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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa wrestling team scored bonus points in nine matches, including six by fall, to defeat Michigan State, 49-6, on Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The talk throughout the week was the collegiate debut of true freshman Spencer Lee, and the 125-pounder from Murrysville, Pennsylvania, didn’t disappoint.
In front of 8,486 fans, Lee took the mat to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” at 7 o’clock. By 7:01 the match was over, and the Spencer Lee era was underway.
“Coaches always tell you to capitalize what’s there, and that’s what was there so I went with it,” Lee said after pinning Rayvon Foley in 46 seconds. “I’m just glad that I get to compete in front of the best fans in the world and the country, and I am super excited to be a Hawkeye. I am honored to have the right to start in the starting lineup.”
The fall sparked a run of bonus points Iowa had not seen this season. Six Hawkeyes earned falls, two more won by major decision, and a ninth won by technical fall.
Paul Glynn (133) followed Lee with a fall in 6:13. Perhaps not ready to take the mat 46 seconds after the man before him, Glynn fell behind 4-0 halfway through the first period. By the end of the second he had created an 8-4 advantage, and at the 6:13 mark, he had finished his first Big Ten win with a fall.
Michigan State got on the board with a pin at 141 – every match in the dual ended in bonus points – but it was all Iowa after that. Brandon Sorensen (149) and Michael Kemerer (157) registered second-period falls before the intermission, after the break Iowa finished with technical fall, major, major, pin, and pin.
Alex Marinelli, a redshirt freshman from Miamisburg, Ohio, scored 24 points in his Carver-Hawkeye Arena debut. Joey Gunther and Mitch Bowman combined for more than seven minutes of riding time in consecutive major decisions at 174 and 184, and Iowa’s big men, Cash Wilcke and Sam Stoll, ended the night with consecutive falls at 197 and 285.
The win helped seventh-ranked Iowa improve to 8-0 overall, and 4-0 in the Big Ten Conference. It also sets up matchup of undefeated teams on Sunday, Jan. 14, when No. 3 Oklahoma State visits Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“We have to keep getting better and the first thing that is on my mind after Stoll gets a fall is that we’ve got a real good team coming to town and we need to be ready,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “We have a lot of good things going on with our guys, but we need to get ready for what’s coming up next and that’s Oklahoma State. That’s our number one right now.”
NOTABLES
- The dual win was No. 200 for Tom Brands as Iowa’s head coach (200-19-1).
- Spencer Lee (125), Carter Happel (141), and Alex Marinelli (165) made their Carver-Hawkeye Arena debuts.
- Lee’s fall in 46 seconds was the fastest by a Hawkeye this season.
- The 49 points scored were the most by a Hawkeye team in a Big Ten dual since defeating Northwestern 54-0 in 2015.
- Kemerer (14-0) recorded his seventh fall of the season. He had four falls all of last year.
- In his last five duals, Stoll (11-0) has five pins.
- Cash Wilcke extended is career-long winning streak to 13 (13-0).
- Lee and Glynn earned their first Big Ten wins.
- Attendance was 8,486
UP NEXT
Iowa returns to the mat Sunday, Jan. 14 hosting No. 3 Oklahoma State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The dual begins at 3 p.m. (CT). Tickets are available at hawkeyesports.com.
#7 IOWA 49, Michigan State 6
125 — Spencer Lee (IA) pinned Rayvon Foley (MSU), 0:46; 6-0
133 — Paul Glynn (IA) pinned Matt Santos (MSU), 6:13; 12-0
141 — #18 Javier Gasca (MSU) pinned Carter Happel (IA), 4:04; 12-6
149 — #2 Brandon Sorensen (IA) pinned Jwan Britton (MSU), 3:45; 18-6
157 — #3 Michael Kemerer (IA) pinned Jake Tucker (MSU), 4:21; 24-6
165 — #14 Alex Marinelli (IA) tech. fall Austin Hiles (MSU), 24-5; 29-6
174 — Joey Gunther (IA) major dec. Logan Richie (MSU), 15-5; 33-6
184 — Mitch Bowman (IA) major dec. Shwan Shadaia (MSU), 9-0; 37-6
197 — #8 Cash Wilcke (IA) pinned Nick May (MSU), 5:54; 43-6
285 — #6 Sam Stoll (IA) Matt Lloyd (MSU), 2:03; 49-6
Records: Iowa (8-0, 4-0), Michigan State (4-3, 0-1)
