Four University of Iowa wrestlers have advanced to the semifinals at the 2026 Big Ten Championships, held at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania. After the first session, Iowa is in fifth place with 44.5 points.
During the opening round, Iowa secured eight wins out of ten matches. In the quarterfinals, Hawkeye wrestlers went 4-4 and finished Session I with a total record of 13-6. Six of their victories earned bonus points, including one pin, two technical falls, and three major decisions.
Dean Peterson started for Iowa at 125 pounds by defeating Michigan’s Diego Sotelo 6-2 before losing to Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl in the quarterfinals. At 133 pounds, Drake Ayala reached the semifinals after a technical fall over Indiana’s Blaine Frazier and a win against Wisconsin’s Zan Fugitt.
Nasir Bailey advanced at 141 pounds with victories over Carson Exferd of Wisconsin and Dylan Ragusin of Michigan. Ryder Block won his first match at 149 pounds but was narrowly defeated by Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness in the quarterfinals.
At 157 pounds, Victor Voinovich III lost to Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon and received a bye in his first consolation match. Michael Caliendo moved into the semifinals at 165 pounds with a pin against Jack Conley of Michigan State and a major decision over Braeden Scoles of Illinois.
Patrick Kennedy used two bonus point wins to advance at 174 pounds. He posted a technical fall against Maryland’s Seth Digby and then defeated Rutgers’ Lenny Pinto by major decision.
Angelo Ferrari earned an opening win at 184 pounds but lost in tiebreakers to Penn State’s Rocco Welsh in the quarterfinals. Gabe Arnold lost his initial bout at 197 pounds but rebounded with a victory over Illinois’ Dylan Connell in consolation action.
Team standings after Session I are as follows: Penn State leads with 81 points, followed by Ohio State (69.5), Nebraska (59.5), Minnesota (46), and Iowa (44.5). The remaining teams include Michigan (44), Wisconsin (23), Illinois (20), Indiana and Rutgers (18 each), Purdue (8), Maryland (6.5), Michigan State (5), and Northwestern (4).
Semifinal matchups for Iowa include:
– Drake Ayala vs. Marcus Blaze of Penn State at 133 lbs
– Nasir Bailey vs. Jesse Mendez of Ohio State at 141 lbs
– Michael Caliendo vs. Andrew Barbosa of Rutgers at 165 lbs
– Patrick Kennedy vs. Christopher Minto of Nebraska at 174 lbs
Consolation round two will feature several other Hawkeyes aiming to continue their tournament runs.