CORVALLIS, Oregon – The second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won eight of 10 matches – three via bonus points – in a 30-7 win over Oregon State on Saturday evening in its season opener at Gill Coliseum.
The Hawkeyes had three technical falls and five decisions, while having a 28-6 advantage in takedowns and a 101-52 advantage in match points as they notched their first victory of the 2024-25 season.
“I think that we can pick up on the fact that we have really good scoring ability,” said head coach Tom Brands. “You don’t have to wait until the end. We can penetrate better. If you are looking for a basic evaluation, it would be just penetrate. We need to get underneath the chin, get past the hands, we have to be able to get guys coming over the top of us.”
Oregon State got out to a 3-0 lead in the first match. No. 27 Maximo Renteria defeated sophomore Joey Cruz, 7-3. Junior Drake Ayala notched a win up at 133 pounds, a win over Damion Elliott via a 26-10 technical fall. Redshirt freshman Ryder Block used a big third period takedown with 33 seconds remaining to put away Nash Singleton, 5-4, in his Hawkeye debut.
“It was good to get a win,” said Block. “Still have a lot to do and a lot to get better at. I knew it was going to be there, I just needed to pull the trigger. As soon as I got in I felt good and as soon as I got my hands locked on his leg I knew I was going to finish.
Kyle Parco also made his debut in an Iowa singlet winning 5-1 over Victor Jacinto at 149 pounds, before Caleb Rathjen lost a major decision to Ethan Stiles, 12-3, at 157 to send the dual to the break.
Junior Michael Caliendo got things started out of intermission with an 18-3 technical fall over Kekana Fouret needing only 4:37 to end the bout at 165. Graduate Nelson Brands used second period escape, and 1:01 in riding time to win 2-1 over #32 Sean Harman. Redshirt freshman Gabe Arnold showed his offensive prowess at 184 pounds needing 6:28 to dispatch TJ McDonnell, 20-5.
At 197, graduate Stephen Buchanan II picked up a ranked win in his debut as a Hawkeye over #7 Trey Munoz, 9-5. Munoz led 4-1 going into the third period before Buchanan recorded a pair of takedowns and riding time to pull away.
“I fall back on my training,” said Buchanan. “We go through hard practices every day, I have teammates in there who are just as good as Trey, and they are hand fighting me and pushing me to my limits. It was just another day in the office.
Redshirt freshman Ben Kueter closed out the dual winning a 10-4 decision over Brett Mower at 285.
OF NOTE…
- Iowa improved to 19-0 in season opening dual meets under head coach Tom Brands, and 8-1-0 all-time against Oregon State.
- Ryder Block, Kyle Parco and Stephen Buchanan II each tallied their first victories as Hawkeyes.
- Nelson Brands picked up his 15th career victory over a ranked opponent and Stephen Buchanan II tallied his 36th win over a ranked opponent.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action on November 9, against Stanford at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The dual is scheduled for 1 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on BTN.
#2 Iowa 30, #23 Oregon State 7
125 – #27 Max Renteria (O) dec Joey Cruz (I), 6-4
133 | #7 Drake Ayala (I) tech. fall Damion Elliot (O), 26-10
141 – Ryder Block (I) dec. Nash Singleton (O), 5-4
149 – #4 Kyle Parco (I) dec. Victor Jacinto (O), 5-1
157 – Ethan Stiles (O) major dec. Caleb Rathjen (I), 12-3
165 – #2 Michael Caliendo (I) tech. fall Kekana Fouret (O), 18-3
174 – Nelson Brands (I) dec. #32 Sean Harman (O), 2-1
184 – Gabe Arnold (I) tech. fall TJ McDonnell (O), 20-5
197 – #2 Stephen Buchanan (I) dec. #7 Trey Munoz (O), 9-5
285 – #11 Ben Kueter dec. Brett Mower (O), 10-4
Attendance: 4,273
Officials: Chris Bettineski & Scott Hall