All Eyes On Iowa, Iowa State Wrestling This Week | Hawkeye Insider – FloWrestling

ESPN will be showing the Iowa-Iowa State dual in Ames to a national television audience on Sunday afternoon, the first time a regular-season dual has appeared on the network.

It’s a chance, Iowa associate head coach Terry Brands said during Wednesday’s media availability, to showcase the sport, but it’s going to be up to the two teams to put on a show.

“The promotions of the sport come down to the action, an entertaining style of wrestling,” Brands said. “Controlling the things you can control, the center of the mat, the things that make wrestling exciting. The style that brings in fans and makes people stay in tune and watch it. So it’s not really us being on ESPN that’s going to bring awareness to us. It’s going to be the product on the mat, how that action, how that attitude, how the fight shines through up and down the lineup on both sides.”

The rivalry between the Hawkeyes and Cyclones has been quite one-sided in recent years. Iowa has won 18 consecutive duals in the series and holds a 68-16-2 advantage in the all-time series.

Brands said the storied history of the two programs, and the sport within the state, helps drive the interest in Sunday’s dual as well.

“That’s what Iowa is — it’s wrestling, it’s farms, it’s blue-collar mentality,” he said. “ If both teams come to compete, the casual sports fan that moves over from the NFL to watch this thing, that’s where they’ll be impressed. That’s where the promotion starts.”

There have been plenty of heated moments between both teams during the series, and Brands expects the usual hostile environment at Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum.

“If both sides do what they’re capable of, it’s going to be a lot of fireworks, it could be great for the sport of wrestling,” he said.

Ayala Responds

Brands said he appreciated the way 125-pounder Drake Ayala responded this week after his 7-6 loss to Brandon Kaylor in last Sunday’s home dual against Oregon State.

It was the first loss of the season for Ayala, and ninth in his three seasons with the Hawkeyes.

“He’s been really good,” Brands said. “He’s been accountable. He’s been vocal, questioning things you would expect an awesome person, a great student-athlete, to do. He came back in, went to work right away. He was accountable to it, and he was asking a lot of questions, (saying) ‘I’m better than this.’ Questions that were more like statements.”

The response, Brands said, was what he expected.

“I’m not surprised one bit that he’s disappointed himself,” Brands said. “Everybody in that arena saw a Drake Ayala they’re not used to seeing.”

Ayala will face Iowa State senior Kysen Terukina (3-0) in what could be one of the most pivotal matches in Sunday’s dual.

Arnold’s Honor

True freshman Gabe Arnold is coming off a 4-2 win over ninth-ranked Travis Wittlake last Sunday, earning him the NCAA’s wrestler of the week honor.

Arnold is still listed as an either-or with Aiden Riggins at 174 for Sunday’s dual.

“He thrives when he gets the call,” Brands said. “It’s maybe not even when the lights are brightest. It’s when he gets the call, when it’s his turn to step on the mat. That’s why he came to Iowa. He wants to be in front of the crowd, he wants to be the guy, he wants to go. He’s made it very, very clear that he thinks he’s the best 174-pounder in the world. And I expect that every time he goes out and competes.”

That’s something Brands has known about Arnold since he recruited him.

“The way that he handled Sunday is the way guys handle Sunday,” Brands said. “They come out, they’re ready to go, and they compete at the highest level. And we’ve known that about him since we were down sitting in his living room recruiting him. That is what we loved about him. That’s why we knew he would be a good fit.”

Rivalry Words

Brands said there’s no need to put any emphasis on the rivalry with the Cyclones.

“This team knows what we’re doing here,” Brands said. “This is the next one up, and it happens to be Iowa State. It’s an event we have circled on the calendar, it’s an event we have circled on the schedule. We’ll be ready to go, because we know this is the next thing up on what we need to take care of heading into March.

“That’s the best, simplest way that I can describe it. Now, simple doesn’t mean easy. But simple does mean it can be easy to understand.”