ON THE MAT
The second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team wrestles No. 12 Oklahoma State on Saturday at the Bout at the Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. The teams compete at Globe Life Field beginning at 8 p.m. (CT).
THE SERIES — OKLAHOMA STATE
Saturday marks the 55th all-time meeting between two schools that have combined to win 58 NCAA Championships (Oklahoma State 34, Iowa 24). The Cowboys lead the all-time series 29-23-2. Iowa has won five of the last seven meetings, including a 34-6 win the last time the teams met in Iowa City in 2020. That 28-point margin of victory tied the fourth largest in the series. Saturday’s dual is the first neutral site meeting between the two schools since 2007, Tom Brands first season as head coach. Oklahoma State has won four of the six neutral site meetings all-time (1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2007). Iowa won in 1995 and 1996.
The teams met every year from 1994-2020 before the series was halted in 2020-21 due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Saturday’s dual is streamed live at flowrestling.org. An audio stream is available at iHeart radio and on the air at AM 800 KXIC.
TOP 10 MATCHUPS
Senior Austin DeSanto and junior Daton Fix meet in a matchup of No. 2 vs. No. 3 at 133 pounds. Fix is ranked second and 14-0 this season. DeSanto is ranked third and 13-1 this season. Fix is 2-0 all-time against DeSanto. He defeated DeSanto, 2-0, at the 2019 dual in Stillwater and won by 3-2 decision in the semifinals of the 2021 NCAA Championships.
Senior Alex Marinelli (165 pounds) is scheduled to face a ranked opponent for the fifth straight week. Marinelli is ranked fifth at 165 pounds. His opponent is Oklahoma State’s eighth-ranked Travis Wittlake. Marinelli and Wittlake met Feb. 23, 2020 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Marinelli won that meeting, the only career meeting between the two, 3-2.
Marinelli is 3-1 in his last four outings, defeating #27 Dan Braunagel (Illinois), 4-1, #11 Brady Berge (Penn State), 10-2, and #6 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin), 8-5. His only loss this season was 3-2 to #7 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State). Marinelli is 44-11 in his career against ranked opponents.
The other top 10 matchup on Saturday’s card is at 174, where senior Michael Kemerer is scheduled to face 10th-ranked Dustin Plott. Kemerer is ranked second in the country with a 6-1 record. Plott is 11-2 this season.
Kemerer is 4-1 this season against ranked opponents, including a 1-1 mark against the top 10. He defeated #7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 6-3, and dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State).
Kemerer is 48-9 in his career against ranked opponents.
UNDEFEATED IN NONCONFERENCE DUALS
Alex Marinelli and Michael Kemerer have undefeated career records in nonconference duals. Marinelli is 18-0 in nonconference duals. He is 3-0 against Oklahoma State with two decisions and a fall. His two decisions were against top 10 opponents. Kemerer is 16-0 in nonconference duals, including a 3-0 mark against the Cowboys. Kemerer has won twice by decision and once by major decision in three career duals against Oklahoma State.
FAMILIAR FOE
Senior Jaydin Eierman will face Oklahoma State for the first time since he wrestled for Missouri in 2019. He was 2-1 al-time in duals against Oklahoma State, falling to top-ranked Dean Heil as a freshman in 2017. He pinned Heil as a sophomore in 2018 and pinned Kaid Brock as a junior in 2019. Eierman transferred to Iowa following the 2019 season.
DUAL DOMINANT
The nine All-Americans in Iowa’s lineup have a combined record of 332-54 (.857) in career duals, including a 209-31 (.866) mark in Big Ten duals.
Senior Michael Kemerer has 51 career dual victories, including a 35-2 mark in Big Ten duals. Kemerer is 51-2 all-time in duals. Senior Alex Marinelli is 50-2 all-time in dual meets, including a 32-2 mark in Big Ten duals.
Senior Austin DeSanto is 47-5 all-time in duals, including a 21-2 mark in the Big Ten. Senior Jaydin Eierman is 54-6 all-time in dual competition, including a 15-1 record at Iowa. He is 28-1 all-time in conference duals. He was 19-0 at Missouri from 2016-19 and is 9-1 since joining the Big Ten in 2020.
BONUS POINTS OR BUST
Senior Austin DeSanto is 13-1 with a team-high nine technical falls. DeSanto has 36 career technical falls. He has scored 20 points or more in six of his 13 wins and has 27 career matches of scoring 20 points or more.
ALEX MARINELLI NAMED BIG TEN CO-WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Senior Alex Marinelli was named Big Ten Conference Co-Wrestler of the Week, the league office announced Feb. 9. In the final Carver-Hawkeye Arena appearance of his collegiate career, Marinelli defeated Wisconsin’s sixth-ranked Dean Hamiti, 8-5, to hand Hamiti his first loss this season.
Marinelli scored a takedown in the opening 30 seconds, added another takedown in the second period, opened the third with a reversal and tacked on one point for riding time. The weekly conference award is the fifth of Marinelli’s career, tying Brent Metcalf for the most Big Ten weekly awards in program history. The weekly conference honor is the second for Iowa this season. Spencer Lee was recognized Dec. 28, 2021. Marinelli shared the weekly award with Penn State’s Nick Lee.
EYES ON IOWA CITY
The University of Iowa wrestling program set a national dual average attendance record in 2021-22. The Hawkeyes averaged 14,905 fans at each of their six home dates. All six dates were sellouts. Iowa sold out of season tickets for the first time in program history. The Hawkeyes sold 12,804 season tickets. The remaining tickets were allocated for UI students and visiting teams, and sold to the general public. The 2021-22 season marked a return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for fans that were not allowed to attend last season due to COVID restrictions. When official attendance numbers are officially announced following the season, Iowa will have led the nation in attendance for the 15th consecutive season. (Official attendance records were not kept in 2020-21.)
