The Iowa Hawkeyes will host Illinois Friday in sold out legendary Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 6 PM.
#9 Illinois has nine wrestlers ranked and we can expect an entertaining dual meet from start to finish.
The top match of the night will be at 133 with #4 Drake Ayala taking on Lucas Byrd who is #1 in one ranking.
The Hawks have options listed in the probable lineups at 125, 133 and 184. We will see either Joey Cruz or Kale Petersen at 125. Three wrestlers are listed at 141 with Ryder Block, Jace Rhodes and Cullan Schriever and at 184 we have Gabe Arnold and Angelo Ferrari.
I am looking forward to 184 with either Arnold or Ferrari taking on #10 Edmond Ruth in what may be the most exciting match of the night.
Miguel Estrada is listed at 157 to face Jason Kraisser who is a graduate and ranked #15 in the country. This will be a great opportunity for fans to see what Estrada has against a veteran ranked Big Ten wrestler in a big dual meet as he steps in for #1 Jacori Teemer who is out with an injury.
This is a big meet for Ben Kueter at Hwt where he will face senior Luke Luffman that is ranked anywhere from 7-11. Kueter needs to win this type of match to be an All American this season. This will be a test to see where Kueter is at with the tough competition in the Big Ten and the country because the competition only gets tougher the rest of the season.
Overall I am expecting a great dual meet for fans in attendance and watching on TV. A sold out Friday night crowd in Carver-Hawkeye arena will be ready to go.
The Hawkeye Wrestling Club will host a Pre-Match Social on Friday before the Iowa-Illinois meet at Donnelly’s Pub at 110 E College St in Iowa City from 3-6 PM.
#2 Iowa vs. #9 Illinois
Friday, January 17 at 6 PM
Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Live on BTN
Steven Grace and Mark Ironside call the action on AM 800 KXIC and audio streamed online at HawkeySports.com via YouTube.
Probable Lineups
125 –/28/28/– Joey Cruz So. Fresno, California/Bullard 13-6 -or- Kale Petersen R-Fr. Rockwell, Iowa/Greene County 5-2 vs. Caelan Riley Jr. Libertyville, Illinois/Libertyville 3-7
133 2/4/3/3 Drake Ayala Jr. Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge 10-1 vs. 1/2/2/2 Lucas Byrd R-Sr. Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle 11-0
141 –/30/21/– Ryder Block R-Fr. Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock 2-2 -or- Jace Rhodes So. Mason City, Iowa/Mason City 5-2 -or- Cullan Schriever Sr. Mason City, Iowa/Mason City 3-5 vs. 16/12/17/14 Danny Pucino R-Jr. Libertyville, Illinois/Libertyville 9-2
149 3/3/3/ Kyle Parco Sr. Danville, California/De La Salle 11-0 vs. 14/12/15/ Kannon Webster R-Fr. Toulon, Illinois/Washington Community 8-3
157 Miguel Estrada Fr. Bakersfield, California/ Frontier 12-0/1-2* vs. 15/20/22/ Jason Kraisser Gr. Ellicott City, Maryland/Centennial 8-3
165 2/2/2/2 Michael Caliendo Jr. Geneva, Illinois/Batavia 11-0 vs. 11/11/15/ Braeden Scoles R-Fr. Kewaskum, Wisconsin/Kewaskum 10-1
174 5/5/5/ Patrick Kennedy Sr. Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota 7-0 vs. 18/21/19/– Danny Braunagel R-Sr. Belleville, Illinois/Althoff Catholic 6-5
184 9/5/5/8 Gabe Arnold R-Fr. Albany, Georgia/Iowa City 9-1 -or- Angelo Ferrari Fr. Melissa, Texas/Melissa 10-0 vs. 11/10/13/10 Edmond Ruth R-Sr. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 8-3
197 1/2/1/1 Stephen Buchanan Grad. Loyal, Wisconsin/Loyal 11-0 vs. 16/18/13/12 Zac Braunagel R-Sr. Belleville, Illinois/Althoff Catholic 8-3
285 16/12/13/18 Ben Kueter R-Fr. Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City 9-1 vs. 8/11/11/7 Luke Luffman R-Sr. Urbana, Illinois/Urbana 9-2
* Unattached
^WIN/InterMat/Flo/AWN (Rankings based on weight class listed at)
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!