NICEVILLE, Florida — The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team defeated fifth-ranked North Carolina State, 19-15, on Tuesday in the Red Division finals of the Collegiate Wrestling Duals.
Iowa won six of 10 matches to defeat the Wolfpack and extend its winning streak to 24, the longest in the nation.
“Any time you compete you’re going to get tested,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. “Even shutouts or (matches) lopsided on paper, you still have to be ready to go. We talked about entitlement at the beginning of the year. No one is laying down for us. You see that every time out.”
The Hawkeyes won the first three matches to build a 10-0 team lead. Top-ranked Spencer Lee opened with a 6-1 decision at 125. Austin DeSanto put bonus points on the board with a 16-7 major decision at 133, and Jaydin Eierman scored a takedown with 23 seconds left in the third to grab a 7-6 decision. It was Eierman’s only lead of the match.
“There were some compromising positions,” said Brands. “Some of them we came out of and some of them we didn’t. We have to come out of those positions, and better yet, you stay on them and control everything and make it go your way.”
NC State pulled within 10-9 following a decision at 149 and a fall at 157. Alex Marinelli then righted the Hawkeyes ship with a 7-2 decision at 165. Marinelli erased a 2-0 first-period deficit by rattling off seven straight points, including a pair of escapes, one takedown, two stall calls and nearly three minutes of riding time.
The Wolfpack answered with decisions at 174 and 184 to grab their first lead of the dual, 15-13, with two matches to go.
Tied at one in the final minute at 197, Jacob Warner scored a deciding takedown in a 3-2 win, giving Iowa a 16-15 lead heading into heavyweight.
“I was happy to get the win,” Warner said. “I just believe in myself. It’s easy to let yourself down, it’s hard to let the team down. In those situations I’m not really doing it for myself. I’m doing it for my team and that makes it a lot easier.”
The deciding match leaned in favor of Hawkeye heavyweight Tony Cassioppi, who scored a takedown in the closing seconds of the first and added a second takedown in the final minute of the third, clinching the dual with a 6-2 win.
“Our guys responded well and Warner and Cassioppi, because of the weight class order, there was drama,” Brands said. “They dug us out and we have some patient guys that are wrestling well. Maybe not the results they want, but they’re striving for them. The thing is, keep striving. You’re not going to get calls in this sport. You’re going to have to earn them. You’re not going to be given calls. You have to earn the calls. You have to earn the points. You have to earn everything on the mat.”
NOTABLES
• Iowa has won 24 straight duals.
• Spencer Lee made extended his winning streak to 38, outscoring those opponents, 463-43.
#1 IOWA 19, #5 NC STATE 15
125 #1 Spencer Lee (IA) dec. #5 Jakob Camacho (NCST), 6-1
133 #3 Austin DeSanto (IA) major dec. #17 Kai Orine (NCST), 16-7
141 #2 Jaydin Eierman (IA) dec. #16 Ryan Jack, 7-6; 10-0
149 #3 Tariq Wilson (NCST) dec. Cobe Siebrecht (IA), 7-3; 10-3
157 #23 Ed Scott (NCST) pinned #8 Kaleb Young (IA), 1:10; 10-9
165 #1 Alex Marinelli (IA) dec. Donald Cates (NCST), 7-2; 13-9
174 #5 Hayden Hidlay (NCST) dec. Nelson Brands (IA), 4-2; 13-12
184 #3 Trent Hidlay (NCST) dec. Abe Assad (IA), 6-0; 13-15
197 #7 Jacob Warner (IA) dec. #15 Isaac Trumble (NCST), 3-2; 16-15
285 #6 Tony Cassioppi (IA) dec. Tyrie Houghton, 6-2; 19-15
Records: Iowa (6-0), NC State (5-1)
