UI Athletics news release
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa men’s wrestling team secured seven top-10 seeds for the NCAA Championships, the governing body announced Wednesday. The Hawkeyes will send nine wrestlers to the national tournament.
Michael Caliendo earned the No. 3 seed at 165 pounds, while Patrick Kennedy is the No. 5 seed at 174. Caliendo is 18-4 on the season with a 12-4 record against ranked opponents, and Kennedy is 18-4 with an 11-4 mark against ranked foes.
Drake Ayala is the next-highest seed for the Hawkeyes, coming in at No. 6 at 133 pounds. Nasir Bailey and Angelo Ferrari are both seeded seventh at 141 and 184, respectively. Dean Peterson earned the No. 8 seed at 125 pounds, while Ben Kueter is also an eighth seed at heavyweight.
Ryder Block, the No. 15 seed at 149 pounds, and Gabe Arnold, the No. 27 seed at 197, round out Iowa’s qualifiers.
The Hawkeyes have sent at least nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships for 14 consecutive seasons and 18 times since 2007, Tom Brands’ first year as head coach.
The NCAA Championships will be held March 19–21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Hawkeye Matchups
125 – #8 Dean Peterson vs. #25 Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska)
133 – #6 Drake Ayala vs. #27 Marcel Lopez (SIUE)
141 – #7 Nasir Bailey vs. #26 Braden Basile (Army)
149 – #15 Ryder Block vs. Eugene Harney (Morgan State)
165 – #3 Michael Caliendo vs. Thomas Snipes (Citadel)
174 – #5 Patrick Kennedy vs. Holden Garcia (Princeton)
184 – #7 Angelo Ferrari vs. #26 Chase Kranitz (Pittsburgh)
197 – #27 Gabe Arnold vs. #6 Justin Rademacher (Oregon State)
285 – #8 Ben Kueter vs. #25 Alex Semenenko (Brown)