IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa wrestling team saw its 29-dual winning streak come a close following a, 19-13, loss to Penn State on Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Second-ranked Iowa got a major decision from Alex Marinelli at 165 and closed the dual with a top-three win from Tony Cassioppi at 285, but the Nittany Lions came out on top of a pair of overtime battles and won six-of-10 matches to win a matchup between the nation’s top two teams.
“Bonus points are critical,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. “It went against us too. We have to finish. We have to finish matches better and be a little tougher in those situations. We have to keep doing the things that we need to do to make progress as we go into February and the postseason.”
The Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions traded 10-point runs through the first six matches. Penn State strung together one major and a pair of decisions to build a 10-0 team lead after 125, 133 and 141.
Iowa answered and tied the dual, 10-10, with back-to-back decisions and a major from 149-165.
Max Murin scored a takedown in the final minute and used one minute, 50 seconds of riding time to win 4-1 at 149. Kaleb Young’s second-period escape and nearly two minutes of riding time earned him a 2-0 decision at 157, and Marinelli knotted the team score with a 10-2 major decision at 165.
Marinelli scored a takedown in the first, added two more in the third, earned a point for stalling and used two minutes, 11 seconds of riding time to secure the bonus points.
“It felt good but there’s more to give,” Marinelli said. “I’m very thankful and blessed to have just a couple days to avenge a loss and get back to where I wanted to be.”
The Nittany Lions retook the lead at 174 with a 2-1 decision. Top-ranked Carter Starocci used a 30-second rideout in the first tiebreak to defeat No. 2 Michael Kemerer. Kemerer nearly won the match in the closing seconds of the first sudden victory, but a takedown on the mat was called off after an official review determined time had expired.
The Nittany Lions added to their lead with an 8-3 decision at 184 and closed the dual with a similar score at 197.
Cassioppi closed the night with the sixth top-five win of his career. Cassioppi, ranked No. 5 at 285, scored the final seven points of the match to defeat No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, 7-2. Cassioppi led 3-2 after one period, wrestled through a scoreless second period and added an escape and takedown in the third. He also earned a point for riding time (1:27).
“I wrestled my match and my positions,” Cassioppi said. “He hit me with that double right away and I made an adjustment to stop his next one, which was important to me. I can’t let that first one take me down. I need to make the adjustment before I need to make the adjustment. I need to be ready, ready, ready, but i came back and wrestled my match.”
“Fortunately, it is January still,” Brands added. “Even though we are close to February. We are getting towards the end. We have to do a better job. Big things make a big difference.”
UP NEXT
The No. 2 Hawkeyes host No. 10 Wisconsin on Saturday, Feb. 5, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena beginning at 2:30 p.m. (CT). The dual is televised live on BTN. Iowa will recognize its senior class following the dual.
#2 IOWA 13, #1 PENN STATE 19
125 #7 Drew Hildebrandt (PSU) major dec. Jesse Ybarra (IA), 9-0; 0-4
133 #1 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) dec. #3 Austin DeSanto (IA), 3-2; 0-7
141 #1 Nick Lee (PSU) dec. #2 Jaydin Eierman (IA), 6-4 SV1; 0-10
149 #10 Max Murin (IA) dec. #19 Beau Bartlett (PSU), 4-1; 3-10
157 #12 Kaleb Young (IA) dec. Terrell Barraclough (PSU), 2-0; 6-10
165 #5 Alex Marinelli (IA) major dec. #11 Brady Berge (PSU), 10-10
174 #1 Carter Starocci (PSU) dec. #2 Michael Kemerer (IA), 2-1 TB1; 10-13
184 #1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) dec. #17 Abe Assad dec. (IA), 8-3; 10-16
197 #2 Max Dean (PSU) dec. #4 Jacob Warner (IA), 8-3; 10-19
285 #5 Tony Cassioppi (IA) dec. #3 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU); 7-2
Records: Iowa (11-1, 5-1), Penn State (14-0, 6-0)
Date: Jan. 28, 2022
Attendance: 14,905
