PHILADELPHIA – The University of Iowa men’s wrestling team sent five wrestlers to the quarterfinals and two remain alive on the backside of the bracket after day one at the 2025 NCAA Championships at the Wells Fargo Center. The Hawkeyes currently sit in fourth place with 18 points.
“Got two days of wrestling left,” said head coach Tom Brands. “We are excited about what is ahead of us. We have five in the quarters, and we have work to do on the backside as well.”
No. 2 seed Drake Ayala punched his ticket to the quarterfinals at 133 pounds with a 13-4 major decision over Northern Iowa’s Julian Farber, the No. 18 seed. No. 5 seed Kyle Parco fell to the backside due to an injury and lost 8-0 to Oregon State’s No. 12 seed Ethan Stiles.
At 165 pounds, Michael Caliendo won a 15-3 major decision over No. 19 seed Jack Thomsen of Northern Iowa. Patrick Kennedy, the 11th seed at 174 pounds, recorded an upset victory over Binghamton’s No. 6 seeded Brevin Cassella, 3-0. No. 11 seed Gabe Arnold dropped a 12-1 major decision at 184 pounds against No. 6 seed Chris Foca of Cornell. No. 2 seed Stephen Buchanan put bonus points on the board with a technical fall at 197 pounds defeating No. 15 Joseph Novak, 16-1.
No. 5 seed Ben Kueter closed out the session for the Hawkeyes with an 8-2 decision over No. 12 Nick Feldman. Both No. 29 seed Joey Cruz and No. 18 seed Jacori Teemer fell on the backside in the first round of consolations at 125 pounds and 157 pounds respectively.
Session III of the 2025 NCAA Championships will begin at 11 a.m. (CT) tomorrow and it will be televised live on ESPNU.
The attendance during the opening day of the championships reached 18,088, showcasing the enthusiasm for college wrestling.
Penn State leads the team standings with 39.5 points, closely followed by Nebraska with 28.0 points and Oklahoma State at 27.0. The Hawkeyes are currently tied for fourth place with Minnesota and Ohio State, all with 18.0 points.
Fans can look forward to compelling quarterfinal matchups including Ayala against Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State and Kennedy competing against Oklahoma State’s Dean Hamiti.
