ON THE MAT
The University of Iowa wrestling team returns home for the Pioneer Showdown against Penn State at 8 p.m. on Friday.
FOLLOW ALONG LIVE
• Friday’s dual will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Shane Sparks (play-by-play) and Jim Gibbons (color) will be on the call.
• Friday’s dual 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 | 2/7/6/6 | Drake Ayala | So. | Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge | 17-3 |
| 133 | 18/20/25/17 | Cullan Schriever | Jr. | Mason City, Iowa/Mason City | 8-2 |
| 141 | 2/2/2/2 | Real Woods | R-Sr. | Albuquerque, New Mexico/Montini Catholic (Ill.) | 12-1 |
| 149 | 15/12/15/13 | Caleb Rathjen | So. | Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny | 12-3 |
| 157 | 6/5/5/7 | Jared Franek | Grad. | Harwood, North Dakota/West Fargo | 18-2 |
| 165 | 6/6/6/7 | Michael Caliendo | So. | Geneva, Illinois/Batavia | 19-1 |
| 174 | 7/7/5/5 | Patrick Kennedy | Jr. | Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota/Kasson-Mantorville | 10-3 |
| 184 | Aiden Riggins | R-Fr. | Janesville, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock | 11-10 | |
| 197 | 10/11/12/7 | Zach Glazier | Sr. | Albert Lea, Minnesota/Albert Lea | 19-0 |
| 285 | –/–/28/– | Ben Kueter | Fr. | Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City | 2-0 |
| -or- | –/29/–/– | Bradley Hill | R-Fr. | Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf | 15-5 |
^ WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN
THE SERIES — PENN STATE
Iowa leads the all-time series 28-12-2. The Hawkeyes are 15-7 all-time against the Nittany Lions in Iowa City.
• Penn State won the most recent meeting, winning 23-14 last season in University Park.
PREVIOUS INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS — PENN STATE
• Real Woods is 1-0 all-time against Beau Bartlett having won a 4-1 decision in 2023.
LAST MEET
The Hawkeyes moved to 10-1 on the season with a 24-11 loss to Michigan on Feb. 2 in Ann Arbor. Iowa won at 165, 184, and 197.
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 19-0 record on the season and has clinched five dual meets for the Hawkeyes.
• The senior has sealed the deal for the Hawkeyes in the Iowa State, Penn, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Illinois duals.
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.
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), Koye Grebel (2), Ben Kueter (2) and Kale Petersen (1).
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.
PARKING UPDATE
More than 100 parking spaces from Lots 75N and 75S are now unavailable due to utilities preparation work in support of the future water tower. The project is expected to conclude in the spring of 2025.
• Public parking for all events is still available in the following areas: Lot 52, Lot 43W, Lot 65, Ramp 3, Newton Road Ramp, Hancher and Lot 49. For women’s basketball games, the unaffected areas of Lot 75 remain available for public parking. Permitted parking in Lots 46, 40 and 33 for all events — and in Lot 75N for men’s basketball and men’s wrestling — remain unchanged.
• Fans are encouraged to arrive early to allow extra time to park and commute to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Fans are reminded to park in designated locations for athletic events, and to not block sidewalks with their vehicles or park in areas marked for UIHC patient parking.
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.
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 131-13 (.907) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since Tom Brands took over the program prior to 2006-07. The Hawkeyes are 281-26 (.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 host Wisconsin on Feb. 18 at 1 p.m.