Another tough weight in the Big Ten at 157 with wrestlers ranked #1,4,5, and 7 in the country. At 157 there are ten wrestlers ranked the top twenty-nine where the Big Ten has only nine automatic qualifiers for the National Tournament. That is tough competition.
Jared Franek is ranked #5 in the country and should get the #3 seed at Big Tens. On the season Franek is 20-3 with six tech falls and three major decisions. For the season Franek is 7-3 vs. ranked opponents.
Franek may have Will Lewan of Michigan in the quarterfinals in a rematch of the dual meet that Lewan won in OT.
Like fellow senior teammate Real Woods I look for Franek to crank it up a notch or two in the tournaments and have a real good showing at Big Tens.
InterMat Rankings at 157 in the Big Ten
1.Levi Haines (Penn State)
4.Michael Blockhus (Minnesota)
5.Jared Franek (Iowa)
7.Peyton Robb (Nebraska)
15.Brayton Lee (Indiana)
16.Will Lewan (Michigan)
19.Joey Blaze (Purdue)
20.Chase Saldate (Michigan State)
21.Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern)
29.Isaac Wilcox (Ohio State)
2023-24 Season – Jared Franek (157)
Drayden Morton (Cal Baptist) W-D 8-1 1-0
Luther Open – 1st Place
John Ebaugh (Upper Iowa) W-TF 16-1 2-0
Blain Christie (Wartburg) W-TF 18-1 3-0
Daniel Meeker (Wartburg) W-TF 19-2 4-0
Blake Jagodzinske (Augsburg) W-TF 17-2 5-0
Caleb Meunier (Minnesota State Mankato) W-MD 21-7 6-0
Murphy Menke (Oregon State) W-D 10-3 7-0
#18 Cody Chittum (Iowa State) W-D 4-2 8-0
#26 Jude Swisher (Penn) W-D 4-2 9-0
Jaden Le (Columbia) W-D 9-5 10-0
Soldier Salute – 1st Place
James Conway (Missouri) W-D 4-1 11-0
Kyler Wong (Minnesota) W-TF 17-1 12-0
Jason Krassier (Iowa State) W-MD 13-3 13-0
#17 Cael Swensen (SDSU) W-D 4-1 SV1 14-0
#3 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) W-D 5-4 15-0
#11 Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) L-D 5-4 15-1
#16 Joey Blaze (Purdue) W-D 2-1 16-1
Joe Roberts (Illinois) W-TF 21-5 17-1
#19 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) W-D 4-1 SV1 18-1
#12 Will Lewan (Michigan) L-D 2-2 TB1 18-2
#1 Levi Haines (Penn State) L-MD 12-0 18-3
Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) W-MD 17-5 19-3
#10 Teague Travis (Oklahoma State) W-D 10-4 20-3
Sat and Sun March 9-10 – at Big Ten Championships (College Park, Maryland)
Thurs-Sat March 21-23 – at NCAA Championships (Kansas City, MO)
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
