DETROIT — University of Iowa seniors Austin DeSanto and Jacob Warner advanced to the 2022 NCAA semifinals with quarterfinal wins Friday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.
DeSanto is returning to the semifinals for the second straight year. Warner is making his first career appearance in the NCAA semis. Both wrestlers secured All-America honors with quarterfinal wins and became the 23rd and 24th four-time All-Americans in program history.
DeSanto rolled to a 9-0 major decision in his 133-pound quarterfinal. He scored one takedown in the first, added four nearfall points in the second, and tacked on a second takedown and more than three minutes of riding time in his win over No. 4 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech).
“Got it done. Got the major too,” DeSanto said. “I wrestled tough and hard. There are still areas to improve.”
Warner topped third-seeded Eric Shultz (Nebraska), 2-0, in the 197-pound quarterfinal. After a scoreless first period, Warner put on a two-minute ride in the second period and added an escape in the third.
“If you put hard rides on guys you can win a lot of matches,” Warner said. “I knew I had to had to stay in there. I knew when he chose bottom I had to put a tough ride on him.”
Iowa has four more wrestlers alive on the backside of the brackets. Max Murin, Alex Marinelli, Michael Kemerer and Tony Cassioppi are all within one win of the medal stand.
All four wrestlers dropped decisions in the quarterfinals. Two of the four losses came in overtime. Marinelli and Cassioppi both surrendered takedowns in sudden-victory periods to fall by identical 3-1 scores at 165 and 285, respectively.
Murin dropped a 6-3 decision to top-ranked Yianni Diakomihalis at 149, and Kemerer fell, 5-3, at 174.
Iowa was 2-4 on the backside of the bracket. Drake Ayala (125) lost, 8-5, and Abe Assad (184) fell, 5-3, in sudden victory. Jaydin Eierman and Kaleb Young both won their first consolation matches before falling in their second bouts. All four were eliminated from the tournament.
Eierman advanced with a 5-3 win before injury defaulting from the tournament in the second period of his next match. He finished his collegiate career as a four-time All-American with 120 career wins between five seasons at Missouri and Iowa.
Young opened his day with a 9-1 major decision but dropped his next bout, 5-3. He finished his Hawkeye career as a three-time All-American with 77 career wins.
The Hawkeyes are in fourth place with 37.5 team points. Penn State leads the team race with 73.0 points. Michigan (62.5) and Arizona State (53.0) round out the top four.
UP NEXT
The semifinals and consolation Round of 12 begin Friday at 7 p.m. (CT). Session IV is televised on ESPN and streamed at WatchESPN.
NOTABLES
• Iowa has crowned at least one All-American in 51 consecutive tournaments, a stretch dating back to 1972.
• Austin DeSanto became the 23rd four-time All-American in the history of the Hawkeye wrestling program.
• Jacob Warner became the 24th four-time All-American in the history of the Hawkeye wrestling program.
IOWA’S NCAA QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
133 – #5 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) major dec. #4 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech), 9-0
149 – #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec. #8 Max Murin (Iowa), 6-3
165 – #6 Cam Amine (Michigan) dec. #3 Alex Marinelli (Iowa), 3-1 SV1
174 – #4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec. #5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 5-3
197 – #6 Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. #3 Eric Shultz (Nebraska), 2-0
285 – #6 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. #3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa), 3-1 SV1
IOWA’S CONSOLATION ROUND RESULTS
125 – #14 Jakob Camacho (NC State) dec. #13 Drake Ayala (Iowa), 8-5
141 – #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec. #17 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State), 5-3
141 – #24 Stevan Micic (Michigan) injury def. #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa)
157 – #9 Kaleb Young (Iowa) major dec. #23 Markus Hartman (Army), 9-1
157 – #1 David Carr (Iowa State) dec. #9 Kaleb Young (Iowa), 5-3
184 – #16 Dakota Greer (Oklahoma State) dec. #18 Abe Assad (Iowa), 5-3 SV1
IOWA’S NCAA SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
133 – #5 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) vs. #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
197 – #6 Jacob Warner (Iowa) vs. #2 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming)
IOWA’S CONSOLATION ROUND OF 12 MATCHUPS
149 – #8 Max Murin (Iowa) vs. #6 Jonathan Millner (App State)
165 – #3 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. #8 Phillip Conigliaro (Harvard)
174 – #5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) vs. #8 Michael O’Malley (Drexel)
285 – #3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. #16 Zach Elam (Missouri)
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Penn State 73.0
2. Michigan 62.5
3. Arizona State 53.0
4. IOWA 37.5
5. NC State 37.0
6. Cornell 34.5
7. Virginia Tech 31.0
8. Ohio State 29.5
9. Missouri 28.0
10. Nebraska 27.5
