Iowa Wrestling Notebook - 2026 Big Ten Championships

Titles	Coach, School
21	Dan Gable, IOWA
9	Cliff Keen, MICH
9	Cael Sanderson, PSU
8	W.H. Thorn, IND
7	Paul Prehn, ILL
7	Grady J. Peninger, MSU
6	Tom Brands, IOWA
6	H.E. Kenney, ILL
6	C.C. Reeck, PUR
6	J. Robinson, MINN

WRESTLER OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Since 1989, the year the Big Ten record book first recognizes the award, 10 different Hawkeyes have been named Wrestler of the Big Ten Championships. Spencer Lee won the award in 2023 winning the 125-pound bracket. Alex Marinelli won the award in 2019 after winning the 165-pound bracket. He shared the award with Penn State’s Jason Nolf. Head coach Tom Brands won the award in 1989 following his 126-pound conference title. Associate head coach Terry Brands won the honor following his 126-pound Big Ten title in 1992. Brent Metcalf is one of two Big Ten athletes to win the award twice (2008, 2009).

Weight	Iowa’s most recent Big Ten Champion
125	Spencer Lee, 2023
133	Cory Clark, 2016
141	Real Woods, 2023
149	Pat Lugo, 2020
157	Derek St. John, 2012
165	Alex Marinelli, 2022
174	Michael Kemerer, 2021
184	Sammy Brooks, 2017
197	None since weight was introduced in 1999.
285	Blake Rasing, 2011

TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeyes return six wrestlers with Big Ten Championship experience in 2026.  
• Ryder Block and Angelo Ferrari are making their postseason debuts, while Nasir Bailey and Victor Voinovich III are making their Big Ten postseason debuts.
• Bailey was a two-time Pac-12 Champion at Little Rock (2024 and 2025).  Voinovich finished in sixth at the 2023 Big 12 Championships while he was at Oklahoma State.
• Gabe Arnold and Ben Kueter are both making their second appearance at the Big Ten Championships. Arnold finished fifth at 184 pounds in 2025 and Kueter finished third at 285 pounds in 2025. 
• Michael Caliendo is making his fourth consecutive championship appearance at 165 pounds and third in the Big Ten. He finished third in 2024 and was runner up in 2025. He took third at the Big 12 Championship at 165 pounds in 2023 while he was at North Dakota State.
• Drake Ayala, Patrick Kennedy and Dean Peterson are all making their fourth consecutive Big Ten Championship appearance. Ayala finished eighth in 2022 at 125 pounds, third in 2024 at 125 pounds and second in 2025 at 133 pounds. Kennedy finished in second in 2023 at 165 pounds and fifth in 2024 and 2025 at 174 pounds. Peterson’s previous three appearances all came while he was at Rutgers as he finished seventh (2023), fifth (2024) and sixth (2025). 

BIG TEN TEAM RECORDS
• Iowa holds the record for most individual champions in a single conference championship with nine in 1983. The Hawkeyes had eight in 1985, and crowned seven in 1981, 1982, 1984 and 1986. 
• The conference record for most falls in a tournament belongs to the Hawkeyes, who recorded 12 pins in 1979.      The largest margin of victory by a champion also belongs to Iowa. The 1983 Hawkeyes scored 200 points, 118.5 more than second-place Michigan State (81.5).

BRANDS WINS #300 AT IOWA
Head coach Tom Brands recorded his 300th win at Iowa in the victory at Nebraska. Brands ranks second all-time in program history in overall wins and winning percentage.

FRESHMAN TRACKER
Four Hawkeye freshman have competed as attached competitors during the 2025-26 season.  Under 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 2025-26: Harvey Ludington (5), Leister Bowling IV (2), Leo DeLuca (1), Ty Miller (1). 

BROTHERHOOD
Drake and Dru Ayala, Joey and Patrick Kennedy and Victor and Kael Voinovich are the latest sets of brothers to compete for Iowa men’s wrestling. 
 • There have been 48 sets of brothers to come through the Iowa wrestling program, including head coach Tom Brands and associate head coach Terry Brands. 
 
STARTING AT 125
In the 337 matches that Iowa has wrestled under head coach Tom Brands the Hawkeyes have started at 125 pounds 281 times. Iowa is 249-31-1 in those matches. 
• Iowa is 53-3 under Brands when not starting at 125.
• Since 2003, Iowa is 256-35-1 when starting at 125 and 71-12 when starting at a different weight. 

NATIONAL DUALS INVITATIONAL
• The Hawkeyes finished as runners-up at the National Duals Invitational earning $170,000 in prize money. 
• Iowa defeated #16 Missouri, #15 Illinois and #5 Oklahoma State before falling to #4 Ohio State in the finals.  
• Iowa placed second at National Duals for the fifth time in program history (1994, 1997, 1998, 2015, 2025).

ALL-AMERICANS
The Hawkeyes have five past All-Americans on the 2025-26 roster in Drake Ayala (125/133), Nasir Bailey (133), Michael Caliendo (165), Patrick Kennedy (174), and Ben Kueter (285).
• The Hawkeyes have crowned at least one All-American in 54 consecutive tournaments, a stretch dating back to 1972. Iowa has totaled 332 All-America honors during that stretch. 

WILLIAMS WINS SOLIDER SALUTE TITLE
Jordan Williams finished the Soldier Salute on top with a title at 157 pounds. Williams claimed the title with a 7-3 win over Missouri’s Teague Travis. 

FOUR HAWKS WIN JIM KOCH OPEN TITLES
The University of Iowa wrestling program earned four titles and eight top-five finishes at the Jim Koch Wisconsin Open. 
• Keyan Hernandez claimed the 125-pound crown with a 4-0 record and a major decision.
• Kale Petersen won the 141-pound title, posting two technical falls and two decisions.
• Gabe Arnold captured the 184-pound championship with two technical falls and a pin.
• Harvey Ludington added a title at 197 pounds, recording a technical fall, a pin and a major decision. 

THREE HAWKS WIN LUTHER OPEN TITLES
The University of Iowa wrestling program claimed three titles at the Luther Open. 
• Easton Fleshman won the Elite 285-pound division, posting a perfect 4-0 record with four decision victories, including a 2-0 win over Brody Perry of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the finals and Kale Petersen captured the Elite 141-pound crown with five bonus-point wins, including three technical falls and a pin. 
• Harvey Ludington added a title in the Silver 197-pound division, recording three pins and a technical fall en route to first place.

NEWCOMERS
The Hawkeyes have seven newcomers on the 2025-26 roster, including three transfers.  
• Nasir Bailey was a two-time NCAA qualifier at Little Rock and was an All-American in 2024 finishing in fourth at 133 pounds at the NCAA Championships. He is a two-time PAC-12 Champion. 
• Dean Peterson was a three-time NCAA Qualifier at Rutgers at 125 pounds. He has finished in seventh (2023), sixth (2025), and fifth (2024) at the Big Ten Championships. 
• Jordan Williams was a two-time NCAA Qualifier at 149 pounds at Oklahoma State and Little Rock. He was the Big 12 Runner-Up in 2024 and a Pac-12 Champion in 2025.  

TV TIME
Eight University of Iowa men’s wrestling duals will be televised during the 2025-26 season.
• Iowa’s BTN appearances include home duals against Pittsburgh, Penn State and Michigan, and road duals at Nebraska and Ohio State. 
• Iowa was on ESPN2 at the National Duals Invitational and was on ESPN when they were at Iowa State and will be on ESPN when they travel to Oklahoma State.  
• Sessions I, II and IV of the Big Ten Championships will also be televised on BTN.
• The entirety of the Soldier Salute, Session III of the Big Ten Championships and Iowa’s duals against Bellarmine, Wisconsin (7 p.m.), Minnesota (7 p.m.), Michigan State (TBA) and Purdue (TBA) will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required). 

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 hour following the conclusion of the meet. 

A LOOK BACK
The University of Iowa wrestling team finished the 2024-25 season with a 14-1 overall record and a 7-1 Big Ten mark. The Hawkeyes placed third at the Big Ten Championships and fourth at the NCAA Championships. Iowa had five All-Americans. The program had 10 Academic All-Big Ten selections.

CALIENDO WINS U23 NATIONALS
University of Iowa wrestler Michael Caliendo won a U23 National Title at 74 KG and Kael Voinovich finished in sixth at 70 KG at the Spire Institute on June 1 in Geneva, Ohio.  
• Caliendo won the 74 kg division winning eight of his nine matches to make the world team. Caliendo defeated Daniel Cardenas of the California RTC and Stanford in the best-of-three finals. Caliendo fell 7-2 in the first match before taking the second match, 15-8, and the final match, 14-6, against Cardenas.
• Voinovich finished in sixth at 70 KG winning five matches before falling in the semifinals. Voinovich medical forfeited his next two matches.

A NEW HOME FOR IOWA WRESTLING
Construction on the $31 million Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center finished in May 2024. The 38,000-square-foot facility is the new training home of the Iowa men’s and women’s wrestling programs. The wrestling room on the south end of the building is connected by underground tunnel to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• The two-level building features a Hall of Champions that pays homage to the history of Iowa wrestling. The main entrance welcomes visitors with trophy displays celebrating Iowa’s All-Americans and national champions. The lower-level includes locker rooms for the men’s and women’s teams, while the upper-level houses student-athlete lounges and coaches’ offices that overlook the wrestling room.
• The facility’s largest space, the Bob and Kathy Nicolls Wrestling Room, features 30-foot-high ceilings with nearly twice as much practice space as the former wrestling room. An adjacent strength and conditioning room on the lower-level flows seamlessly into the wrestling room.

WRESTLETOWN, USA
Iowa City, Iowa, was dubbed Wrestletown, USA by NBC Sports when hosting the 2016 Olympic Team Trials. 
• The University of Iowa men’s wrestling program led the nation in attendance for the 18th straight year last year.
•  The Hawkeyes drew an average of 13,640 fans per home date during the 2024-25 season with 95,481 fans entering the doors of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa drew capacity crowds of 14,847 in two of its home duals.
• Iowa has led the nation in attendance in each season of head coach Tom Brands’ tenure (attendance totals weren’t tracked during the 2020-21 season due to most venues having no-spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic). This was the 16th straight year the Hawkeyes have averaged more than 8,000 fans.

HAWKEYE DEBUTS
Three Hawkeyes made their Iowa and Carver-Hawkeye Arena debuts in the 40-0 win over Bellarmine on Nov. 6 -- Nasir Bailey, Dean Peterson and Jordan Williams. 

NCAA EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeyes have 10 wrestlers on the roster with NCAA Championships experience. Dean Peterson is a three-time national qualifier at 125 pounds (2023–2025), while Joey Cruz qualified once at the same weight in 2025. Drake Ayala is a three-time qualifier (2022, 2024-24) at 125/133 pounds and was the NCAA runner-up in both 2024 and 2025. Nasir Bailey is a two-time qualifier (2024–2025) and earned All-American honors in 2024. Jordan Williams (2024–2025) and Victor Voinovich III (2023) have both qualified at 149 pounds. Michael Caliendo is a three-time All-American at 165 pounds and finished as the national runner-up in 2025. Patrick Kennedy is a three-time national qualifier at 165 and 174 pounds and placed fourth in 2025 to earn All-American honors. Gabe Arnold qualified at 184 pounds in 2025, and Ben Kueter was an All-American at heavyweight, finishing eighth in 2025.

2025-26 SCHEDULE
Nine of Iowa’s 15 dual opponents are ranked in the top 25 and six in the top 10 in the NWCA Preseason Coaches’ Poll. They include Penn State (1), Nebraska (2), Ohio State (4), Oklahoma State (5), Iowa State (6), Minnesota (9), Michigan (11), Missouri (18), Pittsburgh (21).
• Purdue and Wisconsin received votes. 
• Iowa’s schedule includes one regular season tournament, 14 duals and the National Duals Invitational, six home dates and two postseason events -- Big Ten Championships (Mar. 7-8), and NCAA Championships (Mar. 19-21).  

HAWKEYES IN THE FINALS
Drake Ayala advanced to the 133-pound finals of the 2025 NCAA Championships to extend Iowa’s streak of NCAA finals appearances to 34 consecutive tournaments. Michael Caliendo also made the 165-pound final and Stephen Buchanan II was in the 197-pound final.
• Iowa has had at least one wrestler in the NCAA finals every year since 1990, and in 49 of the last 50 tournaments dating back to 1975.

HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
The Hawkeyes have won 24 national titles and 37 Big Ten titles. 
• Iowa’s 56 NCAA Champions have won a total of 86 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 eight four-time, 20 three-time and 31 two-time Big Ten champions from Iowa.
• Iowa’s 169 All-Americans have earned All-America status 372 times, including two five-time, 25 four-time, 38 three-time and 42 two-time honorees.

ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
10 Hawkeye wrestlers were among the 56 University of Iowa student-athletes named to the 2024-25 Big Ten Winter Academic All-Conference Team. 
•  To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten status, 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. 
•  The list of honorees includes Ryder Block, Nelson Brands, Easton Fleshman, Koye Grebel, Gage Marty, Charles Matthews, Aidan McCain, Jace Rhodes, Cullan Schriever and Victor Voinovich. 

NCAA TROPHIES
The Hawkeyes have earned a team trophy at the NCAA Championships 15 times in the last 17 championships.  Iowa has won 15 team trophies in head coach Tom Brands’ 18 seasons. (The 2020 season, in which Iowa was favored, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
• Iowa has won 49 team NCAA trophies in program history and have 70 top-10 finishes.  The Hawkeyes have been the NCAA runner-up seven times.

HAWKEYES AND CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa is 140-16 (.907) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since Tom Brands took over the program prior to 2006-07. The Hawkeyes are 289-29 (.914) all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since moving from the UI Field House in 1983. Iowa went 7-0 in Carver in 2023-24.
•  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. 

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' postseason continues traveling to Cleveland, Ohio for the NCAA Championships on March 19-21.