#3 Iowa wrestling went into Lincoln to open the Big Ten portion of the dual meet schedule to face an upset-minded Nebraska team eager to end a 14-dual meet losing streak to the Hawkeyes and record their first victory over Iowa since joining the Big Ten in 2011. They're going to have to wait a bit longer.
Iowa won seven of 10 matches in the dual meet, including four of the last five bouts, to pick up a convincing 22-10 victory over the Huskers. The win was Iowa's 15th in a row over Nebraska and extended Tom Brands' record against the Huskers to 15-0 as a coach. Iowa also improved to 6-0 overall on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten action. #6 Nebraska drops to 5-1 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten play.
Iowa won three of the four matches they were favored in, picked up a big late upset over Nebraska with Zach Glazier's emphatic 11-2 win at 197 lbs, and also swept all three matches I identified as toss-up bouts. More importantly, Iowa went 3-0 at the three weights that featured Top 10 matchups (125, 141, 157).
#5 Drake Ayala continued his recent run of good form with another strong win, grabbing a 7-3 decision win over #7 Caleb Smith to get the dual started on the right note. Ayala started fast with a pair of takedowns in the first period. Things slowed down a little after that, but Ayala remained in control of the match throughout and spent a lot of time on Smith's legs, even if he wasn't able to finish any more attacks.
The only real negative result of the dual for Iowa came at 133, where #7 Brody Teske was upset by #30 Jacob Van Dee in a comprehensive loss. Van Dee got a takedown in each period and looked sharper than Teske from start to finish. Teske edged him 5-4 at Soldier Salute a few weeks ago, but that result seemed to light a fire under Van Dee here.
Meanwhile, #1 Real Woods improved to 4-0 in his career against #7 Brock Hardy and continues to widen the gap between them. Woods' 8-2 decision win tonight was dominant, with takedowns in the first and third and solid control throughout; Woods was better on his feet, better on the mat, and better in scrambles.
#1 Ridge Lovett matched Woods' win with a solid win of his own at 149 lbs. #12 Caleb Rathjen showed strong defense early, but he couldn't hold off Lovett for the entire seven minutes. Lovett scored a slick takedown in the third period, but was never really threatened by Rathjen in the match, either.
157 lbs was hyped as the match of the night as it featured the #2 (Iowa's Jared Franek) and #3 (Nebraska's Peyton Robb) wrestlers at the weight and it was definitely one of the most dramatic bouts of the evening. After a scoreless first period, Robb struck first with a takedown in the second. A pair of escapes left Franek down 3-2 heading into the third period.
Franek was aggressive in the third period, and his aggression was rewarded with a slick double leg attack with under a minute to go. That takedown gave Franek a 5-4 lead and he put on a tight ride to grind out yet another close win. Really strong effort from Franek here.
After intermission, Iowa kept things rolling at 165 with a solid win from #7 Michael Caliendo. He used a pair of takedowns to ease to a controlled 8-3 decision win over #19 Antrell Taylor.
Patrick Kennedy made it three wins in a row for Iowa by grinding out a 9-5 decision win at 174 lbs. Kennedy gave up a takedown in the first, but answered back with a takedown of his own right before the end of the period. Kennedy added an escape and another takedown in the third period to earn the win.
Aiden Riggins surprisingly held #3 Lenny Pinto to a scoreless first period at 184, but Pinto blew the match open after that, scoring seven points in the second and 10 more points in the third en route to a 17-5 major decision win. In terms of damage limitation, Riggins at least avoided conceding a technical fall or a pin.
Arguably the most surprising result of the dual came at 197, where #16 Zach Glazier continued his impressive 2023-24 season with his biggest and best win yet, an 11-2 major decision win over #11 Silas Allred, the defending Big Ten champion at 197 lbs. Glazier didn't just beat Allred -- he dominated him from start to finish.
Glazier notched takedowns in each period and put on a mean ride as well, racking up over two minutes of riding time total. Glazier has been the most pleasant surprise for Iowa this season and his rise up the rankings, on the back of solid win after sold win after sold win, has been gratifying to see.
The win by Glazier secured the dual meet win for the Hawkeyes, but Bradley Hill added an exclamation point to the win with a 4-1 win over Nebraska's Nash Hutmacher at 285. After a scoreless first period, Hill and Hutmacher traded quick escapes before Hill got the decisive takedown late in the third.
The biggest intrigue at 285 was who would take the mat for Iowa -- in addition to Hill, blue chip recruit Ben Kueter made the trip to Lincoln, weighed in before the meet, and was warming up prior to the final match. He didn't end up making his Iowa debut tonight, but that moment appears to be fast approaching.
#3 Iowa 22, #6 Nebraska 10
125: #5 Drake Ayala DEC (7-3) #7 Caleb Smith
133: #30 Jacob Van Dee DEC (10-4) #7 Brody Teske
141: #1 Real Woods DEC (8-2) #7 Brock Hardy
149: #1 Ridge Lovett DEC (6-0) #12 Caleb Rathjen
157: #2 Jared Franek (DEC 5-4) #3 Peyton Robb
165: #7 Michael Caliendo DEC (8-3) #19 Antrell Taylor
174: Patrick Kennedy DEC (9-5) #30 Bubba Wilson
184: #3 Lenny Pinto MAJ DEC (17-5) Aiden Riggins
197: #16 Zach Glazier MAJ DEC (11-2) #11 Silas Allred
285: Bradley Hill DEC (4-1) Nash Hutmacher
