Twenty members of the Iowa Wrestling team have been named to the 2023-24 Big Ten Winter Academic All-Conference team.

The 20 honorees for men’s wrestling are a school record.

From HawkeyeSports.com:

To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team, as verified by being on the official squad list as of March 1 for winter sports, who have been enrolled fulltime at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.

Congratulations to the Iowa Wrestlers for getting it done on the mat and in the classroom.

2023-24 Big Ten Winter Academic All-Conference 

Drake Ayala – Jr. – Interdepartmental Studies – Fort Dodge, Iowa

Nelson Brands – Sr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Iowa City, Iowa

Tony Cassioppi – Sr. – Finance – Roscoe, Ill.

Easton Fleshman – RS Fr. – Social Studies Education – Inwood, Iowa

Kolby Franklin – RS Fr. – Criminology, Law and Justice – DuBois, Pa.

Zach Glazier – Sr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Albert Lea, Minn.

Joel Jesuroga – RS Fr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Pleasant Hill, Iowa

Patrick Kennedy – Jr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.

Carter Martinson – RS Fr. – History – Altoona, Iowa

Gage Marty – RS Fr. – Enterprise Leadership – Solon, Iowa

Charles Matthews – Jr. – Finance – San Mateo, Calif.

Aidan McCain – RS Fr. – Mechanical Engineering – Round Lake, Ill.

Drake Rhodes – RS Fr. – Pre-Business – Billings, Mont.

Jace Rhodes – RS Fr. – Exercise Science – Mason City, Iowa

Aiden Riggins – RS Fr. – Business Standard Admission – Janesville, Iowa

Cullan Schriever – Sr. – Finance – Mason City, Iowa

Leif Schroeder – Jr. – Social Studies Education – Bozeman, Mont.

Cade Siebrecht – RS Fr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Lisbon, Iowa

Cobe Siebrecht – Sr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Lisbon, Iowa

Brennan Swafford – Grad. Entrepreneurial Management – Mediapolis, Iowa

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Nineteen members of the Iowa Wrestling team have been named to the 2023-24 Big Ten Winter Academic All-Conference team.

The 19 honorees for men’s wrestling are a school record.

From HawkeyeSports.com:

To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team, as verified by being on the official squad list as of March 1 for winter sports, who have been enrolled fulltime at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.

Congratulations to the Iowa Wrestlers for getting it done on the mat and in the classroom.

2023-24 Big Ten Winter Academic All-Conference 

Drake Ayala – Jr. – Interdepartmental Studies – Fort Dodge, Iowa

Nelson Brands – Sr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Iowa City, Iowa

Tony Cassioppi – Sr. – Finance – Roscoe, Ill.

Easton Fleshman – RS Fr. – Social Studies Education – Inwood, Iowa

Kolby Franklin – RS Fr. – Criminology, Law and Justice – DuBois, Pa.

Zach Glazier – Sr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Albert Lea, Minn.

Joel Jesuroga – RS Fr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Pleasant Hill, Iowa

Patrick Kennedy – Jr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.

Carter Martinson – RS Fr. – History – Altoona, Iowa

Gage Marty – RS Fr. – Enterprise Leadership – Solon, Iowa

Charles Matthews – Jr. – Finance – San Mateo, Calif.

Aidan McCain – RS Fr. – Mechanical Engineering – Round Lake, Ill.

Drake Rhodes – RS Fr. – Pre-Business – Billings, Mont.

Jace Rhodes – RS Fr. – Exercise Science – Mason City, Iowa

Aiden Riggins – RS Fr. – Business Standard Admission – Janesville, Iowa

Cullan Schriever – Sr. – Finance – Mason City, Iowa

Leif Schroeder – Jr. – Social Studies Education – Bozeman, Mont.

Cade Siebrecht – RS Fr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Lisbon, Iowa

Cobe Siebrecht – Sr. – Sport and Recreation Management – Lisbon, Iowa

Brennan Swafford – Grad. Entrepreneurial Management – Mediapolis, Iowa

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

It’s time. The NCAA National Wrestling Championships begin tomorrow at 11 AM in Kansas City, Missouri. The biggest tournament of the year. A great time of the year to be a wrestling fan.

This has been a unique season for Iowa Wrestling with a few new twists and turns. It all comes down to three days of combat in the T-Mobile Center in the heartland of Kansas City.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have nine wrestlers that qualified from an always rugged Big Ten Tournament. Iowa is ranked #2 according to InterMat, WIN, Flo and NWCA. In each of the rankings Iowa was ranked only a few points ahead of at least two other teams.

Considering the seeds, overall I believe Iowa has really good draws. As a Hawkeye fan you cannot ask for more than what we have for a draw at 125,141,157,165, and 174. 197 did us no favors for a draw but that’s the way it is.

I feel confident that Iowa will outperform their seeds at Nationals and that will result in a second place finish.

If I had to pick a dark horse to finish above their seed then I am going with #10 seed Jared Franek at 157. Each match will be tough including in the first round. I just see Franek winning the close ones and getting his hand raised quite often. I like his path to the finals.

I am trying to only focus on the First Round tomorrow. 9-0 would be a great start to the tournament. To echo the old saying…One match at a time.

Every year at Nationals there are upsets in the first round on Thursday and the quarterfinals on Friday. Making weight early in the morning is a tough road for some wrestlers and that is a big contributing factor to those upsets. 

That scenario could benefit the Hawks in the always important quarterfinals at 11 AM on Friday morning. 

I am always saying on this blog that Iowa Wrestling is my entertainment. I plan on being entertained over the course of this tournament.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

Brackets for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships:

https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2024/03/13/2024NCAAd1Wrestlingbrackets.pdf

First Round Matchups with seeds – Thursday, March 21 at 11 AM CST

125: #3 Drake Ayala vs. #30 Elijah Griffin (CBU) 

133: #15 Brody Teske vs. #18 Derrick Cardinal (South Dakota State)

141: #3 Real Woods vs. #30 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State)

149: #13 Caleb Rathjen vs. #20 Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State)

157: #10 Jared Franek vs. #23 Joey Blaze (Purdue)

165: #6 Mike Caliendo vs. #27 Blaine Brenner (Minnesota)

174: #12 Patrick Kennedy vs. #21 Tyle Eischens (North Carolina)

197: #7 Zach Glazier vs. #26 Andy Smich (Virginia Tech)

Hwt: #25 Brad Hill vs. #8 Owen Trephan (North Carolina State)

Schedule for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships

***All time listed are CST

Thursday, March 21 

Session 1: Championship First Round  11 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 2: Championship Second Round and Consolations  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Friday, March 22

Session 3: Quarterfinals and Consolations  11 AM  ESPN/ESPNt

Session 4: Semifinals and Blood Round  7 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Saturday, March 23

Session 5: Consolation Medal Round  10 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 6: Finals  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Brad Hill enters Nationals as the #25 seed at Hwt and was ranked #22 in the most recent InterMat rankings.

Hill is 20-7 on the season with two pins, four tech falls, and six major decisions.

In the first round Hill will face #8 seed Owen Trephan of North Carolina State who has an 18-7 record. I am looking for a good match here as I believe the rugged Big Ten schedule has prepared Hill for the competition of Nationals. 

Brad Hill has come a long way this season and has earned his spot at Nationals. This guy is fun to watch and I have enjoyed seeing him progress this season.

Brackets for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships:

https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2024/03/13/2024NCAAd1Wrestlingbrackets.pdf

Brad Hill (Hwt)

Max Acciardi (Cal Baptist) W-MD 16-4 1-0 

Luther Open – 2nd Place 

   Maximo Ruiz (Stevens Tech) W-Pin 1:20 2-0 

   Garner Simmons (Wisconsin-Whitewater) W-Pin 0:48 3-0 

   Tanner Gaffey (Minnesota State Mankato) W-TF 22-5 4-0 

   Walter West (Luther) W-MD 16-5 5-0 

   Tyler Kim (Augsburg) L-D 2-1 5-1 

#22 Boone McDermott (Oregon State) L-D 4-1 5-2 

#7 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) L-MD 17-6 5-3 

Cole Urbas (Penn) W-D 8-3 6-3 

Billy McChesney (Columbia) W-TF 19-4 7-3 

Soldier Salute – 3rd Place 

   Billy McChesney (Columbia) W-TF 21-6 8-3 

   Seth Nitzel (Missouri) L-D 5-4 8-4 

   Vincent Mueller (Columbia) W-MD 10-1 9-4 

   Tyler Mousaw (VMI) W-MD 11-1 10-4 

   Bowen McConnville (SDSU) W-D 7-4 11-4 

   Nathan Schon (Unattached) W-D 6-4 12-4 

Nash Hutchmacher (Nebraska) W-D 4-1 13-4 

Tristan Ruhlman (Purdue) W-TF 19-4 14-4 

Peter Marinopolous (Illinois) W-Pin 5:41 15-4 

#6 Lucas Davidson (Michigan) L-MD 11-2 15-5 

Gannon Rosenfeld (Wisconsin) W-MD 11-3 16-5

Big Ten Championships – 5th Place 

   Nash Hutmacher (Nebraska) W-D 4-2 17-5 

   Nick Feldman (Ohio State) L (Inj. Default) 17-6 

   Josh Terrill (Michigan State) W-MD 11-0 18-6 

   Nick WIllham (Indiana) W-D 4-2 19-6 

   Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers) L-D 5-1 19-7 

   Nash Hutmacher (Nebraska) W-D 4-1 20-7

Schedule for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships

***All time listed are CST

Thursday, March 21 

Session 1: Championship First Round  11 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 2: Championship Second Round and Consolations  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Friday, March 22

Session 3: Quarterfinals and Consolations  11 AM  ESPN/ESPNt

Session 4: Semifinals and Blood Round  7 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Saturday, March 23

Session 5: Consolation Medal Round  10 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 6: Finals  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa is hosting a Hawkeye Huddle for all Iowa Hawkeye wrestling fans in Kansas City on Friday.

The event will be held from 3-5 PM between the Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds of the NCAA National Wrestling Championships.

From HawkeyeSports.com:

The University of Iowa will host one event for all supporters coming to the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Fans are invited to join the I-Club, Office of Alumni Engagement, the Iowa Swarm Collective, and the Hawkeye Wrestling Club on Friday from 3-5 p.m. at PBR Big Sky, 111 E 13th St.

The Hawkeye Huddle is free and open to all fans and will feature giveaways, snacks, and cash refreshments.

Schedule for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships

***All time listed are CST

Thursday, March 21 

Session 1: Championship First Round  11 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 2: Championship Second Round and Consolations  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Friday, March 22

Session 3: Quarterfinals and Consolations  11 AM  ESPN/ESPNt

Session 4: Semifinals and Blood Round  7 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Saturday, March 23

Session 5: Consolation Medal Round  10 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 6: Finals  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Heading into Nationals Zach Glazier has had an amazing season. As I stated in my Big Tens preview I cannot remember an Iowa Wrestler coming out of nowhere to have a season like Glazier has had this season.

Glazier is 24-2 with two pins, seven tech falls, and five major decisions. He is the #7 seed at 197 and was ranked #5 in the InterMat rankings last week.

In the first round at Nationals Glazier will have Andy Smith of Virginia Tech. In the Round of 16 we have a potential matchup with #10 seed Silas Allred of Nebraska. Glazier defeated Allred in the dual meet in January, 11-2. Regardless of the previous meeting this will be a tough match.

A potential Quarterfinal match would be against #2 seed Trent Hidlay of North Carolina State.

As a fan I want to see Zach Glazier on the award stand as an All American as much as anything else in the tournament. 

Finish strong Zach Glazier.

Brackets for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships:

https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2024/03/13/2024NCAAd1Wrestlingbrackets.pdf

Zach Glazier (197)

Eli Sheeran (Cal Baptist) W-MD 11-2 1-0 

Luther Open – 1st Place 

   Seth Butler (Wartburg) W-Pin 2:21 2-0 

   Maxim Ryner (Quincy) W-Pin 2:09 3-0 

   Jacob Steenhoek (Luther) W-TF 21-6 4-0 

   Parker Venz (Augsburg) W-TF 19-4 5-0 

#31 Justin Rademacher (Oregon State) W-D 14-6 6-0 

#24 Julian Broderson (Iowa State) W-D 7-3 7-0 

#26 Martin Cosgrove (Penn) W-D 9-5 8-0 

Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia) W-MD 14-2 9-0 

Soldier Salute – 1st Place 

   Brett Mower (Oregon State) W-TF 21-6 10-0 

   Adam Haselius (Columbia) W-TF 21-4 11-0 

   Garrett Joles (Minnesota) W-D 5-4 12-0 

   A.J. Ferrari (Unattached) W (D.Q.) 13-0 

#11 Silas Allred (Nebraska) W-MD 11-2 14-0 

#24 Garrett Joles (Minnesota) W-D 4-2 15-0 

Ben Vanadia (Purdue) W-TF 19-4 16-0 

Joey Braunagel (Illinois) W-TF 18-3 17-0 

Evan Bates (Northwestern) W-MD 11-2 18-0 

Bobby Striggow (Michigan) W-TF 19-4 19-0 

#1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) L-D 5-1 19-1 

Josh Otto (Wisconsin) W-MD 13-4 20-1 

#16 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State) W-D 4-1 21-1

Big Ten Championships – 2nd Place 

   Josh Otto (Wisconsin) W-MD 14-3 22-1 

   #21 Luke Geog (Ohio State) W-D 8-2 23-1 

   #4 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) W-D 4-1 SV1 24-1 

   #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) L-TF 19-3 24-2

Schedule for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships

***All time listed are CST

Thursday, March 21 

Session 1: Championship First Round  11 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 2: Championship Second Round and Consolations  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Friday, March 22

Session 3: Quarterfinals and Consolations  11 AM  ESPN/ESPNt

Session 4: Semifinals and Blood Round  7 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Saturday, March 23

Session 5: Consolation Medal Round  10 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 6: Finals  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Patrick Kennedy enters Nationals as the #12 seed at 174. It is safe to say that the top half of 174 is the toughest side of a bracket in the entire 2024 NCAA National Wrestling Championships with three NCAA National champions in the mix.

Kennedy is 15-6 on the season with one pin, six tech falls, and six major decisions. In the InterMat rankings last week Kennedy was #7.

In the first round at Nationals Kennedy will face Tyle Eischens of North Carolina. A potential Round of 16 match would be #5 seed Philip Conigilaro of Harvard who was ranked #12 in the Intermat Rankings last week.

A potential Quarterfinal round match would be #4 seed Shane Griffith of Michigan.

Tough competition but Kennedy is capable of winning all of these matches.

174 is a tough weight and the top half is really stacked. There will be great matchups in the Consolations even before the Blood Round.

The grind and toughness of Kennedy will come into play in a tournament like this.

Brackets for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships:

https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2024/03/13/2024NCAAd1Wrestlingbrackets.pdf

174

#21 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) W-D 14-13 1-0 

#10 Nick Incontera (Penn) L-MD 10-2 1-1 

Garret Bilgrave (Columbia) W-TF 20-3 2-1 

165

Soldier Salute – 2nd Place 

   Connor Euton (Iowa State) W-Pin 1:25 3-1 

   Brock Fettig (SDSU) W-TF 21-4 4-1 

   Izzy Moreno (Northern Iowa) W-MD 10-0 5-1 

   #7 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) L-D 7-3 5-2 

174 

#30 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) W-D 9-5 6-2 

Sam Skillings (Minnesota) W-MD 13-2 7-2 

Brody Baumann (Purdue) W-TF 19-4 8-2 

#3 Edmond Ruth (Illinois) W-D 5-1 9-2 

David Ferante (Northwestern) W-MD 11-2 10-2 

#3 Shane Griffith (Michigan) L-MD 12-1 10-3 

#1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) L-MD 13-5 10-4 

Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) W-TF 19-4 11-4 

#21 Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State) W-MD 12-3 12-4

Big Ten Championships – 5th Place 

   David Ferrante (Northwestern) W-TF 19-4 13-4 

   #12 Jackson Turley (Rutgers) W-MD 12-2 14-4 

   #3 Shane Griffith (Michigan) L-D 4-3 14-5 

   #11 Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) L-D 4-1 SV1 14-6 

   #30 Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) W-D 4-1 SV1 15-6

Schedule for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships

***All time listed are CST

Thursday, March 21 

Session 1: Championship First Round  11 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 2: Championship Second Round and Consolations  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Friday, March 22

Session 3: Quarterfinals and Consolations  11 AM  ESPN/ESPNt

Session 4: Semifinals and Blood Round  7 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Saturday, March 23

Session 5: Consolation Medal Round  10 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 6: Finals  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Bellarmine won the NWCA Nationals in Bossier City, Louisiana for the second year in a row. Bellarmine won the team title with 245.5 points followed by Liberty at 182 and Thomas More at 143.5.

Bellarmine had six champions and nine wrestlers placed in the top four.

Former Iowa Hawkeye Ned Shuck has been the head coach of Bellarmine since July 2021. Shuck, originally from Mapleton, Minnesota, graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from the University of Iowa in 2005. 

As a member of the Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling program Shuck was a four-year letter winner and three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.  In 2005 Shuck was awarded the J. Donald McPike Award for the highest GPA of any graduating Iowa Wrestling senior.

Bellarmine competed in the NWCA Nationals because they are transitioning to Division I.

Next season Bellarmine will be a Division I member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They will be eligible to compete at the SoCon Tournament to qualify for the 2025 NCAA National Wrestling Championships.

Bellarmine is a private college in Louisville, Kentucky with an enrollment of 3,800 students.

Congratulations Coach Shuck on winning NWCA Nationals.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Mike Caliendo will be the #6 seed at 165 that may be the best weight class in the country.

Caliendo is 24-4 on the season with two pins, seven tech falls, and five major decisions. In the InterMat rankings last week Caliendo was #6.

In the first round at Nationals Caliendo will face Blaine Brenner of Minnesota. Caliendo defeated Brenner by a 19-4 tech fall at Soldier Salute at the end of December and 5-1 in the dual meet in January.

If I had to pick one of the top four seeds to face in the Quarterfinals it would without a doubt be Julian Ramirez of Cornell, Caliendo’s potential opponent. Caliendo-Ramirez would be a fun match to watch. I like that it would be right after weigh-ins on Friday morning. A possible edge for Caliendo.

This is such a tough weight that getting on the podium as an All American will be quite an accomplishment. I look for Caliendo to place and have a good tournament.

Brackets for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships:

https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2024/03/13/2024NCAAd1Wrestlingbrackets.pdf

Mike Caliendo – 165

Mateo De La Pena (Cal Baptist) W-TF 23-7 1-0 

Luther Open – First Place 

   Robert Flege (Wisconsin-La Crosse) W-MD 11-2 2-0 

   Allen Catour (Loras) W-TF 17-1 3-0 

   Bryce McDonough (Luther) W-Pin 1:17 4-0 

   Cooper Willis (Augsburg) W-MD 13-3 5-0 

   Drake Rhodes (Iowa) W-TF 20-4 6-0 

   Kekana Fouret (Oregon State) W-D 15-10 7-0 

#2 David Carr (Iowa State) L-MD 16-4 7-1 

Lucas Revano (Penn) W-MD 14-5 8-1 

Kyle Mosher (Columbia) W-MD 18-5 9-1 

Soldier Salute – 1st Place 

   R.J. Weston (Northern Iowa) W-MD 17-5 10-1 

   Kyle Mosher (Columbia) W-TF 20-5 11-1 

   Blaine Brenner (Minnesota) W-TF 19-4 12-1 

   Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) W-D 7-3 13-1 

#19 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) W-D 8-3 14-1 

#30 Blaine Brenner (Minnesota) W-D 5-1 15-1 

Stoney Buell (Purdue) W-D 9-4 16-1 

#24 Chris Moore (Illinois) W-TF 17-2 17-1 

#15 Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) W-TF 21-5 18-1 

Beau Mantanona (Michigan) W-D 9-4 19-1 

#7 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) L-D 12-6 19-2 

#5 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) L-D 14-11 19-3 

#3 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) W-D 7-2 20-3

Big Ten Championships – 3rd Place 

   AJ Rodriguez (Maryland) W-Pin 5:30 21-3 

   #10 Cameron Amine (Michigan) W-D 5-2 SV1 22-3 

   #5 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) L-TF 23-7 22-4 

   Chris Moore (Illinois) W-MD 18-5 23-4 

   #10 Cameron Amine (Michigan) W-D 8-5 SV1 24-4

Schedule for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships

***All time listed are CST

Thursday, March 21 

Session 1: Championship First Round  11 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 2: Championship Second Round and Consolations  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Friday, March 22

Session 3: Quarterfinals and Consolations  11 AM  ESPN/ESPNt

Session 4: Semifinals and Blood Round  7 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Saturday, March 23

Session 5: Consolation Medal Round  10 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 6: Finals  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Jared Franek will be the #10 seed at 157 in the NCAA National Tournament. I wanted to start with that because #10 is the lowest Franek has been ranked all season. As a matter of fact Franek spent quite a bit of the season ranked #2 in the country.

What has changed to go from #2 to #10? Not much that I can tell. 

Franek is 23-4 for the season with six tech falls and two major decisions.

The great news about Franek being seeded #10 is the draw that he has at Nationals. As a Hawkeye fan I do not know how you could have asked for a better draw for us here at 157 for a #10 seed.

In the first round at Nationals Franek will face Joey Blaze of Purdue. Franek defeated Blaze 2-1 in the dual meet and 5-2 in the Consolation Semifinals at Big Tens. That will be a tough first round match.

A potential second round opponent would be #7 seed Peyten Keller of Ohio. Keller was ranked #13 at 157 in the recent InterMat Rankings where Franek was #6. Beyond that would be #2 seed Jacori Teemer of Arizona State in the Quarterfinals. 

Should those matchups take place, I like Franek. The Big Ten schedule from this season has Franek prepared for this tournament.

The potential is there for Jared Franek having a run to the NCAA Finals like Joe Johnston did for the Hawks in 2005. Johnston was the #8 seed at 157 and lost a close match in the NCAA Finals. I see a lot of similarities in Franek and Johnston in style.

I look at the wrestler, not what their seed is.

Brackets for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships:

https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2024/03/13/2024NCAAd1Wrestlingbrackets.pdf

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

Big Ten Championships – 4th Place 

   Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) W-D 5-3 21-3 

   #7 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) W- 7-3 22-3 

   #1 Levi Haines (Penn State) L-D 5-0 22-4 

   #19 Joey Blaze (Purdue) W-D 5-2 23-4 

   #7 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) L (MMF) 23-5

Schedule for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships

***All time listed are CST

Thursday, March 21 

Session 1: Championship First Round  11 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 2: Championship Second Round and Consolations  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Friday, March 22

Session 3: Quarterfinals and Consolations  11 AM  ESPN/ESPNt

Session 4: Semifinals and Blood Round  7 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

Saturday, March 23

Session 5: Consolation Medal Round  10 AM  ESPNU/ESPNt

Session 6: Finals  6 PM  ESPN/ESPNt

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!