The #2 Iowa wrestling team made its first trip to the state of Kentucky for a dual meet in over 40 years on Friday night -- and came away with a 49-0 win over Bellarmine. Why exactly did this dual happen? In part, because the Knights have an Iowa connection -- Bellarmine is coached by Ned Shuck, who was a member of the Hawkeye wrestling team from 2000-05.
Iowa also has a long history of wrestling smaller schools and up-and-coming opponents, particularly in their gyms, as a means of spreading the gospel of collegiate wrestling. The Hawkeyes wrestled at California Baptist last year, at Chattanooga in 2022, at Kent State in 2019, at Montana State Northern in 2016, and so on.
In 2020 Bellarmine moved up to Division I from the Division II ranks and joined the Atlantic Sun for most sports, though they compete in the Southern Conference for wrestling. Bellarmine had a packed house and a boisterous environment for the Hawkeyes' visit on Friday night, though the passion of the crowd didn't power the Knights to any upset wins in the dual meet.
Iowa swept all 10 weights in the dual and earned bonus points in nine of those 10 wins; only Gabe Arnold at 184 lbs, who earned a 5-3 win over Devan Hendricks, failed to earn any bonus points. Outside of that bout, Iowa finished with six technical falls, two 30-second pins, and a major decision. It was an emphatic victory -- which is what Iowa head coach Tom Brands hoped to see in a dual meet like this.
"The best way that you can promote the sport as a competitor, whether you're a coach or an athlete... You want your team to put on an incredible display of wrestling and that means that there is carnage left when you're done," Iowa head coach Tom Brands said earlier this week.
"That's what we've got to focus on, we've got to focus on that type of entertainment, that type of wrestling, scoring points [and] building leads."
Wrestling like that is exactly what Iowa did at (almost) every weight in this dual.
Iowa's wins at 125, 133, 141, and 149 all followed a very blueprint: early leads, followed by takedown clinics to pour on the points and turn the matches into routs. #31 Kale Petersen, a 26-6 winner at 125 lbs; #32 Ryder Block, a 19-4 winner at 141 lbs; and #4 Kyle Parco, a 21-4 winner at 149 lbs were all relentless from neutral and did a good job of pressuring their opponents throughout the match and ending on top at the end of periods after scoring late takedowns. All three wrestlers racked up points quickly en route to easy wins.
Along with Arnold, #9 Drake Ayala was the only Iowa wrestler to go a full seven minutes in his match. Ayala was able to grind out a 14-6 major decision over Trayce Eckman, using a string of takedowns to build an early lead. He spent a fair portion of the middle of the bout trying (unsuccessfully) to turn Eckman for near fall points (or a pin), though he did complete the major decision in the third period.
Arizona State transfer Jacori Teemer wrapped up the first half of the dual with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it victory, sticking Gray Ortis in just 24 seconds. Teemer trapped an arm, secured a headlock, and then whipped Ortis to his back and planted his shoulders to the mat for a lightning-fast pin. Teemer wrestled less than any other Iowa wrestler in the dual, but showed the explosive ability that should make him one of Iowa's biggest threats to bring home titles at the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.
The second half of the dual started much like the first half of the dual: with takedown clinic Iowa wins turning into lopsided technical fall wins at 165 and 174 for #2 Michael Caliendo and #10 Nelson Brands, respectively. Caliendo showed off some very slick duck-under attacks while racking up takdowns to get a quick win, while Brands showed off a relentless motor in pursuing Grant O'Dell and finishing his tech fall win.
As mentioned, #8 Gabe Arnold was the only Iowa wrestler not to score bonus points in his win. Arnold got a takedown midway through the first period and rode Devan Hendricks well before giving up a late escape. He put on another solid ride for part of the second period, until a Hendricks escape cut Arnold's lead to 3-2.
An Arnold escape made it 4-2 in the third period before a riding time point provided the final 5-3 winning margin. Hendricks spent a fair amount of time backing away and avoiding Arnold, but Arnold also didn't seem to initiate enough attacks or generate enough offense to break the match open.
The bonus points returned with a vengeance in Iowa's final two matches, as #2 Stephen Buchanan overwhelmed Andrew Liber on his way to a 16-1 win and #12 Ben Kueter picked up the second of Iowa's two quick pin wins. Buchanan took Liber to the mat almost immediately and locked in a cradle that nearly got him a pin, though it did net him near fall points. Buchanan added another takedown, another cradle, and even more near fall points later in the first period, before finishing the match with an escape and a takedown on the edge early in the second period.
Backup heavyweight Daulton Mayer took the fight to Kueter from the opening whistle at heavyweight and even got to Kueter's legs in his opening flurry. Kueter used his strong hips to fend off Mayer and countered that attack into one of his own, quickly cradling Mayer and planting his shoulders on the mat for a pin in just 32 seconds.
Give or take the results from Arnold and Ayala, Friday night's dual against Bellarmine went exactly as expected for the Hawkeyes for the most part: the Bellarmine crowd got to see exciting (if one-sided) wrestling and Iowa dominated an overmatched opponent for an emphatic victory.
NEXT: Iowa faces #11 Iowa State (1-1) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, November 23 at 6:00 PM CT. BTN+ will televise the dual.
