The Iowa Hawkeyes made the most of their only weekend road trip of the season with two dual meets count. Iowa competed in twenty matches and was 20-0. Iowa won by an identical 41-0 score over Indiana on Friday night and against #8 Purdue on Sunday afternoon.
Indiana did not have a wrestler ranked and the Hawks rolled with thee pins, a tech fall, and six decisions. The big story from the Indiana meet was Abe Assad burning his redshirt to become just the fourth wrestler in the Tom Brands era to compete as a true freshman. Assad looked good in his varsity debut with a 6-2 decision over Jake Hinz.
Most fans were probably expecting more bonus points and I was one of them. Mark Ironside said on the radio that Iowa had trained through the Indiana dual meet and would have until Sunday to rest up. I will take his word for it because the Hawks looked great on Sunday.
To shut out a Big Ten opponent is quite an accomplishment. To shutout the #8 ranked team in the country with four wrestlers ranked in the top eight on the road is quite another. Iowa looked great in winning all ten matches in a 41-0 shutout at Purdue. Iowa racked up bonus points in five matches with two falls, two tech falls, and a major decision.
Spencer Lee is…Spencer Lee. It looked like Lee was drilling when he scored a 17-0 tech fall over #5 ranked Devin Schroder in the first period. A first period tech fall is hard to imagine against a #5 ranked wrestler. Then again, so is Spencer Lee. Austin DeSanto followed with a tech fall early in the second period. A solid weekend for Max Murin with a 6-0 win at Indiana and a 6-1 decision at Purdue. Pat Lugo looked really good against Purdue with an 8-0 major decision.
Kaleb Young won a hard fought 4-3 decision over #8 ranked Kendall Coleman. Alex Marinelli showed why he is called Bull with two pins on the weekend. I was really impressed with Michael Kemerer in an 8-4 decision over #4 ranked Dylan Lydy. That was the first big test for Kemerer this season at his new weight and he looked great. Assad picked up his second varsity win of his career with a 5-2 decision.
Jacob Warner looked real good in getting the 8-2 decisions over #2 ranked Christian Brunner. That is the second time this season Warner had defeated the #2 ranked wrestler in the country on the road. This is the time last year when Warner started to really pick it up. Tony Cassioppi picked up two first period pins on the weekend in :20 and 2:00.
Overall, a very good showing for the Hawks this weekend. The team as a whole are getting the first period takedowns in the close matches that is a big influence on getting the win. I do not know what else to say except that the Iowa Wrestling team looks very, very good right now.
Iowa will now host top five ranked Nebraska, Ohio State, and Penn State over the next three weekends. Penn State is already a sellout. With the way the Hawks looked this weekend, I am now expecting even bigger crowds for the Nebraska and Ohio State meets.
The performance at Indiana and Purdue only added to the excitement of the next three home dual meets and the rest of the season. I cannot wait.
#1 Iowa over Indiana 41-0
149 — #1 Pat Lugo (IA) dec. Graham Rooks (IND), 10-6
157 — #6 Kaleb Young (IA) dec. Fernando Silva (IND), 11-4
165 — #2 Alex Marinelli (IA) pinned David Tunon (IND), 5:34
174 — #3 Michael Kemerer (IA) dec. Jacob Covaciu (IND), 9-6
184 — Abe Assad (IA) dec Jake Hinz (IND), 6-2
197 — #5 Jacob Warner (IA) dec Nick Willham (IND), 8-3
285 — #4 Tony Cassioppi (IA) pinned Rudy Streck (IND), 0:20
125 — #1 Spencer Lee (IA) tech. fall Liam Cronin (IND), 15-0
133 — #2 Austin DeSanto (IA) pinned Jonathan Moran (IND), 2:42
141 — #7 Max Murin (IA) dec Eddie Bolivar (IND), 6-0
#1 Iowa over #8 Purdue 41-0
125 — #1 Spencer Lee (IA) tech. fall #5 Devin Schroder (P), 17-0
133 — #2 Austin DeSanto (IA) tech. fall Travis Ford-Melton (P), 17-1
141 — #7 Max Murin (IA) dec. Parker Filius (P), 6-1
149 — #1 Pat Lugo (IA) major dec. Nate Limmex (P), 8-0
157 — #6 Kaleb Young (IA) dec. #8 Kendall Coleman (P), 4-3
165 — #2 Alex Marinelli (IA) pinned Tanner Webster (P), 1:51
174 — #3 Michael Kemerer (IA) dec. #4 Dylan Lydy (P), 8-4
184 — Abe Assad (IA) dec. Max Lyon (P), 5-2
197 — #5 Jacob Warner (IA) dec. #2 Christian Brunner (P), 8-2
285 — #4 Tony Cassioppi (IA) pinned Thomas Penola (P), 2:00
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
