Iowa
No. 4 Iowa State bonds over blond hair dye, beats No. 17 Northern Iowa, 27-14, on Sunday at Hilton
![No. 4 Iowa State bonds over blond hair dye, beats No. 17 Northern Iowa, 27-14, on Sunday at Hilton No. 4 Iowa State bonds over blond hair dye, beats No. 17 Northern Iowa, 27-14, on Sunday at Hilton](https://cyclonefanatic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/USATSI_22500359-scaled.jpg)
Iowa State Cyclones Casey Swiderski takes down Northern Iowa Panthers Cael Rahnavardi during their 149-pound wrestling at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES — Casey Swiderski and several of his Iowa State wrestling teammates recently journeyed to the hair care aisle. They scanned the many selections and settled on the cheapest option: An unnatural-looking, but bond-deepening blond dye they all unveiled during the No. 4 Cyclones’ 27-14 dual win Sunday over intra-state rival and No. 17 Northern Iowa before a crowd of 5,615 at Hilton Coliseum.
“I think it just shows how tight we are and, it’s OK, whatever,” said Swiderski, who’s ranked No. 7 nationally at 149 pounds by FloWrestling. “We might look ridiculous. It’s OK. We’re gonna run you out of bounds, or we’re gonna take you down, so whatever.”
Swiderski joined three teammates in winning by technical fall Sunday against the Panthers. The Cyclones scored bonus points in five of their six victories en route to their fifth straight dual win over their cross-state rival.
“We just didn’t punch enough,” said Panther head coach Doug Schwab, whose team got an upset win to start the meet when redshirt freshman 125-pounder Trever Anderson beat No. 21 Kysen Terukina, 8-5, in sudden victory. “We needed to punch more. Hell, we got tech-falled four times. I don’t know how the hell you’re gonna win a dual meet that way.”
Anderson’s gritty win served as a bright spot for UNI — as did No. 13 157-pounder Ryder Downey’s 12-9 triumph over ISU’s No. 9 Cody Chittum. Downey was put on his back early, but battled back and scored three back points of his own in the closing seconds to cement the comeback victory.
“You get put to your back in that situation and you get down, and you know what? It’s OK,” Schwab said. “And here’s the thing: Get the next score. Win the next position (and) win the next position. Make it simple. You don’t need to get it back at once.”
The Cyclones’ 149-pounder Anthony Echemendia adopted a similar approach during the most anticipated matchup of the dual. Echemendia, ranked No. 9 at his weight, scored a takedown with 18 seconds remaining to outlast No. 6 Cael Happel, 9-6. The bout served as a rematch of sorts, as Happel beat Echemendia, 9-3, in December at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
“All that support you get from your teammates and your coaches, it’s what pushes you with 20 seconds, or 10 seconds left,” Echemendia said. “You have all that stuff in your head and you’re like, ‘Man, I can’t fail in front of these people.’ They’re supporting me and they believe in me, so that’s what I keep in mind in those close matches.”
Echemendia said Swiderski, in particular, has been in his corner after both intended to fight for the top-spot at 149 before the season. Echemendia decided to cut weight to ensure both could be in the lineup — and it’s paid dividends on both a team and individual basis.
“I’ve actually never told him, but I respect the hell out of him,” Swiderski said before his hand met Echmendia’s for a heartfelt handshake. “Because now we’re both out here and we’re the one-two punch, and I think it’s only up from here.”
Iowa State also got bonus-point wins from No. 8 ranked 133-pounder Evan Frost, second-ranked 165-pounder David Carr, No. 23 174-pounder MJ Gaitain, and No. 3 heavyweight Yonger Bastida.
As for the “ridiculous” hair dye? That’s not going down the drain anytime soon, Swiderski said. So expect plenty of reapplications well into March.
“I think it’s whatever,” he said. “Just let ‘em know. You don’t want to get beat by the blond guy.”
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Iowa
Surrounding states bracing for spike in demand as Iowa abortion ban set to begin
![Surrounding states bracing for spike in demand as Iowa abortion ban set to begin Surrounding states bracing for spike in demand as Iowa abortion ban set to begin](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/07/23/17/Abortion_Iowa_01515.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
Abortion providers are bracing for Iowa’s near total abortion ban to take effect on Monday.
In Illinois, the Chicago Abortion Fund, a group which provides referrals and funds to those seeking abortions, saw a 165 percent increase in support requests from patients in Iowa this month, it told The Washington Post.
“It’s staggering even to me,” the group’s executive director Megan Jeyifo said.
Last month, the Iowa Supreme Court lifted a hold on a 2023 state law, banning abortions in most cases after six weeks, after a lower court temporarily blocked the law.
The ban will now take effect Monday morning.
In preparation, Planned Parenthood told NBC News it’s expanding services in surrounding states like Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska.
“We are standing by ready to help patients receive access to care, even if that means traveling out of state,” Ruth Richardson, president of Planned Parenthood North Central States, said.
The Emma Goldman Clinic, based in Iowa City, said it will seek to support patients who need to travel out of state now for care.
“We will help those for whom we are unable to provide abortion services to navigate the logistics of seeking care in other states,” it said in a statement.”
Prior to the 2023 law, which contains exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormality, and lethal risks to the mother, Iowa banned abortions after 22 weeks.
Abortions expected to drop 97 percent once the new law takes effect, according to Planned Parenthood.
Iowa
These 13 Iowa beaches are not recommended for swimming due to high E. coli or algae
![These 13 Iowa beaches are not recommended for swimming due to high E. coli or algae These 13 Iowa beaches are not recommended for swimming due to high E. coli or algae](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/07/18/PIOC/74457488007-20240717-dn-rwatertest-0096.jpg?auto=webp&crop=5183,2917,x0,y269&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Don’t forget to check the water quality reports if you head to the beach this weekend. More than a few beaches are not recommended for swimming.
A total of 13 beaches are not recommended for swimming this week. High E. coli levels were reported at 12 beaches and high algal toxin levels were reported at two.
Wondering how can you check up on water monitoring, beach classifications and know what locations are open or closed? Iowa Department of Natural Resources tracks it all and updates the public weekly on its website and using a phone hotline at 515-725-3434.
The DNR collects weekly samples at 39 state-owned swimming beaches to determine the public’s risk of coming in contact with waterborne diseases. Testing starts a week prior to Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day.
What Iowa beaches are not recommended for swimming?
Backbone Lake
- Beach classification: Vulnerable
- Last test date: July 24
Beeds Lake
- Beach classification: Vulnerable
- Last test date: July 23
Black Hawk Lake
- Beach classification: Less vulnerable
- Last test date: July 23
Blue Lake
- Beach classification: Less vulnerable
- Last test date: July 23
Denison Beach
- Beach classification: Less vulnerable
- Last test date: July 23
George Wyth Lake
- Beach classification: Vulnerable
- Last test date: July 24
Lake Ahquabi
- Beach classification: Less vulnerable
- Last test date: July 24
Lake Darling
- Beach classification: Vulnerable
- Last test date: July 24
Lake of Three Fires
- Beach classification: Less vulnerable
- Last test date: July 24
Nine Eagles Lake
- Beach classification: Vulnerable
- Last test date: July 23
Pleasant Creek Lake
- Beach classification: Less vulnerable
- Last test date: July 24
Rock Creek Lake
- Beach classification: Less vulnerable
- Last test date: July 24
Union Grove Lake
- Beach classification: Vulnerable
- Last test date: July 24
West Okoboji Lake
- Beach classification: Vulnerable
- Last test date: July 24
What Iowa beaches have a special status?
Lake Keomah: Monitoring by DNR has been suspended for the 2024 season. The DNR expected to start draining the lake on July 9 for a major renovation and water quality improvement project that will last until spring 2026.
What Iowa beaches have improved to ‘OK for swimming’?
Three beaches previously considered “not recommended for swimming” in Week 9 data, posted on July 19, are now OK for swimming:
- Pheasant Creek Beach
- Emerson Bay Beach
- Denison Beach
How does the Iowa DNR classify Iowa’s beaches based on their water quality?
DNR officials classify state park beaches into one of three categories annually based on their history of bacteria results in recent years:
Vulnerable: Beaches are considered vulnerable when the geometric mean standard is exceeded in three or more of the five most recent sampling seasons.
Transitional: The beach’s geometric mean standard is exceeded in two or fewer sampling seasons of the five most recent years of monitoring and was listed as “vulnerable” in the past monitoring seasons.
Less vulnerable: The beach’s geometric mean standard is exceeded in two or fewer sampling seasons of the five most recent years of monitoring and was listed as “transitional” or “less vulnerable” in past monitoring seasons.
Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at vreynarodriguez@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter @VictoriaReynaR.
Iowa
What to know about Iowa wrestling’s Kennedy Blades’ path ahead at the 2024 Olympics
Spencer Lee on Olympics: ‘It would be wrong to say that I’m not representing Iowa’
Wrestler Spencer Lee meets with media ahead of his upcoming appearance in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
It was never a matter of if for United States Olympian and recent Iowa commit Kennedy Blades, but a matter of when.
Blades is one of the premier talents in the United States’ pool of youth wrestlers. She made waves initially by becoming the first girl to win a boys state championship in the state of Illinois while in high school, before cementing her status as an elite wrestler by reaching the U.S. Olympic Trials best-of-three finals at the age of 17.
Blades’ opponent in the finals was none other than Adeline Gray, a six-time World champion who had set the standard for women’s wrestling in the U.S. When Gray won her first World title, Blades was just 9, and Gray continued her career in the most dominant and consistent way possible.
Blades came up short, losing to Gray (who went on to win silver in the 2020/21 Tokyo Olympics). At that moment, Blades was not quite up to the task.
Fast forward to today. Blades has beaten Gray once (at the 2023 U.S. Open) but lost to her again at Final X. Maybe the torch had been passed, but there was enough doubt that it hadn’t and that Gray may have one more Olympic run in her.
This time at the Olympic Trials at age 20, Blades left little doubt, rolling through to the Olympic Trials finals once again by winning three matches by a total score of 33-1. Facing Gray once again, Blades triumphed with an 11-6 and an 8-3 decision over Gray to become an Olympian.
“It didn’t go my way when I was 17, but I knew I could beat her because I did it before so it’s obviously possible,” Blades said. “I just trusted my training and I literally just said, ‘full send.’”
Now, the Iowa women’s wrestling program has its first Olympian after Blades made her way to Iowa City a couple months after clinching the spot. A dream has been realized as Blades now carries the torch as one of the country’s best wrestlers.
“This was honestly my goal since I was seven. 2024 was definitely my goal,” Blades said. “I’ve never even made a Senior World Team so it’s just amazing to think I made an Olympic team.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Blades’ upcoming test, from her opponents to when she will wrestle.
Opponents in Kennedy Blades’ bracket
Blades showed she is capable of beating anyone in the world with her wins over Gray, but it doesn’t get any easier when she arrives in Paris.
Aiperi Medt Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan is the No. 1 seed at 76 kilograms, a 25-year-old World silver medalist in 2023 and a World bronze medalist in 2021. She thrashed Gray at the Zagreb Open in Croatia in a 10-0 technical fall. She’s wrestled in six World Championships prior to making this year’s Olympic team.
The 2023 World champion at 76 kilograms, and perhaps the favorite in Paris, is Yuka Kagami of Japan. At age 23, she is a World champion and a World bronze medalist. Japan is the top women’s wrestling country in the world.
No. 2 seed Kagami is followed by No. 3 seed Tatiana Renteria of Columbia, a World bronze medalist in 2023.
Rounding out the top five seeds are Catalina Axente of Romania and Milaimys Marin of Cuba. Both took fifth in their respective weight classes at the World Championships a year ago. Mari defeated Blades at the Spanish Grand Prix this summer by a 13-4 score, so there will need to be a game-plan adjustment for Blades if these two face off again.
There also are three other former Olympians in this field in Nigeria’s Hannah Rueben (14th in 2016), Tunisia’s Zaineb Sghaier (16th in 2020) and Turkey’s Yasemin Adar Yigit (bronze medalist in 2020). Of those three, only Rueben is seeded at No. 6.
Combine those with former World medalists in Canada’s Justina Di Stasio (World champion in 2018) and Mongolia’s Davaanasan Enkh Amar (World silver medalist in 2023), this is a field full of experienced and talented wrestlers.
Blades has as much talent as anyone in the world as an offensive dynamo, but the question will be whether her talent will show through again as it did at the Olympic Trials or if she’ll need more experience to compete at an Olympic level.
Full field of wrestlers in 76-kilogram bracket
- No. 1 Aiperi Medt Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan)
- No. 2 Yuka Kagami (Japan)
- No. 3 Tatiana Renteria (Columbia)
- No. 4 Catalina Axente (Romania)
- No. 5 Milaimys Marin (Cuba)
- No. 6 Hannah Rueben (Nigeria)
- No. 7 Justina Di Stasio (Canada)
- No. 8 Bernadett Nagy (Hungary)
- Yuliana Yaneva (Bulgaria)
- Juan Wang (Chia)
- Genesis Reasco Valdez (Ecuador)
- Reetika (India)
- Davaanasan Enkh Amar (Mongolia)
- Zaineb Sghaier (Tunisia)
- Yasemin Adar Yigit (Turkey)
- Kennedy Blades (United States)
What is repechage?
Repechage is a French word meaning a second chance, and it will be talked about a lot in Paris.
Fans who watched the Last Chance Qualifier that Iowa’s Spencer Lee competed in to qualify for the Olympics may recall what repechage is, but in case this is new to you, here’s an explainer:
Repechage is the consolation-bracket format the Olympics will use. Unlike the traditional wrestleback format seen at high school and collegiate levels here in the U.S., only the athletes who lost to the gold-medal finalists of the tournament will get another shot in the consolations to take as high as third. In other words, a bracket is created comprised of every wrestler who lost to a finalist.
Losers of the semifinal matches get a bye to the semifinals of the repechage, where four other wrestlers are remaining for a chance at bronze. Winners of those semifinal matches will then wrestle for bronze.
When will Kennedy Blades wrestle at Olympics?
Here are the session times for Kennedy Blades’ matches. Times aren’t an exact science here, but these are the scheduled session times via the Olympics. Blades would wrestle in the repechage matches on Aug. 11 only if she were to lose on Aug. 10 to a gold-medal round finalist as previously mentioned.
All times listed are CT.
- Aug. 10 from 4 a.m to 6:30 a.m: Preliminary rounds and Quarterfinals
- Aug. 10 from 11:15 a.m to 3 p.m: Semifinals
- Aug. 11 from 4 a.m to 7:30 a.m: Repechage
- Aug. 11 from 4 a.m to 7:30 a.m: Medal matches
How to watch Olympic Wrestling
Wrestling will be broadcast live on NBC, as well as being streamed and replay-able on Peacock.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23
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