportunities the same.

Can Iowa’s five quarterfinalists keep a good thing going?

#2 Drake Ayala vs #7 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State):

  • The two have never wrestled before, twice narrowly missing matchups earlier this season.
    • Bouzakis is dangerous from a variety of positions, but Ayala enters as the favorite.

#3 Michael Caliendo vs #6 Beau Mantanona (Michigan):

  • Caliendo owns a 9-4 win against the Wolverine from a year ago, but the lanky youngster certainly has his tricks.

#11 Patrick Kennedy vs #3 Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State):

  • These two didn’t hit at last month’s dual, but PK lost twice to Hamiti (then at Wisconsin) back in 2023.

#2 Stephen Buchanan vs #23 Seth Shumate (Ohio State):

  • The Hawkeye has outscored the Buckeye a combined 26-1 in two matches this season.

#5 Ben Kueter vs #4 Owen Trephan (Lehigh):

  • A win against the veteran Trephan secures Kueter’s first-ever All-American finish.

As for the consolations, can a physically compromised Parco even reasonably compete on Friday?

And can Arnold respond from Thursday’s disappointment to make his own run at All-American honors?

Iowa is going to need as many of its seven remaining wrestlers to go as far as possible if it wants to remain in team trophy contention – be it for second, third or fourth.

I suppose we’ll all find out together, starting at 11:00 a.m. (CT) Friday with Session III.

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