The University of Iowa wrestling team, ranked eighth nationally, was defeated by No. 2 Ohio State with a score of 24-9 on Friday at the Covelli Center in Columbus.
Iowa took an early lead in the dual, starting at 157 pounds when Victor Voinovich III secured a 5-0 decision over Maddox Shaw. Michael Caliendo, ranked third at 165 pounds, added to Iowa’s advantage with an 8-2 win against e’Than Birden. Patrick Kennedy, also ranked third and competing at 174 pounds, achieved a 4-1 decision over fifth-ranked Carson Kharchla.
Ohio State responded at 184 pounds as Dylan Fishback earned a sudden victory over Gabe Arnold, followed by Luke Geog’s major decision at 197 pounds. Despite these results, Iowa led Ohio State 9-7 going into intermission.
After the break, Nick Feldman gave Ohio State its first team lead with a close win against Ben Kueter in the heavyweight bout. The Buckeyes continued to build their advantage through victories from Nic Bouzakis at 125 pounds and Ben Davino at 133 pounds.
A technical fall by Jesse Mendez over Kale Petersen at 141 pounds extended Ohio State’s lead further. The dual concluded with Ethan Stiles defeating Ryder Block in sudden victory at 149 pounds.
“We’ve got opportunities we have to capitalize on,” head coach Tom Brands said. “That is probably the biggest thing, where you’re looking to improve and that is capitalizing on opportunities to score.”
Reflecting on individual performances, Brands added: “Voinovich, we can probably break that one open. Caliendo going for bonus points, have to tack them down. Kennedy won a tough match, and I think we can score there. He had a lot of looks and opportunities, and we have to capitalize on those. Kennedy was on the right side of it, and Arnold was on the other side of it. Kueter was on the other side of it. Ayala was in three times, that was progress.”
Officials for the event were Jeron Quincy and Reynaldo Santiago. Attendance for the meet was reported as 4,749.