The Iowa wrestling team, ranked third nationally, was defeated by sixth-ranked Iowa State with a score of 20-14 in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series held at Hilton Coliseum in Ames on Sunday. The Cyclones secured six match victories and achieved bonus points in two bouts, compared to one for the Hawkeyes.
Head coach Tom Brands commented on the outcome: “I look at it like we have work to do. We will keep doing the work. I’m not sure that we failed in critical moments. I think that we can get better, and we have the guys to get better.”
The dual began at 285 pounds where Yonger Bastida, ranked No. 1, defeated Ben Kueter (No. 6) by an 11-4 decision. Kueter managed a late escape in the third period to avoid giving up bonus points.
At 125 pounds, Dean Peterson (No. 7) won against Stevo Poulin (No. 9) with a score of 4-2, repeating his victory from last year’s NCAA tournament matchup.
In the 133-pound category, Evan Frost (No. 6) upset Drake Ayala (No. 3), winning 11-5. Anthony Echemendia (No. 6) then delivered a major decision over Nasir Bailey (No. 7), finishing at 15-2.
Ryder Block (No.10) pulled off an upset for Iowa at 149 pounds by defeating Paniro Johnson (No.2) in tiebreakers, securing a narrow win of 2-1 after escaping within three seconds.
Vinny Zerban (No.3) added bonus points for Iowa State at 157 pounds with an 11-3 major decision over Jordan Williams (No.12).
Michael Caliendo, ranked second nationally at 165 pounds, used six takedowns to record a technical fall against Connor Euton (No.22), ending their bout at 20-5.
Angelo Ferrari (No.1) narrowly edged out Issac Dean (No.10) at 184 pounds by forcing a stall call in the third period and winning with a score of 2-1.
Rocky Elam (No.2) closed out the dual for Iowa State with an 8-2 decision over Massoma Endene (No.4).
The event drew an attendance of more than twelve thousand spectators.