EVANSTON, Illinois – The third-ranked University of Iowa men’s wrestling team won all 10 matches to blank the Northwestern Wildcats, 46-0, on Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

In a dual that lasted an hour and 23 minutes the Hawkeyes won eight bouts via bonus points, including ending six matches early via technical fall or pin.

Iowa recorded 33 takedowns to Northwestern’s one.

“We are going to Michigan next week,” said head coach Tom Brands. “We have a lot of work to do. We got a lot of bonus points again. We had two falls in this dual meet, we won an overtime match, and we have to keep it rolling.”

At 125 No. 5 ranked Drake Ayala got the Hawkeyes started using 3:22 to win a 19-4 tech. fall over Massey Odiotti.

It was the first of three straight tech. falls for Iowa as Cullan Schriever used 5:09 to win, 24-9, over Patrick Adams at 133 and at 141 Brody Teske won, 17-1, over Kolby McClain in 4:50.

11th ranked Caleb Rathjen ended the streak of tech. falls with a pin over Aiden Vandenbush at 149, winning in 3:46.

Second ranked Jared Franek finished out the first half of the dual with a ranked win defeating No. 19 Trevor Chumbley, 4-1, in sudden victory.

No. 6 Michael Caliendo won the only other ranked matchup of the dual after the 10-minute intermission. He needed 4:59 to win 21-5 over No. 15 Maxx Mayfield. The Geneva, Illinois, native has seven tech. falls on the season.

No. 9 Patrick Kennedy tallied an 11-3 major decision over David Ferante before Aiden Riggins recorded an upset decision at 184 over 24th ranked Troy Fisher, 4-2.

14th ranked Zach Glazier extended his winning streak to 18 and remained undefeated with an 11-2 major decision over Evan Bates.

Ben Kueter ended the dual with a bang needing only 45 seconds to pin Jack Jessen.

“That is what Kueter does best,” said Brands. “He is very calm, very comfortable, in positions that maybe aren’t conventional. Pretty good transition, not just bailing himself out and getting a stalemate when the guy is deep but putting a guy in trouble, and then you have to put the clamps on a guy and end it. He did that, and sometimes that is hard to do. You get the whole enchilada with him.”

“I am pretty good in that position,” said Kueter. “I have strong hips, I guess you could say, so I was comfortable where I was at. I knew that was what I wanted to do. Just like my coaches were saying, take my first scoring opportunity, and that is what I did, finished the match.”

The victory moves Iowa’s dual record to 10-0 and 5-0 in Big Ten Conference action. The Hawkeyes travel to Michigan on Friday at 2 p.m.

STILLWATER, Okla. – No. 4 Iowa State dropped its first Big 12 dual of the season to No. 5 Oklahoma State, 21-12, Saturday night inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Cowboys won six bouts compared to ISU’s four, including three matches by bonus points. Iowa State finished the evening 1-2 in one-score matches. Oklahoma State won the takedown battle, 15-8, marking the first time this season the Cyclones were outperformed on their feet in a dual.

Oklahoma State started the evening with three consecutive victories at 125, 133 and 141 pounds to take a commanding 10-0 lead in the dual. At 141 pounds, Anthony Echemendia was much the aggressor and had an opportunity to get the Cyclones on the board, but fell to No. 9 Tagen Jamison, 4-1, in sudden victory.

Casey Swiderski got Iowa State on the board at 149 pounds. The Cyclone tallied two takedowns and controlled the center of the mat in an 8-2 victory over No. 17 Sammy Alvarez.

The Cowboys got a decision at 157 pounds before the dual’s featured bout between No. 3 David Carr and No. 4 Izzak Olejnik. Carr was in control the entire match and amassed 2:07 of riding time in an 8-1 decision.

MJ Gaitan made it back-to-back victories for the Cyclones with a win in sudden victory against No. 25 Brayden Thompson. Gaitan secured a body lock on the edge of the mat and tallied the winning takedown to win, 6-3.

Oklahoma State sealed the contest with two consecutive bonus point wins at 184 and 197 pounds. 

Yonger Bastida ended the night on a positive note for Iowa State. He improved to 17-0 on the year with a 7-2 decision over No. 9 Konner Doucet, his sixth victory of the season against a top-15 opponent.

Up Next
Iowa State returns home for the entire month of February. Next up, the Cyclones take on West Virginia Friday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m.

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger is angry over reports that Kansas State accused the Cyclones of spying on their huddles in last week’s game in Hilton Coliseum. He addressed the reports following Saturday’s 79-75 win over seventh ranked Kansas.

Otzelberger called the allegations ludicrous.

Otzelberger says there was no spying.

An Iowa native says the Big Ten is expecting more records set at this season’s Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament in Minneapolis. Megan Kahn is from Newton and is the Big Ten Vice President of Women’s Basketball. It is the second straight year the Twin Cities serves as host.

Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeye women are setting attendance records wherever they play and Kahn expects the Big Ten Tournament to be no different.

Kahn says the “Caitlin Clark Effect” is real.

The tournament runs March sixth through the 10th.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, Saturday, announced that after a five-year hiatus,  the City will once again serve as an overnight stay for RAGBRAI 2024. It’s the 51st year for the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa that begins with bicyclists dipping their tires in the Missouri River. Eight Iowa communities along the RAGBRAI route serve as “host” communities, beginning with Glenwood. This year, the overnight stays include Red Oak, Atlantic, Winterset, Knoxville, Ottumwa, Mt. Pleasant, and Burlington. This will be the eighth shortest route (434-miles) but the hilliest ever, with 18,741 feet of climb.

The route and host cities announcement came Saturday night in Des Moines, at the 2024 RAGBRAI  Route Announcement Party. Atlantic will host cyclists Monday, July 22, 2024.

Chamber Executive Director Bailey Smith said “We are excited to see RAGBRAI has named Atlantic as a host community once again.” Smith said  “RAGBRAI has always expressed how much they love coming to Atlantic and we’re excited to show not just the state of Iowa, but cyclists from around the country and world what kind of people and community we are.”

Atlantic last served as a host community in 2019, welcoming just under 20,000 people to town. The committee, made up of 25 committee chairs, and over 300 day-of volunteers, raised a record $50,000 that was divided between the Atlantic Police Department, Atlantic Volunteer Fire Department, Atlantic School Boosters Club and the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. Smith is looking forward to having another record year.

Photo of the 2019 RAGBRAI in Atlantic (Photo courtesy Bailey Smith)

“RAGBRAI gives Atlantic a lot of positive exposure while supporting local organizations and non-profits. We look forward to partnering with community leading entities as well as community minded individuals to have a successful RAGBRAI 2024,” stated Smith.

Details regarding committee and volunteer needs will be made available in the coming weeks and Smith asks for patience while Chamber staff work to gather information.

For more information regarding housing, vendors opportunities, etc., visit www.atlanticragbrai.com or call 712-250-5343. RAGBRAI will be held July 20 – July 27.

(hawkeyesports.com) ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Michigan, 88-78, on Saturday evening at the Crisler Center. The Hawkeyes move to 12-8 on the season and 4-5 in conference play.

Junior Payton Sandfort led all scorers with 26 points, which tied a career high. He caught fire in the second half, scoring 21 points after the break. Sandfort tied a career high with six 3-pointers, including five in the second half.

Senior Tony Perkins finished with his third-straight 20-point game. He scored 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. Perkins became the 52^nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. He dished out five assists and had three steals.

Freshman Owen Freeman added 15 points and nine rebounds. Freeman blocked three shots, the seventh time this season he’s tallied 3 or more blocks in a game.

After a back and forth first half that featured 10 lead changes, Iowa trailed 44-42. The Hawkeyes were able to pull away from the Wolverines in the second half behind hot shooting from beyond the arc and stellar team defense. Michigan shot 9-of-32 (28%) from the field and 5-of-14 (35%) from three in the second half. The Hawkeyes held the Wolverines to 1-of-12 shooting over the final 10:05.

Iowa shot 31-of-58 (53%) from the field and 8-of-16 from three. The Hawkeyes were perfect from the free throw line, shooting 18-of-18.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes remain on the road, traveling to Bloomington to take on Indiana on Jan. 30. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. (CT).

NORMAL, Ill. – The Drake women’s basketball team competed hard in a 79-70 loss at Illinois State (13-6, 6-3) this evening. The Bulldogs (15-5, 8-1) kept things close nearly throughout but could not climb all the way back as the Redbirds ended Drake’s nine-game winning streak.

It took over two minutes until the first score as both teams traded a handful of empty possessions. DeAnna Wilson, Illinois State’s leading scorer, provided the opening bucket in the paint. The Bulldogs were able to answer on a precise cross-court dish from Katie Dinnebier to Grace Berg in transition.

Drake took an early 7-5 lead after a traditional three-point play from reserve guard Anna Brown only to relinquish the advantage at 14-13 when Ames-native Caroline Waite’s second three-pointer of the afternoon found the bottom of the net.

Berg eventually buried a three from the wing, the team’s first make in seven attempts. Berg’s triple got Drake back within one as Illinois State led 18-17 after the first 10 minutes of play. The Bulldogs went on to shoot just 4-of-22 from range, the second lowest three-point shooting performance of the year.

Drake reclaimed the lead on the first possession of the second quarter on an acrobatic catch-and-finish from Berg. Illinois State rallied, though, jumping back in front on an Abbie Aalsma three and a Shannon Dowell hoop and harm. Wilson continued an 8-0 Redbird run to extend their lead to seven and force Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman to take a timeout.

The Redbird advantage grew to 10, the largest margin of the first half, out of the timeout as Wilson completed another old fashioned three-point play. Drake was able to trim the deficit back into single figures and kept within striking distance on a Brooklin Dailey three-pointer, just her second made trey in eight attempts this season.

Dailey connected again as the half wound down, this time cutting to the basket off an inbound set from Ava Hawthorne. Illinois State closed the half without any further threat from the Bulldogs to lead 37-32.

The second half started much more offensively as Aalsma and Maya Wong hit back-to-back threes for the Redbirds and Berg and Courtney Becker scored for the Bulldogs. Illinois State promptly found another groove and extended their lead back into double digits with a Wilson three.

Taylor McAulay finally broke into the scoring column after the third-period media break with a fast break three. Anna Miller eventually floated one in to cut Drake’s deficit to four, the smallest margin since the start of the second quarter. Brooke Coffey came through for the Redbirds and stopped Drake’s short run with a three for her first points of the matchup.

Drake’s comeback effort continued to build as the third quarter progressed. Dinnebier buried a pair of free throws to make 53-50 in favor of the hosts. The Bulldogs could not get back within a trey as Illinois State led 59-52 after three quarters.

Illinois State worked their lead back up to 10 points in the early stages of the fourth quarter. Kate Bullman found some separation and hit a trio of clutch threes for the Redbirds as Illinois State looked to finish off the upset win.

Dinnebier and Drake mounted a handful of comeback challenges down the stretch but could not close the gap enough as the Redbirds held on to win 79-70. The loss marked Drake’s first in conference play this season.

Dinnebier led Drake with 23 points, just one behind Wilson, the game’s leader. The Bulldog point guard also distributed five assists, the second-most on the team behind reserve Ava Hawthorne.

Grace Berg and Anna Miller were Drake’s only other double-digit scorers with 17 points and 11 points, respectively. Miller was one rebound away from her second-straight double-double with nine. Courtney Becker led the rebounding charge on both sides with 10.

“We started sluggish and eventually had some moments where we looked like us,” Pohlman said. “But there were more moments where we looked tired and rushed…credit to Illinois State’s defense for executing. We had opportunities and just didn’t step up and make some of those stops or make some of those shots. We’re a great shooting team, and we’re just going to keep shooting it, but I wish we shot it better today. That would’ve given us a little more of a chance down the stretch.”

The Drake women will conclude their three-game road stretch next weekend when they travel to rival UNI on Saturday, Feb. 3.

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia – Iowa State (12-7, 6-3 Big 12) fell to No. 24 West Virginia (17-2, 6-2) on the road Saturday afternoon, 84-78. The physical contest was played tight all the way to the final buzzer, featuring nine lead changes and nine ties.

It was a tight matchup throughout, with just nine points being the largest lead of the game. Iowa State held a five points lead midway through the third quarter, but the Mountaineers rallied to close the quarter on a 12-5 run. Audi Crooks had a career night, tallying 25 points for her eighth 20-point game and a career-high 16 rebounds for her fourth double-double.

Jalynn Bristow earned her first start, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Nyamer Diew had a perfect shooting day, going 2-of-2 from the floor and making all four attempts from the line for nine points.

How It Happened

Bristow scored the first points of the game with a putback off a 3-point miss, but WVU answered with four points to take its first lead. An Emily Ryan 3-pointer and Crooks’ first basket of the afternoon put the Cyclones ahead, 7-4, within the first three minutes of play. After trading baskets again, ISU scored back-to-back layups from Isnelle Natabou and Kelsey Joens to hold a 14-9 lead with 4:06 left in the opening frame. But the Mountaineers countered with a 7-0 run of their own, including a last second 3-pointer to hold a 16-14 advantage heading into the second quarter.

Crooks had the hot hand in the second frame, scoring each of Iowa State’s first three baskets to start the period. With two Ryan free throws and an Arianna Jackson 3-pointer, the Cyclones tied the game at 25-25 with 5:39 left in the half. With an Addy Brown 3-pointer and a Bristow layup, ISU took the 30-28 lead. Belanger and Bristow each hit buckets from deep on back-to-back possessions to hold the 33-30 lead with two minutes to play. Trading free throws and 3-pointers for the remainder of the half, Iowa State held a 40-38 lead going into the break.

The Cyclones held a slight advantage for the majority of the third quarter before West Virginia used a 10-0 run late in the period to lead 63-58 with 10 minutes to play. Crooks scored six points from the line while Kelsey Joens knocked down a 3-pointer as part of a 6-0 ISU run midway through the period.

West Virginia extended its lead to as many as nine points in the fourth quarter, but Iowa State rallied behind another Brown 3-pointer layup along with a Belanger score to cut the deficit to two points. Diew made four free throw attempts, broken up by a WVU triple, to keep it a one possession game with just under two minutes to play. But the Mountaineers closed the game on a 5-2 run to keep Iowa State from completing the sweep.

Up Next

Iowa State returns home for the first time in over two weeks to take on Oklahoma State on Wednesday night. Tipoff in Hilton Coliseum is set for 6:30 p.m.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The second-ranked University of Iowa women’s wrestling team finished the weekend in Indiana with four first-place finishes at the Warrior Open, and earned a total of 457 match points as a team.

Freshman Lilly Luft notched the first gold medal for Iowa at 136 pounds, defeating Life’s Zaynah McBryde, once again, with a fall in 3:56. Luft pinned McBryde just a week ago at the Iowa Duals, only needing 1:42 to do so.

Two Hawkeyes met in the finals at 143, with sophomores Reese Larramendy and Ella Schmit fighting their way to first place. After battling hard for all six minutes, Larramendy came out on top with a 13-6 decision over Schmit.

Two Hawkeyes met again in the finals at 170. Sophomore Kylie Welker and freshman Haley Ward wrestled for the top of the podium, with Welker attaining the victory or Ward with a 11-0 technical fall. Junior Jaycee Foeller capped off the tournament with her victory in the finals at 191 for the Hawkeyes. Foeller downed Maquoia Bernabe of Cumberlands via a 7-0 decision, securing her first-place finish.

NOTABLES

• Iowa secured the most technical falls as a team, with 21 total on the day.
• The Hawkeyes finished with the highest winning percentage out of the 26 teams competing; with a 59-13 record (0.82).
• Kylie Welker secured the most team points of the tournament, racking up 25.5 points.

UP NEXT

Iowa will return to action on Wednesday January 31 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Hawkeyes will face the University of Sioux Falls in their final dual of the season. Action inside of the Stewart Center will begin at 6 p.m. CT.

AMES, Iowa – Keshon Gilbert scored seven points in the final three minutes and Tre King netted 21 as No. 23 Iowa State (16-4, 5-2 Big 12) defeated No. 7 Kansas (16-4, 4-3 Big 12), 79-75 Saturday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum.

Gilbert joined the long list of Hilton Magic in this nail-biter. The Cyclones saw a 12-point second-half lead diminish to two (74-72) with less than a minute remaining. But with the shot clock winding down on ISU’s next possession, Gilbert drilled a deep trey to seal ISU’s eighth win over a Top-10 team in the last two seasons. He finished the game with 16 points.

King was also outstanding. The senior post drilled a career-high four 3-pointers for his first 20-point outing against a Big 12 team. King’s four triples was key, as the Cyclones made 14-of-30 behind the arc compared to Kansas’ 7-of-20 effort.

Curtis Jones had 13 of his 15 points in the second half, including all three of his 3-pointers.

Hunter Dickinson led the Jayhawks with 20 points and 15 boards.

Up Next

Iowa State is off for a week before traveling to Baylor next Saturday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2.