ON THE MAT
The third-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team returns to action at Nebraska at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The Hawkeyes then welcome Minnesota to Carver-Hawkeye arena for a Monday night dual at 7 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG LIVE
• Both Friday and Monday’s duals will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
• Both duals will be broadcast by AM-800 KXIC and streamed on hawkeyesports.com via YouTube. Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will call the action for Hawkeye Sports Properties, a property of Learfield.
• Follow Iowa wrestling on social media via X (@Hawks_Wrestling), Facebook/iowahawkeyewrestling and Instagram (@iowahawkeyewrestling).
No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes Probable Lineup
| Wt | Rank^ | Name | Year | Hometown/High School | Record |
| 125 | 3/5/9/7 | Drake Ayala | So. | Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge | 13-1 |
| 133 | 12/7/9/11 | Brody Teske | Sr. | Duncombe, Iowa/Fort Dodge | 8-2 |
| 141 | 1/1/1/1 | Real Woods | R-Sr. | Albuquerque, New Mexico/Montini Catholic (Ill.) | 9-0 |
| 149 | 18/12/14/– | Caleb Rathjen | So. | Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny | 10-1 |
| 157 | 2/2/2/3 | Jared Franek | Grad. | Harwood, North Dakota/West Fargo | 14-0 |
| 165 | 8/7/7/7 | Michael Caliendo | So. | Geneva, Illinois/Batavia | 13-1 |
| 174 | 14/–/–/10 | Patrick Kennedy | Jr. | Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota/Kasson-Mantorville | 5-2 |
| 184 | Aiden Riggins | R-Fr. | Janesville, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock | 9-6 | |
| 197 | -/16/25/17 | Zach Glazier | Sr. | Albert Lea, Minnesota/Albert Lea | 13-0 |
| 285 | Bradley Hill | R-Fr. | Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf | 12-4 |
^ WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN
THE SERIES — MINNESOTA
• Iowa leads the all-time series 79-28-1 and has won the last nine meetings, including four straight in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has outscored the Gophers, 115-28, In Iowa City in the last four meetings.
• The Hawkeyes won the most recent meeting, 18-13, on Feb. 3, 2023 in Minneapolis.
• Minnesota’s last win in the series was a 19-15 victory in Iowa City on Jan. 25, 2014.
• Iowa head coach Tom Brands is 17-4 all-time against the Gophers.
THE SERIES — NEBRASKA
• Iowa leads the all-time series 36-10-1 and has won the last 14 meetings overall. Iowa won the last meeting, 34-6, on Jan. 20, 2023, in Iowa City.
• Nebraska’s last win in the series was a 24-13 victory at the National Duals on Nov. 19, 2005.
• Iowa is 14-6-2 all-time against Nebraska in Lincoln. The Huskers last win against the Hawks in Lincoln came in 1993 in the National Duals semifinal.
• The Hawkeyes are 14-0 against the Huskers under Tom Brands.
PREVIOUS INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS — NEBRASKA
• Drake Ayala is 1-0 all-time against Caleb Smith. He won via decision against Smith in 2021-22 as a freshman (Smith was at Appalachian State).
• Brody Teske is 1-0 all-time against Kyle Burwick, winning a 5-2 decision against him during the 2022-23 season. He is 1-0 against Jacob Van Dee defeating him 5-4 in the finals of the 2023 Soldier Salute.
• Real Woods is 3-0 all-time against Brock Hardy, winning the last meeting, 11-1, during the NCAA Tournament.
• Jared Franek is 1-1 all-time against Peyton Robb, winning the last meeting, 3-1, in SV1 at the 2023 NCAA Championship (Franek was at NDSU).
• Patrick Kennedy is 1-0 against Bubba Wilson defeating him, 12- 4, during the 2022-23 season.
PREVIOUS INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS — MINNESOTA
• Drake Ayala is 1-4 all-time against Patrick McKee, winning via decision against the Gopher during the 2023 Soldier Salute.
• Brody Teske is 1-0 all-time against Jake Gilva, winning a 4-0 decision at the 2023 Soldier Salute.
• Caleb Rathjen is 1-0 against Drew Roberts defeating him 11-5 as an unattached freshman in 2021-22.
• Michael Caliendo is 1-0 all-time against Blaine Brenner defeating him via tech. fall in the 2023 Soldier Salute.
• Patrick Kennedy is 1-0 all-time against Sam Skillings. Kennedy defeated Skillings 10-4 in an extra match as a freshman in 2020- 21.
• Zach Glazier is 1-0 all-time against Garrett Joles winning via a 5-4 decision at the 2023 Soldier Salute.
LAST MEET
The Hawkeyes improved to 5-0 on the season with a 38-3 victory over Columbia on Dec. 8 in Iowa City. Iowa won nine of the 10 matches. Including seven bonus point victories.
SOLDIER SALUTE CHAMPS
Iowa tallied 251.5 team points to win the 2023 team title at the Soldier Salute. It is the second straight year the Hawkeyes won the title.
• Eight Hawkeyes won individual titles at the tournament. Drake Ayala (125), Brody Teske (133), Real Woods (141), Caleb Rathjen (149), Jared Franek (157), Michael Caliendo (165), Gabe Arnold (174-Unattached) and Zach Glazier (197).
GLAZIER THE CLOSER
Zach Glazier has an 13-0 record on the season and has clinched two dual meets for the Hawkeyes.
• The senior clinched both the Iowa State and Penn duals for the Hawkeyes winning via decision in both bouts.
GABE
• True freshman Gabe Arnold made his dual debut for the Hawkeyes against #16 Oregon State. He picked up his first career ranked win over #11 Travis Wittlake.
• Arnold then bumped up a weight class in Iowa’s win over #8 Iowa State the next week and won his match against #6 Will Feldkamp.
• Arnold was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the first time in his career after defeating Feldkamp.
IOWA WINS 8 TITLES AT LUTHER OPEN
Seven Iowa wrestlers won championships in the Elite Division, including Drake Ayala (125), Jace Rhodes (133), Jared Franek (157), Michael Caliendo (165), Gabe Arnold (174), Brennan Swafford (184) and Zach Glazier (197).
• Iowa was 88-17 in the Elite Division with six of those losses against fellow Hawkeyes.
• Isaiah Fenton won the 157-pound Silver/Freshman Division.
• Arnold, Fenton, Joey Cruz and Koye Grebel all made their Hawkeye debuts.
NO. 2 IN PRESEASON POLL
The Hawkeyes were ranked second in the preseason NWCA Coaches’ poll and by FLO. Iowa was ranked eighth by Intermat and WIN.
• Iowa finished second at the 2023 NCAA Championships with 82.5 points with six All-Americans. The Hawkeyes were also second at the Big Ten Championships with 134.5 points.
CARVER FIRST TIMERS
Five Hawkeyes made their CHA debuts against Oregon State — Jared Franek, Michael Caliendo, Gabe Arnold, Brennan Swafford and Bradley Hill.
FRESHMAN TRACKER
Three Hawkeye freshman have competed as attached competitors during the 2023-24 season. Under new NCAA guidelines, freshmen can compete in five dates of competition during the student-athlete’s initial year of collegiate enrollment without using a season of competition.
• Here is a list of competitions for Iowa’s freshmen in 2023-24: Gabe Arnold (3), Isaiah Fenton (2) and Koye Grebel (2).
SOLD OUT X 3
Iowa wrestling season tickets at Carver-Hawkeye Arena are sold out for a third straight season. The Hawkeyes have led the nation in attendance every year since 2006-07. Iowa set an NCAA record, averaging 14,905 fans in 2021-22.
ALL-AMERICANS
The Hawkeyes have six past All-Americans on the 2023-24 roster in Real Woods (141), Jared Franek (157), Michael Caliendo (165), Nelson Brands (174), Abe Assad (184) and Tony Cassioppi (285).
• Iowa has crowned at least one All-American in 52 consecutive tournaments, dating back to 1972.
NEWCOMERS
The Hawkeyes have 10 newcomers on the 2023-24 roster, including four transfers.
• Jared Franek was an All-American and Big 12 Champion at North Dakota State (2023). He finished fourth at 157 last season.
• Michael Caliendo was an All-American at North Dakota State a season ago. He finished seventh at 165 pounds.
• Victor Voinovich III was an NCAA qualifier for Oklahoma State at 149 pounds in 2023 after redshirting in 2022.
• Joey Cruz went 2-2 for Oklahoma before missing the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.
ARNOLD WINS PAN AMERICAN GOLD
Iowa freshman Gabe Arnold won a U20 Pan American gold medal at 79 kg in July.
• Arnold dominated en route to the top of the podium, outscoring his opponents, 33-0.
• Redshirt freshman Bradley Hill earned a silver medal at 125 kg.
WHEN IN ROME
Junior Patrick Kennedy and seniors Abe Assad and Real Woods earned medals at the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial in Rome, Italy, on June 9-10.
• Kennedy won a gold medal, competing at 74 kg, while Assad and Woods both earned silver medals.
WORLD TEAM TRIALS
Six University of Iowa wrestlers placed at the 2023 U23 and U20 World Team Trials.
• Gabe Arnold was runner-up at 79 kg, Aiden Riggins was fifth at 74 kg, Jace Rhodes was sixth at 61 kg and Bradley Hill finished seventh at 125 kg in the U20 Division. In the U23 bracket, Cullan Schriever (61 kg) and Caleb Rathjen (70 kg) both finished third.
CAMBUS SHUTTLE
Free parking is available in the Hancher Auditorium Parking Lot on dates where no performances are scheduled. When the Hancher Auditorium Lot is available, complimentary Cambus shuttles to Carver-Hawkeye Arena will begin 90 minutes prior to the start of the meet and run until one (1) hour following the conclusion of the meet.
TV TIME
Nine Iowa duals will be televised during the 2023-24 season. The Hawkeyes will have seven duals televised on BTN, one on FS1 and one on ESPN.
• Iowa’s BTN appearances include home duals against Minnesota (7 p.m., CT), Purdue (7 p.m.), Penn State (8 p.m.) and Wisconsin ( 1 p.m.) and road duals at Nebraska (6 p.m.), Illinois (8 p.m.) and Michigan (7:30 p.m.)
• The Hawkeyes’ away dual against Iowa State will be televised on ESPN and the road dual against Oklahoma State will be televised on FS1.
LIVE ON ESPN
Iowa’s dual against Iowa State on Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. (CT) was the first ever regular season dual meet televised on the main ESPN network.
HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
The Hawkeyes have won 24 national titles and 37 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 55 NCAA Champions have won a total of 85 NCAA individual titles, crowning seven three-time and 16 two-time champions.
• The Hawkeyes’ 118 Big Ten champions have combined for 210 conference titles. There have been nine four-time, 18 three-time and 31 two-time Big Ten champions from Iowa.
• Iowa’s 163 All-Americans have earned All-America status 363 times, including three five-time, 25 four-time, 38 three-time and 41 two-time honorees.
ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
Fourteen Hawkeyes were among the 45 University of Iowa student-athletes named to the 2022-23 Big Ten Winter Academic All-Conference Team. The 14 honorees are tied for the second most in program history.
• To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team, as verified by being on the official squad list as of March 1 for winter sports, who have been enrolled fulltime at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
• Iowa wrestling’s Academic All-Big Ten honorees include Drake Ayala, Drew Bennett, Nelson Brands, Tony Cassioppi, Zach Glazier, Joe Kelly, Patrick Kennedy, Charles Matthews, Max Murin, Cullan Schriever, Leif Schroeder, Cobe Siebrecht, Brennan Swafford and Jacob Warner.
NCAA TROPHIES
The Hawkeyes earned a team trophy at the NCAA Championships for the 14th time in the last 15 championships. Iowa has won 14 team trophies in head coach Tom Brands’ 16 seasons. (The 2020 season, in which Iowa was favored, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
• Iowa has won 48 team NCAA trophies in program history and have 68 top 10 finishes. The Hawkeyes have been the NCAA runner-up seven times.
HAWKEYES AND CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa is 129-13 (.907) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since Tom Brands took over the program prior to 2006-07. The Hawkeyes are 279-26 (.914) all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since moving from the UI Field House in 1983. Iowa went 8-0 in Carver last season.
• 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.
CHASING THE HAWKEYES
Gary Kurdelmeier led Iowa to its first NCAA Championship in 1975, and in the 49 years since, the Hawkeyes have accumulated 24 team titles, more than any other school — Penn State (11), Oklahoma State (7), Minnesota (3), Iowa State (2), Ohio State (1) and Arizona State (1).
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes continue Big Ten competition against Purdue on January 19 in Iowa City. The dual is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) and be televised on BTN.