No. 2 Iowa beats No. 12 Iowa State 21-15 in 2024 Cy-Hawk dual

125 pounds: No. 27 Kale Petersen OR Joey Cruz vs. Adrian Meza OR Kysen Terukina OR Osmany Diversent

When Iowa’s Drake Ayala, a finalist last year at 125 pounds for the Hawkeyes, elected to move up to 133 pounds this year, he left open the lightest weight for a new Iowa star. Kale Petersen, a redshirt freshman from Rockwell, Iowa has taken the reigns, although the Hawks do have options at this weight this weekend, as do the Cyclones. Petersen has wrestled in Iowa’s last two duals, posting a 2-0 record, while Iowa’s other option, Joey Cruz, is 1-1 following his performance at the Grand View Open.

The best option for the Cylcones to take on Peterson or Cruz is Kysen Terukina, a three-time NCAA qualifier who competed in the 2022 All-Star Classic. Terukina’s tough and boasts career wins over All-Americans Killian Cardinale, Eric Barnett and Tanner Jordan, and while he has not yet wrestled a match this year, a healthy Terukina would be a favorite against Petersen. Adrian Meza, on the other hand, has been Iowa State’s starter for the last two duals, posting a 7-0 record with two of those wins coming against Division I opponents. Meza’s a solid athlete, although he hasn’t been tested by ranked competition yet this season. This will be a benchmark kind of match for whoever takes the mat.

133 pounds: No. 9 Drake Ayala vs. No. 5 Evan Frost

Iowa’s Evan Frost, a 2024 NCAA All-American, will come into his match against Iowa All-American Drake Ayala as the favorite following Ayala’s lost to Tyler Knox of Stanford on November 9, although this is really anyone’s match.

Ayala, at his best, is fast, athletic and gritty. He’s bonused his opponents in both of his wins. Frost offers nearly an identical list of strengths, as he is also known for hard-nosed, relentless wrestling. The Cyclone, though, has not yet recorded a bonus-point win this year given that he’s only competed in one match which he won 14-7.

Expect seven minutes of hard wrestling in this battle. These are two intense athletes who will want to put it on the line for their squads.

141 pounds: No. 31 Ryder Block vs. Zach Redding OR Jacob Frost

Iowa redshirt freshman Ryder Block came to Iowa City as a highly-routed recruit, and he’s now attempting to fill the shoes of former Hawkeye NCAA finalist Real Woods — his first Cy-Hawk dual against an unranked Zach Redding or Jacob Frost will be a good test for the new Hawk. Block is currently 2-1 on the year with his lone loss coming against Stanford’s Aden Valencia 11-6.

Redding would be a tougher matchup for Block, given that the veteran Cyclone is a two-time NCAA qualifier and 2023 Blood Round finisher at 133 pounds. He, however, also lost to Valencia by falling in his bout with the Cardinal. Frost, meanwhile, has had just one Division I match this year that resulted in a loss against UNI’s Cael Happel.

Block has the advantage against both possible opponents on paper, but this is another one where Iowa State could look to sneak out a win and build momentum in this rivalry dual.

149 pounds: No. 4 Kyle Parco vs. No. 7 Anthony Echemendia

Iowa State’s path for a potential dual upset likely runs through 149 pounds, a weight where Iowa has reloaded with four-time All-American Kyle Parco. In his last two bouts (which were, granted, not against ranked opponents) Parco outscored the competition 36-4. He’s looking as good as ever in the Black and Gold, but if there’s someone early this season that could stop that momentum, it’s Iowa State’s Anthony Echemendia.

A 2024 All-American, Echemendia is just a fundamentally sound wrestler, someone who can stay competitive with anyone. He’s particularly strong on his feet and brings a 2-0 record into this bout with wins over All-American Jaden Abas of Stanford and Kaemen Smith of Navy. His goal here will be to control the pace and not let Parco get too comfortable.

I expect this match to be decided by a takedown or less. These two wrestlers are both too skilled to generate a lopsided result.

157 pounds: No. 1 Jacori Teemer vs. No. 10 Paniro Johnson

This match between Iowa’s top-ranked Jacori Teemer and Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson will come down to which version of Johnson comes out on the mat. There was a period during Johnson’s freshman year in 2023 where he was a title contender following his win over NCAA finalist Austin Gomez. He won Big 12s that year too before going 1-2 at NCAAs. If Big 12 Champ Johnson comes out against Teemer and stays on the attack, he could surprise some people.

However, Teemer has never looked better. He’s bonused both of his opponents already this year and is presenting himself as a strong title favorite at the weight. In a neutral site later in the season, this would likely be a more competitive match. But in Carver, Teemer should shine.

165 pounds: No. 2 Michael Caliendo vs. No. 9 MJ Gaitan OR Connor Euton

On paper, this is a potential top-ten matchup, but, in reality, Michael Caliendo will be a substantial favorite. The Hawkeye All-American has scored at least 17 points in all three of his matches so far this season, with his closest match being a 17-12 performance against 2024 All-American Hunter Garvin of Stanford. He’s the clear No. 2 at the weight behind NCAA finalist Mitchell Mesenbrink, and he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing.

Iowa State’s best foe for Caliendo would be MJ Gaitan, a Round of 12 finisher from 2024 who has dropped down from 174 and his 2-0 on the season against Division I opponents. Gaitan has looked good and has also been averaging double-digit points in his matches, but Caliendo will still be a heavy favorite, even more so if Iowa State elects to wrestle Connor Euton. After an impressive 20-4 season last year as a backup at 165 pounds last year, Euton is 1-1on the year and has a 10-3 loss to Garvin. He’s solid, but Caliendo is on another level because of both his experience and his offensive output on the mat.

174 pounds: No. 10 Nelson Brands OR Patrick Kennedy vs. Aiden Riggins

There’s so much to unpack in these three listed probable athletes. Iowa’s 174-pound spot has been a hot storyline in the early weeks of the season with 2023 All-American Nelson Brands holding down the weight with redshirt freshman Gabe Arnold up at 184 despite Arnold’s public interest in being a 174-pounder. Brands, once again, looks to start at that weight this dual, though teammate Patrick Kennedy, who was Iowa’s starter at this weight last year, is listed as an alternative option. Brands or Kennedy are expected to face off against former teammate and Iowa State transfer Aiden Riggens in a bout where either Hawk will be favored, but tensions could be high.

This will be Riggins first time competing in Carver-Hawkeye since he left Iowa City, and he’ll be down a weight from the 184-pound weight class where he posted a 10-12 record last season. Iowa State’s goal will be to avoid bonus points in this bout.

184 pounds: No. 7 Gabe Arnold vs. No. 15 Evan Bockman

This is another match that will favor the Hawks on paper, as Iowa’s Gabe Arnold looks to be a full-sized 184-pounder this year and has been on a roll recently. The young Hawk will come into this top-15 matchup with a 3-0 record and 66% bonus, although he hasn’t faced a top-15 opponent yet. Iowa State’s Evan Bockman will be Arnold’s biggest challenge thus far.

A transfer from Utah Valley, Iowa State’s Bockman also undefeated, but his two wins also have not been against the highest-ranked athletes at the weight. Interestingly, one of Bockman’s best career wins came against now-teammate Yonger Bastida when the two athletes both wrestled at 197 pounds. Bockman’s summary suggests he’s ready to compete tough. Arnold has the rankings advantage, but this could be a sneaky upset opportunity for the Cyclones if Arnold isn’t careful or if he takes his foot off the gas for too long.

197 pounds: No. 2 Stephen Buchanan vs. No. 20 Christian Carroll

Stephen Buchanan looks like a title contender this year. The Hawkeye transfer is ranked No. 2 on Intermat behind 2021 NCAA champion AJ Ferrari, but his 3-0 record that includes an opening season win against All-American Trey Munoz shows that Buchanan came ready from the start to fight for that national title. His opponent in his first Cy-Hawk dual will be talented recruit Christian Carroll, a transfer from Oklahoma State.

Carroll has tons of talent and skill, but facing off against someone as seasoned as Buchanan in Carver-Hawkeye could be quite the experience. I predict Carroll — who is 2-0 on the year with solid wins over Nick Stemmet and Payton Thomas — to be a difference-maker for Iowa State in Cy-Hawks duals to come; counting on a win from him in this situation in 2024 though it is a tall order.

285 pounds: No. 13 Ben Kueter vs. No. 4 Yonger Bastida OR Daniel Herrera

Everyone wants to see Ben Kueter vs. Yonger Bastida. Iowa State has Bastida listed as one of two possible options alongside Daniel Herrera, and while Herrera is solid, Bastida puts on a show. Heading into the national tournament last year, Iowa State’s big man Bastida looked like he might be a favorite to win a national title after he beat then Air Force’s Wyatt Hendrickson for the Big 12 crown. A funky loss in the Blood Round ended those goals, but now Bastida is back looking for more.

Iowa is hoping that its blue-chip recruit and U20 silver medalist Ben Kueter can stop Bastida though, and having a chance to test himself against someone like the Cyclone this early in the season is a stellar opportunity. Kueter, a redshirt freshman, wrestled in a few duals last year while also playing football for the Hawks, but now that he’s solely focused on wrestling, Hawk fans believe the sky is the limit for the Iowa native. Here’s his first big chance to prove that.