#2 Iowa wrestling opened up the home portion of its Big Ten dual meet schedule on Friday night with a top ten clash with #9 Illinois, but the end result was predictable: another dominant Hawkeye victory, with Iowa cruising past Illinois for a 28-6 victory. Iowa improved to 8-0 on the season and 2-0 in Big Ten competition.
The Hawkeyes won eight of ten matches against the Illini, only losing at 141 lbs and at 285 lbs. Iowa won the other eight weights and picked up three bonus point wins courtesy of major decisions at 125 and 197 and a technical fall blowout at 165. The Hawkeyes dominated Illinois on the scoreboard and on the stat sheet; Iowa out-scored Illinois 67-21 in match points and posted a 15-1 advantage in takedowns.
Iowa also won the biggest match of the meet, with #4 Drake Ayala defeating #2 Lucas Byrd in a high-profile showdown at 133 lbs. That match was the headliner on the night as well as a matchup that could be repeated at the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments in a few months; the early advantage goes to Ayala, who used a sharp third period takedown on the edge of the mat to pick up the win.
#2 Iowa 28, #9 Illinois 6
The dual started on a good note for Iowa with #28 Joey Cruz earning an impressive 13-3 major decision at 125. Cruz used a trio of takedowns to open up a 9-3 win after two periods, then ground out a fourth takedown to pick up the major decision win over Caelan Riley. 125 has been a rocky weight for Iowa this season, but Cruz has had a few solid wins in recent weeks, albeit against weaker competition.
Ayala followed Cruz's win with his own victory in the meet's marquee match. After a scoreless first period that featured a lot of tie-ups and hand-fighting, Byrd opened up the scoring with a quick escape to take a 1-0 lead. The remainder of the second period featured more tie-ups and a conservative approach from both wrestlers.
In the third period, Ayala tied the match at 1-1 with his own quick escape, which was notable given Byrd's prowess on top. Ayala was unafraid to take bottom against Byrd and showed why with a strong move to escape. Halfway through the period, Ayala finally broke through with a solid leg attack near the edge of the mat, finishing quickly and cleanly to earn the go-ahead takedown.
Illinois earned one of their two wins in the dual at 141, courtesy a 4-3 win for #12 Danny Pucino over #30 Ryder Block. Block was game and kept the match close through two periods, but Pucino's takedown in the third provided the winning margin for the Illini wrestler.
There were one-point matches at 149 and 157 as well, though both of those bouts were won by the Iowa wrestler. At 149, #3 Kyle Parco used a single escape point in the second period to grind out a 1-0 win over #12 Kannon Webster. Webster chose neutral in the third period, but couldn't get through Parco's defense. Parco's defense throughout was strong, but he also seemed overly conservative and didn't do enough on the attack to score more himself.
At 157, Miguel Estrada earned a minor upset with a 3-2 win over #20 Jason Kraisser thanks to a takedown Estrada picked up on the edge of the mat in the second period. In the third period, Estrada chose neutral to avoid dealing with Kraisser's skill on top and fended off Kraisser's attacks from neutral to hold onto his 3-2 win.
The 157 lb match was also the fourth straight bout that featured a scoreless first period; there was not a lot in the way of offensive fireworks in the lower weights of this dual, except for Cruz's performance at 125. Credit to Iowa for winning four of five bouts anyway, but more attacks and more scoring will likely be needed in the future.
After intermission, the offensive fireworks did arrive, courtesy of #2 Michael Caliendo, consistently one of Iowa's highest-scoring wrestlers. Caliendo had a solid opponent across the mat -- #11 Braeden Scoles -- but he blitzed him anyway, using some slick leg attacks to open up a 3-1 lead in the first period, before blowing the match open with a pair of takedowns in the second period and a turn for four near fall points at the end of the period.
That gave Caliendo a 13-3 lead and the technical fall was academic after an escape and two more quick takedowns in the third period. Caliendo's relentless motor, ability to chain attacks together, and attack from multiple angles makes him a dangerous wrestler -- and easily one of the most exciting guys to watch on the Iowa team.
#5 Patrick Kennedy and #5 Gabe Arnold picked up similar wins at 174 and 184 to lock up Iowa's dual meet win. At 174, Kennedy used a sharp takedown in the first period and a ride-out to open up a 3-0 lead. He added an escape in the second period and a strong ride-out in the third period to earn a strong 5-0 win over #21 Danny Braunagel.
At 184, Arnold used a slick high crotch and duck under to take down #10 Edmond Ruth, then showed off some tough defense and scrambling skill at the end of the second period to avoid a Ruth takedown. Arnold got an escape to extend his lead to 4-1 and was able to fend off Ruth for the remainder of the bout as well.
Iowa's final win of the night came at 197, where #2 Stephen Buchanan showed patience in dispatching #18 Zac Braunagel. After a scoreless first period with Braunagel stymieing him, Buchanan finally struck in the second period with a re-attack and a double leg to go up 4-0. Buchanan stayed on the attack after that as well and his efforts were rewarded with another takedown and four near fall points to widen the gap and turn a simple decision win into a one-sided 13-2 major decision victory.
The night ended with an Illinois win as #11 Luke Luffman edged out #12 Ben Kueter for a 3-2 decision win at 285. After another scoreless first period (six of 10 matches in the dual featured 0-0 first periods), Luffman got on the scoreboard with a reversal in the second period. He rode Kueter out for the remainder of the period, but did give up an escape to Kueter in the third period. Kueter went on the attack in the third, but wasn't able to finish any of those attacks, though there were some close calls in the final seconds.
Overall, the dual was a solid win for Iowa against a credible opponent. Drake Ayala picked up a big win over a top rival and Iowa was able to grind out a fair number of tough wins. The second half of the dual featured more decisive Iowa wins and very impressive efforts from Caliendo and Buchanan as well as strong wins from Kennedy and Arnold.
NEXT: #2 Iowa hosts #4 Ohio State (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten) next Saturday (January 25) in Iowa City at 1 PM CT on BTN.
