The University of Iowa men’s wrestling team finished fourth at the 2026 Big Ten Championships held at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa., according to a March 8 announcement. Seven Hawkeye wrestlers reached the podium, and Iowa qualified nine out of ten weight classes for the upcoming NCAA Championships in Cleveland.
This result continues a long-standing trend for Iowa, which has sent at least nine wrestlers to the national tournament for 14 consecutive years and 18 times since Tom Brands became head coach in 2007. The team’s consistent performance underscores its status as a leading program in collegiate wrestling.
“Nine in for Cleveland,” said head coach Tom Brands. “We will see what our seeds are. Wait on Victor Voinovich. Thoughts on the tournament are some good coming back strong today. We want to be on the championship side of things; these guys want to be on the championship side of things. We have work to do to do that. The work will start on Thursday in Cleveland. Thursday, Friday, Saturday.”
During Session IV, Iowa dropped its only finals bout when third-seeded Michael Caliendo lost by major decision at 165 pounds to top-seeded Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State. However, several Hawkeyes secured placement victories: Drake Ayala finished third at 133 pounds after defeating Zan Fugitt of Wisconsin; Nasir Bailey took third place at 141 pounds with a win over Vance VomBaur of Minnesota; and Dean Peterson claimed fifth place at 125 pounds by beating Diego Sotelo from Michigan.
Other notable performances included Patrick Kennedy finishing fourth at 174 pounds and Ben Kueter taking fourth place at heavyweight (285 pounds). Angelo Ferrari placed eighth after medically forfeiting his seventh-place match earlier in the day.
Looking ahead, Iowa’s focus shifts to preparing for the NCAA Championships in Cleveland later this month.