The University of Iowa wrestling team, ranked eighth nationally, secured a decisive 40-6 victory over Michigan State on Sunday at Jenison Field House in East Lansing. The Hawkeyes won nine out of ten matches, with seven wrestlers earning bonus points and six matches ending early by technical fall.
Head coach Tom Brands commented on the team’s performance: “Lot of bonus points. Gotta love that. Solid, more importantly. You get bonus points because you are solid. Nothing reckless or silly or goofy, but a lot of power. Staying in their best positions, that’s what we have to have. Keep that going. We are going Friday night, quick turnaround. Every day, every hour, progress. That is where we are at.”
The dual began with No. 6 Dean Peterson winning a major decision at 125 pounds against Nick Corday with a score of 12-2. At 133 pounds, No. 9 Drake Ayala started a series of three consecutive technical falls by defeating Caleb Weiand 21-4. Kale Petersen followed at 141 pounds with a technical fall over Sean Larkin (17-2), and No. 18 Ryder Block completed the stretch at 149 pounds by beating Clayton Jones (21-5).
Reflecting on his match, Petersen said: “I had a tough match Friday. I just regrouped and got tough, pushed the pace, got myself tired and scored a lot of points.”
Victor Voinovich III contributed with a decision win over Darius Marines at 157 pounds (7-3), giving Iowa a significant lead before intermission.
After the break, third-ranked Michael Caliendo earned a first-period technical fall over DJ Shannon at 165 pounds (22-4). No. 3 Patrick Kennedy continued the momentum with another technical fall against Connor O’Neill at 174 pounds (19-4). Gabe Arnold added to the tally at 184 pounds by defeating Ryan Boucher via technical fall (20-4).
Michigan State scored its only points when No. 23 Kael Wisler received a forfeit win at 197 pounds.
The dual concluded with No. 8 Ben Kueter securing a decision over Josh Terill in the heavyweight division (7-1).
Officials for the event were Curt Frost and Jeron Quincy; attendance was recorded as 778.