WHO: #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0, 3-0 Big Ten)
WHEN: 1:00 PM CT (Saturday, January 25, 2025)
WHERE: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, IA)
TV: BTN (Shane Sparks and Jim Gibbons)
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin, Bobby Hansen)
MOBILE: foxsports.com/mobile
ONLINE: foxsports.com/live
FOLLOW: @HawkeyeBeacon | @Hawks_Wrestling | @IowaonBTN
It's been a fairly quiet start to the season for #2 Iowa wrestling -- outside of duals against then-#12 Iowa State in November and then-#9 Illinois last week, the Hawkeyes haven't faced many notable opponents. That's about to change. Starting with Saturday afternoon's dual against #4 Ohio State, Iowa is set to face teams ranked in the top-8 in four of its next five duals: #4 Ohio State, #1 Penn State, #7 Nebraska, and #8 Minnesota.
As they say, business is about to pick up.
Saturday's dual could feature matches between ranked wrestlers at nine weights and four top-10 throwdowns. Give the Hawkeyes the slight advantage -- they have the higher-ranked wrestler in all four of those potential top-10 showdowns, as well as two other ranked matchups.
But any advantage Iowa has could be very narrow -- Ohio State is likely to be favored at the other four weights (pending the potential return of top-ranked Jacori Teemer at 157 lbs for the Hawkeyes) and many of those top-10 matchups look tight enough that it would hardly be a shock if they went in favor of the Buckeyes. That, plus potential bonus points, could make for a very close dual meet.
Ohio State looks to be a solid favorite at two of the first three weights, 125 and 141, and is also likely to be favored at 157 (if Teemer does not wrestle for Iowa) and possibly at 285 as well. At 125, #28 Joey Cruz has looked solid in recent weeks and is likely to make #16 Brendan McCrone work hard. If Cruz can get the Carver crowd into the match and earn a win, that could tilt the meet in Iowa's favor early.
133 should be the first of the spotlight matches of the night, featuring #3 Drake Ayala potentially taking on #10 Nic Bouzakis. While Bouzakis is listed with an "or," he hasn't missed any matches in the last few weeks. Ayala and Bouzakis have never wrestled before, though they do share a recent common opponent -- Bouzakis lost to Illinois' Lucas Byrd 8-5 in sudden victory, while Ayala beat Byrd last weekend, 4-2.
At 141, Iowa's task figures to be damage limitation. That weight has been one of Iowa's most uncertain all season, as evidenced by the three potential starters listed in the match notes. Meanwhile, Ohio State will be countering with #1 Jesse Mendez, the defending NCAA champion at 141 and someone who's 19-0 on the season with bonus points in 79% of his wins this year.
149 is the second of the top-10 showdowns on the night, featuring #2 Kyle Parco putting his 12-0 record on the line against #9 Dylan D'Emilio's 14-1 mark this year. D'Emilio's only loss this season came against #5 Lachlan McNeil, an 8-2 loss back in December. Parco is also 1-0 lifetime against D'Emilio, having beaten him 11-1 last season. If Parco can get some early points on the board, he could take control of the match; if not, this could be another nerve-racking finish for Parco.
The big question at 157 is who wrestles for Iowa. Freshman Miguel Estrada has filled in admirably, posting a 14-2 record overall, including a 3-0 mark in dual meets. But top-ranked Jacori Teemer may be ready to make his return for Iowa after sustaining a leg injury in the Iowa State dual two months ago.
Iowa head coach Tom Brands his progress has been "really good" and that Teemer is "at that point where he can probably go," although he also emphasized that the Hawkeyes would not "sacrifice [Teemer's] health," if there were any doubts about his condition. If Teemer is healthy can can go, he should have the edge on #17 Sammy Sasso, who's already suffered five losses this year after moving up to 157. Remarkably, Teemer and Sasso first wrestled in college over six years ago; Teemer earned an 8-6 win over Sasso back then.
165 is yet another high-profile clash, with #2 Michael Caliendo taking on #9 Paddy Gallagher, a one-time Hawkeye recruiting target. Gallagher has been solid this year, but he's also dropped four matches on the year; Caliendo is a perfect 12-0 on the season with bonus points in 75% of those wins. He's wrestling with a lot of confidence right now and should be a handful for Gallagher.
The fourth and final top-10 meeting of the dual is at 174, with #5 Patrick Kennedy facing #6 Carson Kharchla. This is the closest matchup of the night, rankings-wise, and the only one that features two undefeated wrestlers (8-0 Kennedy vs 7-0 Kharchla). This bout looks pretty close to a toss-up on paper and could come down to which wrestler is able to finish his attacks first in the match.
At 184 and 197, Iowa has wrestlers ranked in the top-5 set to face opponents ranked in the top-20. Taking care of business and winning these bouts will be paramount to Iowa having a shot to win the dual meet. #5 Gabe Arnold faces #19 Ryder Rogotze at 184; Rogotze suffered a pair of losses two weeks ago and is just 4-3 overall this season, though he's still a capable opponent.
At 197, new #1 Stephen Buchanan faces #17 Seth Shumate, who's 9-7 on the season and just 2-4 in dual meets this season. Shumate has some ability, but he hasn't faced many wrestlers on Buchanan's level this year (though there aren't many guys at 197 on Buchanan's level, period) and if the Buchanan that's been a black-and-gold buzzsaw so often this year finds an advantage, this could be a bonus point opportunity for Iowa.
Finally, 285 features a matchup just outside a top-10 clash, with #11 Ben Kueter taking on #6 Nick Feldman. For Kueter, it's another opportunity to prove himself against one of the top heavyweights in the country -- and the exact sort of opponent he's going to have to beat in March if he hopes to contend for a Big Ten title or make the podium at the NCAA Tournament. Feldman's only loss this year was an injury default against #3 Wyatt Hendrickson last month. To win, Kueter will need to be able to get to Feldman's legs and finish his attacks cleanly, which he's struggled to do at times against top opponents.
