Alex Marinelli gets in on a shot against Iowa State (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)It's not as if the Iowa Hawkeye wrestling program doesn't have an illustrious history built on tradition, swagger and championships -- it does. In fact, Iowa has 23 NCAA team championships, 11 Big Ten dual championships, and more than 80 individual titles by more than 50 different wrestlers.
That said, the recent dominance of Penn State since 2011, one year after Iowa captured its last team title has been unparalleled -- winning eight of the last nine team titles.
The one exception being the 2014-15 year when Nico Megaludis, Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, and Bo Nickal all redshirted simultaneously. These four earned 10 individual championships between them.
In totality, 12 Nittany Lion grapplers have brought 23 individual championships to State College since their run began in 2011. Quite frankly, Penn State wrestling is the most dominant active dynasty in all of sports.
Thus, Penn State's recent 19-18 dual meet loss to then No. 6 Arizona State in Tempe, in front of what was a record-setting Sun Devil-laden crowd, sent shockwaves across the NCAA. After all, it's not every day that a 60-match dual meet winning-streak is brought to an end, even if by the smallest of margins.
In all fairness to Penn State, injuries forced Cael Sanderson's squad to travel to the desert short-handed. Starters Brady Berge and Shakur Rasheed, both consensus top-10 wrestlers by every major ranking site, were out of action due to injury. This, coupled with Penn State's decision to forfeit at 184-pounds proved too much to overcome. Despite winning five bouts, the Nittany Lions were downed for the first time since 2015, prompting over 8,000 upset-minded fans to storm the mat at Desert Financial Arena.
Penn State has yet to take to the mat since their Nov. 22 defeat. Iowa on the other hand has wrestled twice since then. First, the Hawkeyes took to the road for the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series with rival Iowa State.
To say that their performance was dominant would be an understatement. The Brands brothers watched as their beloved Hawkeyes won 8-of-10 bouts, recording a 28-4 edge in takedowns and a 90-38 advantage in match points.
Iowa's Spencer Lee is ranked No. 1 at 125 pounds (Photo/HawkeyeSports.com)Spencer Lee (125), Austin DeSanto (133), Michael Kemerer (174) and Jacob Warner (197) all recorded bonus-point victories. Alex Marinelli (165), and what looks to be a dangerous freshman duo in Nelson Brands (184), and Tony Cassioppi (285) all secured wins against ranked opponents. Additionally, Pat Lugo (149) extracted revenge on a ranked opponent of his own, Jarrett Degen, winning for the first time in three meetings against Degen. Iowa only faltered at 141 where backup Carter Happel fell to Ian Parker, a ranked Iowa State Cyclone in sudden victory. The other Hawkeye loss and at 157, an upset where Iowa All-American Kaleb Young was bested by David Carr, son of ISU great and three-time Cyclone national champion Nate Carr. Early indications show that the former Carr could be a chip off the old block, poised to be a freshman phenom.
Iowa followed up their rivalry match in Ames with a near-perfect showing in a Big Ten opener in front of more than 10,000 at the always rowdy and passionate Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Black & Gold were downright scary -- winning 9-of-10 bouts escaping with the 32-3 trouncing over a talented No. 6 Badgers squad.
Picking a marquee match for Sunday's conference showdown is an impossible task -- there were several. Austin DeSanto upset No. 1 Seth Gross at 133, handing the former national champion his first NCAA loss at 133 pounds since former Iowa star Cory Clark beat him, 4-3, in the 2017 NCAA finals. Tony Cassioppi topped No. 2 Trent Hillger at 285, and Alex Marinelli defeated No. 3 Evan Wick at 165 in what is sure to be the first of their many epic battles this season.
While DeSanto, Cassioppi, and Marinelli may have drawn the biggest cheers from the Iowa City faithful, Kemerer's pin and Lee's technical fall cannot be overlooked. Max Murin, Pat Lugo, Kaleb Young and Jacob Warner all showed the ability to battle and win the close match at their respective weights too. Even in defeat, backup Cash Wilcke, in the lineup at 184 for a sick Nelson Brands showed grit in a tough sudden-victory loss.
Iowa is off to a ferocious 3-0 start with two wins over quality, ranked opponents and a 39-0 shutout over Tennessee-Chattanooga, complete with five bonus-point wins. They have won 27-of-30 individual meets and are winning by an average dual score of better than 33-3. Not to mention, the Hawks are probably as deep as they have been since the 2010 title run. They have seven returning All-Americans, plus a very capable Cash Wilcke who is a three-time Big Ten placer who has finished one round shy of All-American. Plus, some might forget Gavin Teasdale, a four-time PIAA state champion with 162 high school wins to his name. Teasdale adds additional depth to what is the most talented group of lightweights in the country.
The season is still young. There is plenty of time for injuries to heal. The team race is more open than it has been in recent memory as some of the nation's best prep for Tokyo 2020. But this is Iowa's year to reclaim their spot atop the proverbial mountain. And, maybe even string together a title streak of their own.
Looking ahead to next year, Iowa looks to return eight of the ten athletes currently in the starting lineup. Penn State will have a bit more rebuilding to do. The Nittany Lions will say goodbye to quite the accomplished group of seniors in Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall, Shakur Rasheed and Kyle Conel. Anthony Cassar has one more year of eligibility remaining, but his international wrestling aspiration could draw him away from State College as well.
Penn State is a good team, but this year and the next, Iowa is looking to be great, with an offensive juggernaut capable of scoring in a hurry. The Hawks are very deserving of their No. 1 ranking -- one they likely won't be relinquishing any time soon.
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