Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Hawk Talk Monthly — February | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2019-20 | Match Notes PDF
| IOWA vs. OKLAHOMA STATE |
| DATE | Sunday, Feb. 23 | 7:03 p.m. CT |
| LOCATION | Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (14,905) |
| TELEVISION | BTN |
| LISTEN | Hawkeye All-Access | KXIC |
| LIVE UPDATES | @Hawks_Wrestling |
ON THE MAT
The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team hosts No. 9 Oklahoma State on Sunday at 7:03 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for youth 18-years-old and younger. UI students and children under five are admitted free. Sunday’s dual is televised by BTN. Shane Sparks and Jim Gibbons will call the action from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
THE SERIES — OKLAHOMA STATE
Sunday marks the 54th all-time meeting between two schools that have combined to win 57 NCAA Championships (Oklahoma State 34, Iowa 23). The Cowboys lead the all-time series 29-22-2.
Iowa has won four of the last six meetings, including a 20-12 win the last time the teams met in Iowa City in 2018.
Iowa owns a 13-10 series record in duals wrestled in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes have won the last three meetings in Iowa City, including a 24-6 win in 2014, an 18-16 win on Nov. 14, 2015 at Kinnick Stadium, and 20-12 in 2018.
REGULAR SEASON B1G CHAMPIONS
Iowa clinched the outright Big Ten regular season title with a 35-6 win against No. 13 Minnesota on Feb. 15. The Hawkeyes finished the Big Ten regular season 9-0 to win the regular season title outright for the first time since 2015.
The Hawkeyes have won or shared the Big Ten dual championships 12 times since the conference started recognizing a dual meet champion in 1999. Iowa won the title outright in 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2020, and shared the title in 2003, 2014, 2016, and 2019.
The Hawkeyes have nine undefeated conference seasons since 2006-07, head coach Tom Brands’ first year.
HAWKEYES AND CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
The Hawkeyes are 261-25 all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since moving from the UI Field House in 1983. Iowa is 6-0 at home in 2019-20. The Hawkeyes have recorded 21 undefeated seasons in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Carver-Hawkeye Arena has hosted two United States Olympic Team Trials, four Big Ten Championships (1983, 1994, 2005, 2016), and four NCAA Championships (1986, 1991, 1995, 2001). The Hawkeyes have won five tournament titles on their home mat, including the 1983 and 1994 Big Ten Championships, and the 1986, 1991 and 1995 NCAA Championships.
In 2018, the University of Iowa hosted the UWW World Cup, an international dual tournament featuring eight of the top countries in the world.
THE ATTENDANCE GAME
Entering Sunday’s dual against Oklahoma State, the Hawkeyes are averaging 12,478 fans in six home duals. The school and NCAA record for average dual attendance in a single season is 12,166, set by Iowa in 2015-16 with the benefit of 42,287 attending the Grapple on the Gridiron.
To date, a record 74,870 fans have entered the gates at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to experience a wrestling dual. The previous high was 71,966, set in 2017-18.
Iowa drew 10,000 or more fans to each of its first six duals, a NCAA record. The previous record for 10,000-plus duals was three, set by Iowa three times, most recently in 2016-17.
Entering this year, the University of Iowa has led the NCAA in attendance in 13 consecutive seasons.
SENIOR NIGHT
The Hawkeyes will recognize 12 seniors following Sunday’s dual. The list includes one student-manager, Ashley Clark, and 11 student-athletes. The 11 graduating student-athletes are the most since the 2009-10 season (11).
Sam COOK, Fort Dodge, Iowa
Jeren GLOSSER, Blakesburg, Iowa
Paul GLYNN, Bettendorf, Iowa
Steven HOLLOWAY, West Burlington, Iowa
Pat LUGO, Homestead, Florida
Aaron MEYER, Pleasant Hill, Iowa
Jeremiah MOODY, Cambridge, Wisconsin
Danny MURPHY, Fort Collins, Colorado
John Keegan SHAW, Altoona, Iowa
Vince TURK, Hampshire, Illinois
Cash WILCKE, Battle Creek, Iowa
KEMERER TAKES OVER NO. 1
Senior Michael Kemerer has held the No. 1 ranking at 174 for three straight weeks. He climbed to the top spot following his 11-6 win over then-No. 1 Mark Hall of Penn State on Jan. 31.
It is the first time in his career Kemerer has been ranked No. 1. He had been ranked as high as No. 2 this season, his first season at 174 pounds. He competed at 157 pounds as a redshirt freshman and sophomore from 2016-18 and reached as high as No. 2 in the rankings both seasons.
Kemerer is 12-0 with seven wins over ranked opponents. He was won 32 straight duals and has a career Big Ten dual record of 25-1.
FORCEFUL-LEE
Junior Spencer Lee is 14-0 and has outscored his opponents 171-10. Seven of the 10 points allowed came in the season’s first two matches. He has allowed just three points since Dec. 1 (all escapes). Lee has scored bonus points in 13 of 14 wins.
Lee is among the nation’s leaders with eight technical falls. He was 5-0 in the month of January with five technical falls. He outscored those five opponents 84-1.
Lee won by major decision (16-5) in the season opener, and by 8-1 decision on Feb. 8. Those are the only two matches this season to go seven minutes. He has four first-period technical falls, and three first-period falls (0:54, 0:52, 2:21).
Lee enters Sunday’s dual ranked No. 1 at 125 with a 14-0 record. He is undefeated in his career at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Lee owns a record of 17-0 with four pins, eight technical falls, and two major decisions. Four of the wins are against top 10 opponents.
UNDEFEATED WRESTLERS
Junior Spencer Lee (14-0) and senior Michael Kemerer (12-0) enter Sunday’s dual with undefeated records.
In the history of Iowa wrestling, 15 wrestlers have finished the season with a perfect record (minimum 20 matches). Four of those wrestlers were able to perform the feat twice. They include Mark Ironside, Lincoln McIlravy, T.J. Williams and Jim Zalesky. Iowa coaches Tom Brands and Terry Brands are among the 15 wrestlers. Tom went 45-0 in 1990-91 and Terry went 35-0 in 1991-92.
A PERFECT (BIG) TEN
Juniors Spencer Lee and Kaleb Young, and senior Michael Kemerer finished the Big Ten duals season with perfect 9-0 conference records.
Since 2007, Tom Brands’ first season as Iowa head coach, a wrestler has navigated a perfect Big Ten regular season 21 times. Since 2014-15, when the conference went to a nine-dual regular season schedule, eighth Hawkeyes have posted perfect 9-0 records, including Lee, Kaleb Young, and Kemerer in 2019-20. Alex Marinelli did it in 2018-19. Thomas Gilman did it three times (2015, 2016, 2017), and Alex Meyer, Brandon Sorensen, and Sam Stoll were all 9-0 in 2015-16.
YOUNG STREAK REACHES 12
Junior Kaleb Young has won a career-high 13 straight matches. Young opened the season splitting four matches, but has since won 13 in a row, two more than his previous career-best of 11 set as a sophomore in 2018-19.
Young’s streak started with five wins at the Midlands Championships. Among his 13 straight wins are six victories against ranked opponents, including three top 10 wins. He is 15-2 overall and ranked No. 4 at 157 by TrackWrestling and WIN Magazine.
LUGO PICKS UP WIN NO. 100
Senior Pat Lugo earned his 100th career win Jan. 31. He has a career record of 103-38, including a 63-18 mark at Edinboro from 2015-17, and a 40-10 mark at Iowa from 2018-20.
Lugo is 17-1 this season with eight wins over ranked opponents, including four in the top seven. He is ranked No. 1 this week by WIN Magazine, No. 2 by Intermat and No. 4 by TrackWrestling. He is 8-1 this year and 20-10 all-time against ranked opponents.
He spent three weeks at the No. 1 ranking after opening the season with a 13-0 record. The No. 1 billing was the first of Lugo’s career. He has spent all season in the top 5 after finishing the 2019 season with an eighth-place All-America finish. Prior to the 2019 national tournament, Lugo had not been ranked higher than 10th.
