Tom Brands collected his 300th win as head coach as Iowa defeated Princeton 39-3 and Army 23-16. Iowa was competing at the Journeymen Wrestling Uncivil War in St. Charles, Missouri.
Iowa won 15 of the 20 bouts with bonus in 11 matches.
The Hawks won nine of ten matches against Princeton with six straight matches with bonus points for the 39-3 win. Kyle Parco(149), Miguel Estrada(157), Michael Caliendo(165), Nelson Brands(174), and Stephan Buchanan(197) all had tech falls.
Drake Ayala(133) and Gabe Arnold(184) had major decisions and Ben Kueter(Hwt) had a decision.
Iowa won six of ten matches against Army. All four losses were from backups filling in. Patrick Kennedy and Stephan Buchanan both had tech falls and Parco and Caliendo had major decisions.
I have been stating on this blog that I wanted to see Miguel Estrada get a shot in the starting lineup. Well, I got it. Estrada went up a weight to 157 and came out and exploded with a 21-6 tech fall in the second period.
I hope we see more of Estrada in the lineup at 157 while #1 Jacori Teemer is recovering from an injury. True freshmen can compete at five events without using a year of eligibility and I hope to see Estrada use all five of those dates. The team was just different with him in the lineup. This guy has a great future for us in the Black and Gold.
I also need to mention Gabe Arnold at 184. At the end of a flurry against Andrew Christie of Army, Arnold went from nearly scoring a three-point takedown to getting taken down and giving up two backpoints and being behind 5-0.
Arnold came back and won the match 11-7. I liked the confidence and steady way that Arnold battled back. A match like that should give Arnold added confidence should that happen in the future.
Iowa does not compete until Soldier Salute on December 29-30 in Coralville, Iowa. The Hawks will start the Big Ten season at Wisconsin on January 12. That is a long break in the middle of a long season that began the earliest in Iowa Wrestling history on November 2.
The Hawks will get healthy and have a training phase during this long layoff to prepare for the always competitive Big Ten season.
As I am always saying on this blog, Iowa Wrestling is my entertainment. I plan on being very entertained with Iowa Wrestling this season. This edition of Iowa Wrestling has wrestlers that are fun to watch and they are only going to get better as the season progresses.
No. 2 Iowa 39, Princeton 3
125 | Joey Cruz (I) dec. #30 Ethan Rivera (P), 6-1
133 | #6 Drake Ayala (I) major dec. Daniel Jones (P), 13-2
141 | Eligh Rivera (P) dec. Cullan Schreiver (I), 4-2
149 | #4 Kyle Parco (I) tech. fall Christopher Martino (P), 17-2
157 | Miguel Estrada (I) tech. fall Cody Tavoso (P), 21-6
165 | #2 Michael Caliendo tech. fall Hudson Hightower, 19-3
174 | #8 Nelson Brands (I) tech. fall Xavier Giles (P), 20-4
184 | #8 Gabe Arnold (I) major dec. #27 Michael Squires (P), 19-6
197 | #2 Stephen Buchanan (I) tech. fall #18 Luke Stout (P), 18-3
285 | #13 Ben Kueter (I) dec. #33 Sebastian Garibaldi (P), 8-2
No. 2 Iowa 23, Army West Point 16
125 | #22 Charles Farmer (A) major dec. Joey Cruz (I), 8-0
133 | #6 Drake Ayala (I) dec. #23 Ethan Berginc (A), 7-3
141 | #29 Braden Basile (A) dec. Cullan Schriever (I), 11-6
149 | #4 Kyle Parco (I) major dec. #26 Trae McDaniel (A), 14-5
157 | Dakota Morris (A) pinned Kael Voinovich (I), 6:00
165 | #2 Michael Caliendo (I) major dec. #13 Gunner Filipowicz (A), 11-2
174 | Patrick Kennedy (I) tech. fall #31 Dalton Harkins (A), 21-4
184 | #8 Gabe Arnold (I) dec. Andrew Christie (A), 11-7
197 | Stephen Buchanan (I) tech. fall Wolfgang Frable (A), 20-4
285 | #27 Lucas Stoddard (A) dec. Easton Fleshman (I), 2-0
*Iowa was deducted a team point during the 165-pound bout.
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
