Session I will start at 11 a.m. and be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN+.
Emily Nyberg
No. 3 141-pound Iowa’s Real Woods defeats No. 6 Illinois’ Danny Pucino during session one of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at the Xfinity Center in College Park, MD, on Saturday, March 9, 2024. Woods defeated Pucino by decision 13-9.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It all comes down to this. For these 330 wrestlers, this is the moment they’ve been waiting for all season, some for their entire careers.
The NCAA Wrestling Championships will kick off with Session I at 11 a.m. at the T-Mobile Center. Nine Hawkeyes will be competing. Aiden Riggins did not place at the conference tournament at 184 pounds or receive an at-large bid.
After an underwhelming fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, Tom Brands and his Iowa squad have a lot at stake.
Since 1972, Iowa has crowned at least one All-American in 52 straight tournaments.According to seeding, the Hawkeyes are projected to finish ninth in the team race and without a finalist for the first time since 1989. The last time the Hawkeyes finished at or below ninth place was in 1972 when they tied for 11th. The last time Iowa finished without a team trophy was in 2016.
Along with determining 10 individual champions, the national tournament will reward the top eight finishers in each weight class with All-American honors. The top four squads earn podium and team trophy finishes. Every wrestler in the tournament will compete in at least two matches in Kansas City.
Each wrestler who loses in the first round will have a chance to wrestle back to All-American honors, but if they lose again, their season will be over. If an athlete continues to win in the consolation bracket, they can finish as high as third in their respective weight class.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Iowa’s Session I matchups
125 POUNDS: No. 3 Drake Ayala over No. 30 Elijah Griffin (CBU) viamajor decision
Ayala beat Griffin, 18-8, in the regular season.
Period 1: Scoreless.
Period 2: Ayala starts down and escapes in 43 seconds. Ayala takedown. He leads, 4-0.
Period 3: Griffin escapes. Ayala tacks on to his lead with another takedown. Griffin escapes. Ayala scores another takedown in the last five seconds to win, 10-2, and advance to the second round. That’s a big takedown near the end to get the major decision and more team points.
133 POUNDS: No. 15 Brody Teske over No. 18 Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) via major decision
Period 1: Teske wins a scramble near the edge and takes a 3-0 lead. Cardinal escapes after Teske rides him for 25 seconds. Teske up, 3-1.
Period 2: Teske starts down and escapes. He still has six seconds of riding time. Teske goes up, 7-1, with a takedown. Cardinal with a two-point reversal. Teske escapes and leads, 8-3.
Period 3: Cardinal starts down and escapes to cut his deficit to four. Teske takes advantage of a little stumble by Cardinal and scores a takedown in the final 20 seconds of the match. With 1:35 riding time, Teske wins, 12-4. More bonus points for the Hawkeyes.
141 POUNDS: No. 3 Real Woods over No. 30 Kai Owen (COL) via technical fall
Woods was originally slated to face South Dakota State’s Clay Carlson, a two-time All-American, but an injury default by Carlson shifted the field.
Period 1: Woods wastes no time, scoring a takedown within the first 10 seconds of the whistle. Woods gets four near-fall points and rides Owen out for the remainder of the period. The Hawkeye has 2:53 riding time.
Period 2: Woods starts down and escapes in five seconds. Two more takedowns secure a 15-0 tech fall for Woods. He moves on.
149 POUNDS: No. 20 Jordan Williams (OKST) over No. 13 Caleb Rathjen via decision
Period 1: Scoreless.
Period 2: Williams starts down and escapes in eight seconds. Rathjen gets ahold of a leg and kicks the other out from under Williams for a takedown and a 3-1 lead. Williams escapes. Rathjen up, 3-2.
Period 3: Rathjen starts down and immediately escapes to go up, 4-2. Williams scores a takedown near the edge to take a 5-4 lead. Rathjen knots the match with an escape. Williams scores a takedown and tilts Rathjen for four near-fall points to win, 12-5. Rathjen moves to the consolation bracket and can still place as high as third.
157 POUNDS: No. 10 Jared Franek over No. 23 Joey Blaze (PUR) via tiebreaker
Franek has beaten Blaze twice this year, but the first matchup was a 2-1 nail-biter.
Period 1: Scoreless
Period 2: Franek starts down and escapes to take a 1-0 lead.
Period 3: Blaze ties it with an escape. We’re headed to sudden victory.
OT: No score in sudden victory.
Time for the tiebreakers. Blaze starts down first and escapes in 12 seconds. Franek escapes in eight seconds and holds on to win, 3-2, with four seconds of advantage time.
165 POUNDS: No. 6 Michael Caliendo over No. 27 Blaine Brenner (MINN) viamajor decision
Caliendo defeated Brenner, 19-4, at the Soldier Salute in December 2023.
Period 1: Scoreless.
Period 2: Caliendo escapes quickly and then tacks on a takedown for the first points of the match. Brenner escapes. Caliendo answers with a takedown to go up, 7-2.
Period 3: Caliendo with three more points and 2:14 of riding time to win, 11-2. He moves on. Bonus points for the Hawks.
174 POUNDS: No. 21 Tyler Eischens (UNC) over No. 12 Patrick Kennedy via decision
Period 1: Kennedy scores a takedown near the edge while Eischens fights to get out of bounds. Eischens answers with an escape and takedown to take a 4-3 lead.
Period 2: Eischens gets a two-point reversal to go up, 6-3, and then Kennedy gets a reversal of his own. The Hawkeye is down 6-5.
Period 3: Kennedy starts down and escapes to tie it at six. Kennedy currently has two minutes of riding time. But the riding time doesn’t matter, as Kennedy gives up a takedown in the last 20 seconds. He falls, 9-7. Looked like Kennedy eased off the physicality and tried not to lose instead of attacking and securing the match. He moves to the consolation bracket and can still finish as high as third.
197 POUNDS: No.26 Andy Smith (VT) over No. 7 Zach Glazier via sudden victory
Period 1: Scoreless.
Period 2: Smith escapes to take the lead.
Period 3: Glazier escapes to tie it at one. We head to sudden victory.
Smith wins it with a takedown in about a minute. Glazier’s disappointment is visible, as he’s slow to walk off the mat.
HEAVYWEIGHT: No. 25 Bradley Hill over No.8 Owen Trephan (NCST) via decision
Hill ends round one for the Hawkeyes with a 4-2 victory. A tough opponent and a gritty match for Hill in his NCAA Tournament debut.
