IOWA CITY, Iowa – Three University of Iowa wrestlers – Real Woods (141), Jacob Warner (197) and Tony Cassioppi (285) – will compete in the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic presented by Cliff Keen on Nov. 22 in Austin, Texas.
Iowa, Arizona State and Penn State have the most wrestlers competing in the event.
Woods will face Pittsburgh’s Cole Matthews in a rematch of the fifth-place match – a match won by Matthews, 7-3 — at last season’s NCAA Championships. The New Mexico native, who is in his first season as a Hawkeye, went 17-4 at Stanford last season.
Warner will square off against Wyoming’s Stephen Buchanan at 197 pounds in a rematch of last season’s NCAA semifinal bout – a 6-4 Warner victory. The win extended Iowa’s streak of NCAA finals appearances to 32 consecutive tournaments. Warner, a four-time All-American, is 2-0 all-time against Buchanan, also posting a 6-3 win at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
Cassioppi will face Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet for the fourth time in his career. This will be the first meeting since Cassioppi’s 6-4 sudden victory in the semifinals of the 2022 Big Ten Championships. The Roscoe, Illinois, native is 3-0 all-time against the Nittany Lion grappler.
The NWCA All-Star meet will include 11 men’s bouts:
125 – Pat McKee (Minnesota) vs. Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
133 – Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. Michael McGee (Arizona State)
141 – Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) vs. Real Woods (Iowa)
149 – Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs. Austin Gomez (Wisconsin)
157 – Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) vs. Will Lewan (Michigan)
165 – Dean Hamiti, Jr. (Wisconsin) vs. Keegan O’Toole (Missouri)
165 – David Carr (Iowa State) vs. Quincy Monday (Princeton)
174 – Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)
184 – Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
197 – Jacob Warner (Iowa) vs. Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming)
285 – Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
The event will be streamed LIVE on FloWrestling.
