Iowa wrestlers Patrick Kennedy, Tony Cassioppi win U23 national titles

Iowa coach Tom Manufacturers was excited to observe his wrestlers compete on the U23 nationwide championships this weekend, and Patrick Kennedy spent the final two days displaying why.

Kennedy, the Hawkeyes’ proficient third-year wrestler, received the U23 males’s freestyle nationwide title on Sunday in Ohio. He went 7-0 to win at 74 kilograms (163 kilos), registering three wins over All-Individuals and two extra over NCAA qualifiers.

The efficiency strengthened Manufacturers’ pleasure. Kennedy joined this system as a ballyhooed recruit from Minnesota’s Kasson-Mantorville, however he has needed to wait two years earlier than cracking the Hawkeye lineup. He wrestled some however not typically in the course of the shortened 2021 season, then went 17-3 whereas redshirting in the course of the ’21-22 season.

Manufacturers anticipates Kennedy will step proper into the Hawkeye lineup subsequent season and be Iowa’s beginning 165-pounder for the foreseeable future, and if this weekend is any indication of what to anticipate, Kennedy may very nicely be a nationwide drive immediately.

The 21-year-old outscored his seven opponents by a mixed 66-12. He beat a pair of NCAA qualifiers, in Appalachian State’s William Formato (10-0) and Columbia’s Josh Ogunsanya (15-5). He additionally beat two guys who each received 20-plus matches final season, in Wyoming’s Cooper Voorhees and Lock Haven’s Avery Bassett.

Kennedy’s last three matches on Sunday had been maybe his finest. Within the semifinals, he pinned Nebraska’s Peyton Robb, an All-American this past season at 157 pounds. Robb opened with a 4-point takedown, however Kennedy rallied to guide 6-4 after scoring an publicity within the second interval, throughout which he re-adjusted and recorded the autumn.

Within the best-of-three finals, Kennedy swept West Virginia’s Peyton Corridor, one other 2022 All-American. Kennedy scored 4 takedowns to win the primary match, 8-3, then scored 5 step-out factors to win the second, 5-0. This end result was particularly spectacular since Corridor beat Kennedy, 6-4 in sudden victory, on the Southern Scuffle final January.

► MORE: Iowa Metropolis Excessive’s Ben Kueter makes U20 males’s freestyle world workforce

The unlucky information for Kennedy is that this weekend’s competitors partially doubled because the world workforce trials occasion for the U23 world championships, set for October in Spain. Right here’s why it’s solely partially:

USA Wrestling modified its U23 world workforce qualifying course of this 12 months. If any of the Senior nationwide workforce members are U23 eligible, they get first dibs on the U23 world workforce spot.

At 74 kilos, Kyle Dake and Jason Nolf, who will wrestle for the Senior world workforce spot on Wednesday at Last X in New York, aren’t eligible, however Iowa State’s David Carr, who beat Joey Lavallee in a wrestle-off for the third spot on the nationwide workforce final Friday at Last X in Stillwater, is U23 eligible. He has indicated he plans to take the spot, too.

That stinks for Kennedy, who no-doubt earned his nationwide title this weekend. However his efficiency ought to have Hawkeye wrestling followers buzzing as they await the arrival of the 2022-23 season.

Iowa wrestler Tony Cassioppi makes U23 males’s freestyle world workforce

Tony Cassioppi will get the chance to win one other world title this fall.

Cassioppi, Iowa’s lean-and-mean All-American heavyweight, joined Kennedy as a champion on the U23 males’s freestyle nationwide match on Sunday. However in contrast to Kennedy’s unlucky circumstance, Cassioppi shall be on the U23 world workforce.

The 22-year-old stormed to first at 125 kilos (275), going 7-0 and outscoring his opponents 72-8. He notched wins over Oklahoma State’s Luke Surber, Wisconsin All-American Trent Hillger, then swept Missouri’s Zach Elam, a previous Junior world silver medalist, within the best-of-three finals, successful by scores of 11-4 and 13-2.

By advantage of USA Wrestling’s nationwide workforce members at 125 kilos all ineligible for the U23 world championships, Cassioppi earned the world workforce spot together with his championship run this weekend. The U23 world championships are set for October 17-23 in Spain.

Cassioppi, after all, received gold ultimately 12 months’s U23 world championships. Expectations, each internally and externally, are lots excessive that he’ll do it once more this fall.

► RELATED: Thomas Gilman makes one other Senior males’s freestyle world workforce

Alburnett’s Tanner Sloan makes U23 males’s freestyle world workforce

Tanner Sloan, the Alburnett grad who’s now wrestling at South Dakota State, joined Cassioppi on the U23 world workforce by successful the title at 97 kilos (202) on Sunday. Sloan went 5-0 and swept Stanford’s Nick Stemmet within the best-of-three finals, 10-0 and 10-3.

Sloan, a three-time NCAA qualifier for the Jackrabbits, is now a two-time age-level world workforce member for USA Wrestling. He beforehand made the Junior males’s freestyle world workforce in 2019 that competed in Estonia.

That 12 months, David Carr received a Junior world title. Moreover, Yonger Bastida, now an All-American at Iowa State, repped Cuba and took second at Sloan’s weight. Sloan went 0-1 and was eradicated on the primary day of competitors.

Three extra Hawkeye wrestlers earn All-American honors at U23 nationwide championships

Kennedy and Cassioppi produced the spotlight performances, however the Hawkeyes had a superb weekend total on the U23 nationwide championships, ending with 5 whole All-Individuals — and the opposite three all completed within the top-four.

Abe Assad went 6-1 and completed third at 86 kilos (189). He received his first 4 matches by a mixed 40-0 to achieve the semifinals, the place he misplaced to Oregon State’s Trey Munoz, 6-2. However he rallied with two wrestleback wins for third — 8-5 over Cornell’s Chris Foca, and 3-1 over Cornell’s Jonathan Loew, an All-American at 184 this previous season.

Brennan Swafford went 7-1 and took third at 79 kilos (174). He additionally made the semifinals then took third. He registered come-from-behind wins over Little Rock’s Tyler Brennan (down 4-0, received 5-4) and Michigan’s Max Maylor (down 5-2, received 7-5) and technical fall wins over Illinois’ Dan Braunagel, Air Power’s Sam Wolf, and Edinboro’s Aaron McDaniel.

Cobe Siebrecht put collectively an spectacular efficiency, going 8-2 for fourth at 70 kilos (154). He received seven straight matches within the wrestlebacks. He recorded an 18-8 win over Willie McDougald, a Huge 12 runner-up and NCAA qualifier; 10-0 win over South Dakota State’s Daniel Kimball; and pinned Northern Iowa’s Evan Yant whereas trailing 6-4.

Northern Iowa’s Julian Farber turns into U23 freestyle All-American

The Panther Practice introduced an enormous contingent of wrestlers to the U23 nationwide match, however solely Julian Farber, a third-year wrestler initially from Georgia, was the one medal-winner, ending seventh at 61 kilos (134).

Farber went 6-2 total, which included 5 straight wins within the wrestlebacks after a third-round loss. He beat Purdue’s Dustin Norris 12-1 and Arizona State’s Julian Chlebove 9-3 to achieve the top-eight. His solely losses got here to Minnesota’s Jake Gliva and Cal-State Bakersfield’s Probability Wealthy, each of whom had been NCAA qualifiers in 2022.

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and highschool sports activities for the Des Moines Register. Comply with him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.