Iowa
No. 3 Iowa 37, Northwestern 3: Wildcat Walloping
No. 3 Iowa 37, Northwestern 3: Wildcat Walloping
On Sunday, the gauntlet let up for #3 Iowa wrestling and the Hawkeyes replaced drama with dominance in a 37-3 rout of Northwestern. Four of Iowa wrestling’s previous five dual meets had been against top-10 ranked opponents, but Sunday’s Big Ten finale was against an overmatched Northwestern squad that boasted just four ranked wrestlers.
The Wildcats won the first match of the dual on Sunday, but it was all downhill after that. Iowa won the remaining nine matches in the dual meet, including a stretch of five straight bonus point wins that featured four technical falls. The Hawkeyes finished with six total bonus point wins and an easy 37-3 win, despite resting starters at a handful of weights. Iowa improves to 13-1 overall and 7-1 in Big Ten competition.
Northwestern’s lone win of the dual meet was the first match of the day, as #9 Trevor Chumbley earned a 4-1 win in sudden victory over freshman Miguel Estrada. Chumbley and Estrada traded escapes but little in the way of credible attacks during regulation, but Chumbley got to Estrada’s legs and finished in sudden victory to notch the victory.
The Wildcats’ lead in the dual was short-lived, though, as #2 Michael Caliendo unleashed a flurry of takedowns to earn a 19-4 technical fall win over #18 Maxx Mayfield early in the second period. Caliendo attacked at multiple levels and from a variety of angles and finished crisply again and again in his blowout win.
Nelson Brands spelled #11 Patrick Kennedy at 174 lbs, but the end result was familiar: a 21-5 technical fall over Aiden Vandenbush. Brands’ tech fall was a little more methodical than Caliendo’s — he needed to wrestle into the third period to secure his bonus point win — but the end result was the same. It was a positive return to the mat for Brands, who came back to Iowa for one final season after a controversial gambling suspension last year, but has found opportunities limited during an injury-hobbled season.
Perhaps no Iowa wrestler needed to put a series of takedowns on the scoreboard more than #8 Gabe Arnold, who had gone 2-2 in his last four matches and recorded just a single takedown over those four bouts. Arnold doubled that count by the end of the first period and added a third, plus some stalling points against Halverson to earn his major decision win. Questions remain about Arnold’s ability to score against high-end opposition at 184 lbs, but hopefully Sunday’s showing gives him a bit more confidence heading into the biggest matches of the season.
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The tech fall train rolled on at 197 and 285, with #1 Stephen Buchanan (at 197) and #11 Ben Kueter (at 285) adding to Iowa’s bonus point tally. Buchanan’s tech fall came as little surprise — he’s scored bonus points in 78% of his wins this season (14 of 18 wins) and this was his seventh technical fall of the year. He mowed through #14 Evan Bates with a combination of takedowns and near fall points en route to a lopsided 18-2 win.
Kueter’s technical fall was more of a surprise, as he’s notched bonus points in only 41% of his wins this year and only one of those six previous bonus point wins was a technical fall. Kueter showed plenty of scoring ability from neutral against Dirk Mosley, stringing together takedowns (and a few near fall points) to pick up the 20-4 technical fall victory. Like Arnold, the hope is that scoring takedowns in bunches here will boost Kueter’s confidence heading into the hardest part of the season.
The bonus points slowed way down for Iowa in the final four bouts of the dual meet, as the only win by more than a regular decision was notched by Cullan Schriever, who had a major decision at 141 lbs. #26 Joey Cruz continued his recent good form with a workmanlike 6-1 decision win over Dedrick Navarro, while Jesse Ybarra replaced regular starter #3 Drake Ayala at 133 with a 7-3 decision win over Massey Odiotti. Schriever picked up Iowa’s final bonus point win with a 9-0 major decision win over Luis Bazan before #3 Kyle Parco wrapped up the dual with a 9-2 win over #25 Sam Cartella.
There’s only so much to be gleaned from a rout over a very overmatchd opponent. Iowa wrestlers will need to beat much tougher opponents at the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments than what they faced on Sunday in order to achieve their individual and team goals next month. But the Hawkeyes also generally did on Sunday what they should do against overmatched opponents: dominate. That will have to suffice until the big events arrive in a few weeks.
NEXT: #3 Iowa wraps up the dual meet season with a primetime showdown against #2 Oklahoma State (13-0) on Sunday, February 23. The dual meet is scheduled to start at 7:30 PM CT on BTN.
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers on offense, defense development
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers on how the Cyclones offense and defense is developing.
After securing multiple commitments on the offensive side of the ball, Iowa State football has landed its first defensive commitment in the 2027 recruiting class.
Keaton Wollan, a three-star linebacker out of Amery, Wisconsin, committed to the Cyclones on April 21. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound linebacker announced his decision on social media.
He chose Iowa State over other offers from Texas Tech and North Dakota State. He previously visited Ames in March, but he also took recent visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin.
As a junior at Amery High School, Wollan was a two-way standout and earned all-state honors for the 2025 season. Defensively, he racked up a team-high 125 total tackles, including nine for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also had four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three interceptions and one defensive touchdown.
Offensively, he had a team-high 932 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 160 carries. He also caught 15 passes for 179 yards, and he was an impact player in the return game, logging more than 500 kick and punt return yards.
According to 247 Sports Composite rankings, Wollan is the No. 93 linebacker prospect in the country and the No. 11 overall recruit in his class from the state of Wisconsin.
Wollan is the sixth player to commit in the Cyclones’ 2027 recruiting class.
Iowa State football 2027 recruiting commitments
As of April 21
- Gavin Ericson-Staton, OL | Lombard, Illinois/Montini Catholic
- Isaiah Hansen, RB | Newton, Iowa/Newton HS
- Koen Hinzman, OL | Hudson, Michigan/Hudson Area HS
- Will Slagle, OL | Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell HS
- Bryson Thompson, WR | San Antonio, Texas/Claudia Taylor Johnson HS
- Keaton Wollan, LB | Amery, Wisconsin/Amery HS
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
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Prepare for more overnight closures at the northeast mixmaster as the Iowa Department of Transportation closes the ramp connecting westbound Interstate 80 and northbound Interstate 35.
Here’s what to know.
When will the Iowa DOT close the westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 ramp?
The westbound I-80 to northbound I-35 ramp will be closed to traffic from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning from April 21-24.
What’s the detour when the Iowa DOT closes the westbound I‑80 to the northbound I‑35 ramp?
During the closures, drivers wanting to go from westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 will follow a signed detour.
Instead of taking the closed ramp, motorists will stay on westbound I‑80, bypassing the northeast mixmaster connection. They’ll then exit at U.S. Highway 69, turn around, and head back east on I‑80, where they can connect to northbound I‑35 using the open portion of the northeast mixmaster.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
An Iowa women’s basketball transfer portal visitor committed to one of the Hawkeyes’ conference foes instead. Former Iowa State guard Kenzie Hare took a visit to Iowa during her transfer portal recruitment, but the 5-foot-9 guard committed to Indiana on Sunday night.
Hare had several visits throughout her transfer portal recruiting process, including trips to Michigan and Illinois State, but the Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow reported that Hare also visited Iowa.
On3’s Talia Goodman reported Hare’s commitment to the Hoosiers.
Hare has one year of eligibility remaining. This past season with the Cyclones, in 32 games played and 31 starts, Hare averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on 40.5% field goal shooting and 40% from 3-point range. A hip injury limited Hare to just 10 games during her first year with the Cyclones in the 2024-25 season.
The soon-to-be redshirt senior transferred to Iowa State before the 2024-25 campaign after spending two seasons at Marquette from 2022-24. Hare averaged a career-best 14 points per game on 45.5% field goal shooting and 42.5% 3-point shooting during the 2023-24 season with the Golden Eagles.
Had Iowa been able to lure the Naperville, Ill., native to Iowa City, Hare would have been another valuable addition to the Hawkeyes’ backcourt depth. But, Iowa has landed other backcourt reinforcements throughout this transfer portal cycle.
The Hawkeyes inked both Dani Carnegie and Amari Whiting.
Carnegie was a first-team All-SEC selection this past season at Georgia, averaging 17.8 points per game on 42.7% field goal shooting, 35.4% from 3-point range and 83.3% from the free-throw line. Whiting averaged 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game on 42.5% field goal shooting, 32.1% 3-point accuracy, and 71.6% free-throw shooting.
As Hare joins a promising core of players in Bloomington, the Hawkeyes will once again face the former Cyclone at least once this upcoming season as part of their Big Ten regular-season slate.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
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