Iowa wrestling 28, Army West Point 13: Three takeaways from the Hawkeyes' come-from-behind win
Cody GoodwinThe Iowa wrestling team started its New York roadtrip with a 28-13 win over Army West Point on Thursday night at Christl Arena.
The Hawkeyes actually trailed 9-3 after the first three weights, but prevailed by winning six of the final seven matches. Four victories by major decision — from Max Murin (149), Cobe Siebrecht (157), Patrick Kennedy (165), and Jacob Warner (197) — plus a pin from Tony Cassioppi fueled Iowa's come-from-behind victory.
This was just the fifth meeting all-time between the Hawkeyes and Black Knights. This particular matchup came about after Army drove from Ames to Iowa City on a day's notice to wrestle Iowa last year after Oregon State, the Hawkeyes' original opponent that weekend, ran into a series of travel issues.
Iowa coach Tom Brands revealed afterward that he called both Army and California Baptist, who were both in Ames that weekend, and part of the talks included the Hawkeyes scheduling both the Black Knights and Lancers in future seasons.
"You’re going to see Cal Baptist on our schedule," Brands said then. "That came to fruition in the talks when we were arranging this. We’re also going to make a return trip to Army. They’ll get to roll out the red carpet for us."
Brands kept his promise immediately by opening the 2022-23 campaign against California Baptist and Army West Point. The Hawkeyes won both, are now 2-0 this season, and will face Buffalo and Sacred Heart on Friday at Journeymen Wrestling's Arm Bar at the Armory event in Albany, New York.
Results from Thursday night's dual:
- 125: #24 Ethan Berginc (AWP) pinned Aidan Harris (IA) in 2:42
- 133: Cullan Schriever (IA) dec. Rich Treanor (AWP), 2-0
- 141: Julian Sanchez (AWP) dec. Drew Bennett (IA), 5-3
- 149: #7 Max Murin (IA) maj. dec. Matthew Williams (AWP), 15-5
- 157: Cobe Siebrecht (IA) maj. dec. #28 Nathan Lukez (AWP), 8-0
- 165: #13 Patrick Kennedy (IA) maj. dec. #28 Dalton Harkins (AWP), 22-9
- 174: #21 Ben Pasiuk (AWP) maj. dec. Carson Martinson (IA), 15-4
- 184: #8 Abe Assad (IA) dec. Sahm Addulrazzaq (AWP), 12-5
- 197: #2 Jacob Warner (IA) maj. dec. Kyle Swartz (AWP), 20-7
- 285: #4 Tony Cassioppi (IA) pinned Kade Carlson (AWP) in 1:26
Here are three takeaways from the action:
Cullan Schriever gets the nod at 133
After Brody Teske started against Cal-Baptist on Sunday, Cullan Schriever repped the Hawkeyes at 133 on Thursday. Schriever came through with a 2-0 win over Rich Treanor, scoring points via riding-time and an escape.
Schriever was expected to go again for Iowa against Sacred Heart and Buffalo at Journeymen Wrestling's Arm Bar at the Armory event on Friday. Teske did not travel with the team to New York (neither did head coach Tom Brands, an Iowa spokesperson said; associate head coach Terry Brands led the Hawkeyes on Thursday night).
While Schriever only mustered two points, he created plenty of scoring opportunities throughout the match. Treanor did just enough to fend off every advance. Schriever also secured riding time with a mean rideout in the second period. On the whole, Iowa wrestled really well on top all night, securing riding-time points in six of their seven wins (the odd man out: Cassioppi, who recorded an 86-second pin at heavyweight).
This weekend appears to now be a prime opportunity for Schriever to show what he's got. He looked real solid in going 4-0 at the Luther Open last Saturday. Neither of his expected opponents for Friday's doubleheader boast particularly impressive résumés, so another dominant showing might help reignite a lineup battle.
Teske may have a slight edge by virtue of winning a closed-door wrestle-off before Iowa's dual against Cal-Baptist. Even Tom Brands said Sunday that he likes what he's seeing from Teske thus far.
We'll see if Schriever can stake his own claim this weekend.
Cobe Siebrecht notches a marquee win at 157
Iowa might have something at 157.
Cobe Siebrecht registered a very impressive 8-0 major decision over Army's Nathan Lukez on Thursday. Lukez climbed to No. 28 in InterMat's national rankings this week after starting 5-2 this month. Siebrecht promptly scored three takedowns and racked up 4:01 of riding time.
This particular lineup battle is far from settled, but this was a good step forward for Siebrecht, who now has two bonus-point wins in as many opportunities this season. He defended well, was aggressive in his attacks, and used his length on top to pile up riding time. (His win also gave Iowa an 11-9 lead, and was the third of four consecutive major decision wins from Murin, him, then Kennedy from 149-165.)
Brands said Sunday both Siebrecht and Caleb Rathjen would be on this weekend's trip and that both would get at least one match. Siebrecht and Rathjen were both introduced before the dual Thursday, so it stands to reason that we should see Rathjen go at least once, maybe even twice, on Friday.
Like Schriever, it'll be an opportunity for Rathjen to show what he's got, and perhaps a strong showing might reignite a lineup battle in which Siebrecht clearly holds a lead, due to the intrasquad result (Siebrecht beat Rathjen, 7-0) and his performance in Iowa's first two duals.
Carson Martinson makes Hawkeye debut at 174
Two duals into the season, and Tom Brands has opted to use two different true freshmen at 174 pounds while we await the return of both (or either) Nelson Brands and Brennan Swafford.
Against Cal-Baptist on Sunday, it was Drake Rhodes, who looked very good in a 13-4 major decision win. On Thursday, it was Carson Martinson, who drew a tough first assignment and lost 15-4 to Army's Ben Pasiuk, who's ranked No. 21 nationally by InterMat.
Martinson, a Southeast Polk product who's listed at 157/165, looked a tad undersized and was just flat out-manned against Pasiuk, who is a two-time NCAA qualifier and now 5-1 overall this season. Pasiuk rolled up six takedowns and added points for riding-time and stalling on his way to a major decision.
It was probably good for Martinson to get the feel of one of the nation's top wrestlers — Pasiuk reached the Round-of-16 at the 2021 NCAA Championships. That experience may help in his development. It was also Martinson's first of five available dates afford to true freshmen under the new NCAA rules.
Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at@codygoodwin.