ON THE MAT
The second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team faces fourth ranked Ohio State on Jan. 25 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG LIVE
• Saturday’s dual will be televised live on BTN. Shane Sparks (Play-by-Play) and Jim Gibbons (Color Analyst) will have the call.
• The radio broadcast for Saturday’s dual will be available at AM 800 KXIC and audio streamed online at hawkeyesports.com (via YouTube). Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will call the action for Hawkeye Sports Properties, a property of Learfield.
• Follow Iowa wrestling on social media via X (@Hawks_Wrestling), Facebook/iowahawkeyewrestling and Instagram (@iowahawkeyewrestling).
No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes Probable Lineup
Wt | Rank^ | Name | Year | Hometown/High School | Record |
125 | –/28/28/– | Joey Cruz | So. | Fresno, California/Bullard | 10-6 |
133 | 1/3/2/2 | Drake Ayala | Jr. | Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge | 11-1 |
141 | –/31/20/– | Ryder Block | R-Fr. | Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock | 2-3 |
-or- | Jace Rhodes | So. | Mason City, Iowa/Mason City | 5-2 | |
-or- | Cullan Schriever | Sr. | Mason City, Iowa/Mason City | 3-5 | |
149 | 3/2/4/3 | Kyle Parco | Sr. | Danville, California | 12-0 |
157 | Miguel Estrada | Fr. |
Bakersfield, California/Frontier |
13-0/1-2* | |
-or- | –/1/1/– | Jacori Teemer | Grad. |
Long Beach, New York/Long Beach |
2-1 |
165 | 2/2/2/2 | Michael Caliendo | Jr. | Geneva, Illinois/Batavia | 12-0 |
174 | 5/5/5/5 | Patrick Kennedy | Senior | Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota/Kasson-Mantorville | 8-0 |
184 | 9/5/5/8 | Gabe Arnold | R-Fr. | Albany, Georgia/Iowa City | 10-1 |
-or- | Angelo Ferrari | Fr. | Melissa, Texas/Melissa | 10-0 | |
197 | 1/1/1/1 | Stephen Buchanan | Grad. | Loyal, Wisconsin/Loyal | 12-0 |
285 | 15/11/11/18 | Ben Kueter | R-Fr. | Iowa City, Iowa | 9-2 |
^ WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN (Rankings based on weight class listed at)
*Unattached
THE SERIES — OHIO STATE
Iowa leads the all-time series against Ohio State, 42-4. The schools split the first four meetings, 2-2, before Iowa rattled off 34 consecutive victories from 1967-2011. Ohio State ended the streak with a 21-9 win in 2012 at Columbus.
• Iowa is 15-1 all-time in Iowa City. Ohio State’s only win was a 17-13 victory in 1929, the first ever meeting in the series.
• The Hawkeyes won the last meeting, 21-12, on Jan. 24, 2022 in Columbus.
PREVIOUS INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS — OHIO STATE
THE LAST TIME OUT
The second ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won eight of 10 matches to put together a 28-6 victory over ninth ranked Illinois.
• The Hawkeyes outscored the Illini in total match points 69-21 and had 15 takedowns to Illinois’ one.
TOP 10 MATCHUP — 133 POUNDS
• Ayala is 29-14 in his career against ranked opponents, including a 4-1 mark this season. Ayala has won four straight against ranked foes including defeating No. 2 Lucas Byrd Jan. 17 against Illinois.
TOP 10 MATCHUP — 149 POUNDS
• Parco is 43-17 all-time against ranked opponents and is a perfect 6-0 this season.
TOP 10 MATCHUP — 165 POUNDS
• Caliendo is 4-0 this year against ranked opponents, with bonus points in two of those matches. He is 27-11 all-time against ranked opponents. He has scored 15 or more points in eight of his 12 matches this season and is 12-0 overall.
TOP 10 MATCHUP — 174 POUNDS
• Kennedy is 5-0 this year against ranked opponents. He is 18-14 all-time against ranked opponents. He has outscored his ranked opponents this season, 62-13.
UNBEATEN HAWKS
FRESHMAN TRACKER
Eight Hawkeye freshman have competed as attached competitors during the 2024-25 season. Under new NCAA guidelines, freshmen can compete in five dates of competition during the student-athlete’s initial year of collegiate enrollment without using a season of competition.
ALL-AMERICANS
• The Hawkeyes have crowned at least one All-American in 53 consecutive tournaments, a stretch dating back to 1972. Iowa has totaled 327 All-America honors during that stretch.
TV TIME
Seven University of Iowa men’s wrestling duals will be televised on BTN during the 2024-25 season.
• Iowa’s BTN appearances include home duals against Stanford, Illinois, Ohio State, Nebraska and Oklahoma State and road duals at Penn State and Minnesota.
• The duration of the Big Ten Championships, which will be held March 8-9 in Evanston, Illinois, will also be televised on BTN.
• Iowa’s duals against Iowa State, Wisconsin, Maryland and Northwestern will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required). The Journeymen Wrestling “Uncivil War” against Princeton and Army will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass (subscription required).
BROTHERHOOD
CAMBUS SHUTTLE
Free parking is available in the Hancher Auditorium Parking Lot on dates where no performances are scheduled. When the Hancher Auditorium Lot is available, complimentary Cambus shuttles to Carver-Hawkeye Arena will begin 90 minutes prior to the start of the meet and run until one (1) hour following the conclusion of the meet.
KUETER EARNS SILVER AT U20 WORLDS
• The Iowa City, Iowa, native is now a two-time U20 World medalist having won gold at 97kg in 2022.
• Kueter faced Iranian Amirreza Fardin Masoumi Valadi – a now five-time age-level World champion – in his finals matchup and lost via a 4-2 decision.
• En route to the finals Kueter outscored his opponents, 24-3. He won his opening match against Alikhan Kussainov of Kazakhstan, 7-0. In his quarterfinal matchup with Individual Neutral Athlete Stsiapan Mandryk he needed only 27 seconds to win via fall.
HAWKEYES AT AGE GROUP NATIONALS
• Kueter won the 125 kg division winning five straight matches to make the world team. Kueter defeated Jimmy Mullen of the South East Regional Training Center and Virginia Tech in the best-of-three finals. Kueter won 5-4 and 5-3 against Mullen.
• In the best-of-three finals Kennedy defeated Julian Ramirez of the Spartan Combat RTC via a 10-0 technical superiority in both matches. In seven matches in the tournament Kennedy outscored his opponents, 75-4.
A NEW HOME FOR IOWA WRESTLING
Construction on the $31 million Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center finished in May 2024. The 38,000-square-foot facility is the new training home of the Iowa men’s and women’s wrestling programs. The wrestling room on the south end of the building is connected by underground tunnel to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• The two-level building features a Hall of Champions that pays homage to the history of Iowa wrestling. The main entrance welcomes visitors with trophy displays celebrating Iowa’s All-Americans and national champions. The lower-level includes locker rooms for the men’s and women’s teams, while the upper-level houses student-athlete lounges and coaches’ offices that overlook the wrestling room.
• The facility’s largest space, the Bob and Kathy Nicolls Wrestling Room, features 30-foot-high ceilings with nearly twice as much practice space as the former wrestling room. An adjacent strength and conditioning room on the lower level flows seamlessly into the wrestling room.
WRESTLETOWN, USA
Iowa City, Iowa, was dubbed Wrestletown, USA by NBC Sports when hosting the 2016 Olympic Team Trials.
• The University of Iowa men’s wrestling program led the nation in attendance for the 17th straight year last year.
• The Hawkeyes drew an average of 14,847 fans per home date during the 2023-24 season with 89,082 fans entering the doors of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa drew capacity crowds of 14,847 in all six of its home duals.
NEWCOMERS
The Hawkeyes have 12 newcomers on the 2024-25 roster, including three transfers.
• Stephen Buchanan is a three-time All-American at Wyoming (2021-22) and Oklahoma (2024). He finished third at both the 2022 and 2024 NCAA Championships.
SOLD OUT X 4
Iowa wrestling season ticket allotment at Carver-Hawkeye Arena is sold out for a fourth straight season. The Hawkeyes have led the nation in attendance every year since 2006-07. Iowa set an NCAA record, averaging 14,905 fans in 2021-22.
NCAA EXPERIENCE
A LOOK BACK
The University of Iowa wrestling team finished the 2023-24 season with a 12-2 overall and a 6-2 Big Ten mark.
• The Hawkeyes placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships and fifth at the NCAA Championships. Iowa had four All-Americans. The program had 20 Academic All-Big Ten selections — the highest total in school history.
SPENCER LEE THE OLYMPIAN
Former University of Iowa All-American and three-time National Champion Spencer Lee won a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the 11th Hawkeye wrestler in school history to medal at the Olympic Games
HAWKEYES IN THE FINALS
• Iowa has had at least one wrestler in the NCAA finals every year since 1990, and in 48 of the last 49 tournaments dating back to 1975.
HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
The Hawkeyes have won 24 national titles and 37 Big Ten titles.
• Iowa’s 55 NCAA Champions have won a total of 85 NCAA individual titles, crowning seven three-time and 16 two-time champions.
• The Hawkeyes’ 118 Big Ten champions have combined for 210 conference titles. There have been eight four-time, 20 three-time and 31 two-time Big Ten champions from Iowa.
• Iowa’s 166 All-Americans have earned All-America status 367 times, including two five-time, 25 four-time, 38 three-time and 40 two-time honorees.
ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
20 Hawkeye wrestlers were among the 59 University of Iowa student-athletes named to the 2023-24 Big Ten Winter Academic All-Conference Team. The 20 honorees are the most in program history.
• To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten status, students must be on a varsity team, as verified by being on the official squad list as of March 1 for winter sports, who have been enrolled fulltime at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
NCAA TROPHIES
• Iowa has won 48 team NCAA trophies in program history and have 69 top 10 finishes. The Hawkeyes have been the NCAA runner-up seven times.
HAWKEYES AND CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
• Carver-Hawkeye Arena has hosted two United States Olympic Team Trials, four Big Ten Championships (1983, 1994, 2005, 2016) and four NCAA Championships (1986, 1991, 1995, 2001). The Hawkeyes have won five tournament titles on their home mat, including the 1983 and 1994 Big Ten Championships, and the 1986, 1991 and 1995 NCAA Championships.
CHASING THE HAWKEYES
Gary Kurdelmeier led Iowa to its first NCAA Championship in 1975, and in the 49 years since, the Hawkeyes have accumulated 24 team titles, more than any other school — Penn State (11), Oklahoma State (7), Minnesota (3), Iowa State (2), Ohio State (1) and Arizona State (1).
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes head on the road to face Penn State on Jan. 31 and Maryland on Feb. 2.
Iowa Wrestling Notebook: Hawkeyes Dominate Ohio State in Big Ten Showdown
In a highly-anticipated matchup between two powerhouse programs, the Iowa Hawkeyes proved their dominance on the wrestling mat by defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes in a thrilling Big Ten showdown.
The Hawkeyes showcased their depth and talent throughout the dual meet, winning eight out of ten matches and securing a resounding 26-9 victory over the Buckeyes. Standout performances from top-ranked wrestlers such as Spencer Lee, Alex Marinelli, and Michael Kemerer helped solidify Iowa’s position as a force to be reckoned with in collegiate wrestling.
The dual meet also featured a number of exciting individual matchups, including a thrilling showdown between Iowa’s Jaydin Eierman and Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso at 149 pounds. Eierman ultimately came out on top with a hard-fought victory, showcasing his skill and determination against a tough opponent.
With this impressive win, the Iowa Hawkeyes continue to build momentum as they head towards the postseason and the NCAA Championships. Their performance against Ohio State serves as a reminder of their strength and potential as they aim to capture another national title.
Stay tuned for more updates and highlights from Iowa Wrestling as they continue their quest for greatness in the Big Ten and beyond. Go Hawkeyes!
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Iowa Wrestling, Iowa Hawkeyes Athletics, Ohio State, wrestling news, college wrestling, NCAA wrestling, Hawkeye wrestling, Iowa vs Ohio State, wrestling match, Big Ten wrestling, Iowa wrestling results, wrestling updates, wrestling rivalry, wrestling rankings, wrestling highlights, Iowa sports, NCAA athletics
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