Iowa wrestling rolls to win over Wisconsin on senior day

Needing something positive following back-to-back dual losses, Iowa wrestling found it Sunday afternoon against Wisconsin.

The No. 4 Hawkeyes won eight of 10 matches and rolled to a 34-7 win over the Badgers on senior day inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Iowa (11-2, 6-2 Big Ten Conference) entered following dual defeats to Michigan and Penn State, marking the first time Tom Brands’ program had suffered consecutive losses since dropping duals to Ohio State and Michigan in January 2018. There was some early adversity to hurdle on Sunday as well.

With the dual starting at 125 pounds, Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett got the Badgers off to a nice beginning with a 8-0 victory over Joey Cruz. That’s where all Wisconsin momentum stopped, though.

The Hawkeyes comfortably won the next four matches to take a commanding lead. Brody Teske secured a 19-4 win over Nicolar Rivera at 133 pounds. Real Woods pinned Felix Lettini to cap a 14-0 win at 141 pounds. Caleb Rathjen landed an 8-1 victory over Joseph Zargo at 149 pounds, and Jared Franek made it a memorable senior day with a 17-5 major-decision win over Luke Mechler.

That got Iowa to intermission with an 18-4 advantage, and after a 14-11 stumble from Michael Caliendo against Wisconsin’s Dean Hamiti at 165 pounds, it was more Hawkeyes dominance to finish things off.

Iowa secured wins in the final four matches with minimal drama. Patrick Kennedy picked up a 19-4 tech-fall win over Cale Anderson at 174 pounds. Gabe Arnold fought through a tough match for an 8-6 victory over Shane Liegel at 184 pounds. Zach Glazier followed with a 13-4 major-decision win over Josh Otto at 197 pounds, and Bradley Hill finished off the afternoon with an 11-3 major decision over Gannon Rosenfield at heavyweight.

The Hawkeyes will now turn their focus to next Sunday’s 2 p.m. dual at Oklahoma State, which will wrap up the regular season. Iowa will then head to Maryland for the Big Ten Championships beginning March 9.

125: Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over Joey Cruz (Iowa) (MD 8-0)

133: Brody Teske (Iowa) over Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) (TF 19-4 4:11)

141: Real Woods (Iowa) over Felix Lettini (Wisconsin) (Fall 4:37)

149: Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) over Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) (Dec 8-1)

157: Jared Franek (Iowa) over Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) (MD 17-5)

165: Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) over Mike Caliendo (Iowa) (Dec 14-11)

174: Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) over Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) (TF 19-4 6:23)

184: Gabe Arnold (Iowa) over Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) (Dec 8-6)

197: Zach Glazier (Iowa) over Josh Otto (Wisconsin) (MD 13-4)

285: Bradley Hill (Iowa) over Gannon Rosenfeld (Wisconsin) (MD 11-3)

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.