Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 | Hawk Talk Monthly — November | Photo Gallery — Iowa Central | Photo Gallery — Cornell College
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa wrestling team opened its home schedule with a pair of wins against Iowa Central and Cornell College on Friday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Hawkeyes swept 20 matches, blanking Iowa Central, 55-0, and shutting out Cornell, 45-0. Iowa scored bonus points in 16 matches, recording 10 pins, four technical falls, and two major decisions.
“We won 20 matches,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “We want to see whipping butt and taking names, but there are always things to work on.”
Iowa fans watched five Hawkeyes make their Carver-Hawkeye Arena debuts. Redshirt freshman Michael Kemerer walked onto Mediacom Mat for the first time, but gave fans just 4 minutes, 33 seconds of wrestling. The nation’s seventh-ranked 157-pounder recorded a fall in 2:01 in his opening match and scored a first-period technical fall (16-1) in his second bout.
“Wrestling in Carver is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Kemerer said. “I’ve been waiting for it and it was nice to get out there. I felt good. I got two first-period wins so I have to feel good about that.”
Sophomore Mitch Bowman and redshirt freshmen Joey Gunther, Jeremiah Moody, Cash Wilcke, and Steven Holloway also wrestled for the first time in front of the home crowd.
Wilcke scored 13 combined takedowns in a 24-8 technical fall and a first-period pin at 197. Gunther won by technical fall at 165 before bumping a weight class and winning a 9-5 decision at 174. Moody used three foot-sweeps in the opening minute to earn a fall at 174, and Holloway’s second-period takedown was the difference in a 3-2 win at 285.
“I saw some good things from Steven Holloway and that was a weight I wanted to get,” Brands said. “Gunther moved up a weight and it didn’t phase him. He gave up the first takedown but got right back into the match against a guy who knows how to wrestle. And Moody was entertaining, probably outstanding wrestler of the event. Now the competition ratchets up and we need to see more urgency about us.”
Iowa’s returning NCAA finalists — Thomas Gilman (125), Cory Clark (133), and Brandon Sorensen (149) — combined for five pins and a major decision. Gilman and Clark both scored a pair of first-period falls, and of Iowa’s 10 total pins, Sorensen’s fall in 37 seconds was the most time efficient.
Alex Meyer, an All-American at 174 in 2016, won 13-1 in his opening match at 174 before bumping up a weight class and blanking Brian Cristion, 7-0, at 184. Topher Carton built a 12-1 first period lead on his way to a 16-1 technical fall at 141, and followed with a pin in 4:23 in his second bout.
“Make no mistake, this is important,” Brands said. “It’s another event. It’s another weekend. It’s another event on the calendar where you’re moving forward. A week from Sunday we have Purdue, five days later we have south Dakota State, and then a week later we have Iowa State. We’re getting into the competition where we’ll see more of where we’re at.”
Iowa returns to the mat Sunday, Nov. 27 in its Big Ten opener against Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana. The dual begins at 12 p.m. (CT) and can be heard on KXIC AM 800 and online at Hawkeye All-Access.
NOTES: Attendance was 6,202… Iowa held a 61-3 advantage in takedowns… Iowa is 27-0 all-time in the Iowa City Duals… Iowa improved to 9-0 all-time against Iowa Central and 10-3 all-time against Cornell College… Mitch Bowman, Michael Kemerer, Steven Holloway, Joey Gunther, Jeremiah Moody, and Cash Wilcke made their Carver-Hawkeye Arena debuts… Thomas Gilman is 5-0 with five pins this season.
#3 IOWA 55, Iowa Central 0
125 — #1 Thomas Gilman (I) pinned Joseph Sibomana (ICCC), 1:33; 6-0
133 — #1 Cory Clark (I) pinned Zak Hensley (ICCC), 2:05; 12-0
141 — Topher Carton (I) technical fall Nick Santon (ICCC), 16-1; 17-0
149 — #2 Brandon Sorensen (I) pinned Keenan Cook (ICCC), 0:37; 23-0
157 — #7 Michael Kemerer (I) pinned Carlos Champaign (ICCC), 2:01; 29-0
165 — Joey Gunther (I) tech. fall Jonah Egli (ICCC), 21-6; 34-0
174 — #6 Alex Meyer (I) major dec. Antrez Clagon (ICCC), 13-1; 38-0
184 — Jeremiah Moody (I) pinned Anthony Jones (ICCC); 1:10; 44-0
197 — Cash Wilcke (I) tech. fall Jacob Becker (ICCC), 23-8; 49-0
285 — Mitch Bowman (I) pinned Amari Latimer (ICCC), 1:32; 55-0
#3 IOWA 45, Cornell College 0
125 — #1 Thomas Gilman (I) pinned Vikash Hypio (C), 2:34; 6-0
133 — #1 Cory Clark (I) pinned Brody Lamb (C), 1:36; 12-0
141 — Topher Carton (I) pinned Josh Martin (C), 4:23; 18-0
149 — #2 Brandon Sorensen (I) major dec. Leonard Bloom (C), 18-6; 22-0
157 — #7 Michael Kemerer (I) tech. fall Aaron Engle (C), 16-1; 27-0
165 – Skyler St. John (I) dec. Ben Hewson (C), 7-4; 30-0
174 — Joey Gunther (I) dec. Michael Maksimovic (C), 9-5; 33-0
184 — #6 Alex Meyer (I) dec. Brian Cristion (C), , 7-0; 36-0
197 — Cash Wilcke (I) pinned Ben Bergen (C), 2:43; 42-0
285 — Steven Holloway (I) dec. Tyler Ortmann (C), 3-2; 45-0
Cornell 32, Iowa Central 9
125 – Gage Griffin (Cornell) major dec. Josh Sibomana (ICCC), 14-5; 4-0
133 – Zak Hensley (ICCC) tech. fall Brody Lamb (Cornell), 22-4; 4-5
141 – Josh Martin (Cornell) dec. De’Andre Reed (ICCC), 8-5; 7-5
149 – Leonard Bloom (Cornell) tech. fall Keenan Cook (ICCC), 21-6; 12-5
157 – Aaron Engle (Cornell) major dec. Merrick Purcell (ICCC), 12-1; 16-5
165 – Ben Hewson (Cornell) pinned Brady Vogel, 2:15; 22-5
174 – Andrez Clagon (ICCC) dec. Michael Maksimovic (Cornell), 9-5; 22-8
184 – Brian Cristion (Cornell) dec. Jacob Becker (Iowa Central), 7-4; 25-8
197 – Ben Bergen (Cornell) pinned Anthony Jones, 3:30; 31-8
285 – Tyler Ortmann (Cornell) dec. Amari Latimer (ICCC), 2-1; 34-8
