Sergio Lemley's upset sparks No. 12 Michigan wrestling win over No. 2 Iowa

Sergio Lemley sparked Michigan’s upset of Iowa Friday night as the Wolverines gave the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season.

At 141 pounds Lemley, ranked No. 19 in the country, took on No. 1 Real Woods, who was unbeaten coming into the dual. But Lemley broke it open with numerous six-point moves and ultimately finished off a 14-2 major decision.

He spoke with Big Ten Network’s Shane Sparks after the 24-11 win over their Big Ten foe.

“I just feel like I have supreme confidence,” Lemley said. “All Glory to God really gives me the faith and my coaches, my teammates who all believe in me and really just shows on the mat what I can do.”

Lemley, a true freshman, is now 12-4 on the season. When it came time to pull off an upset and spark the dual the rest of the way, he was ready for the moment.

“Just the way that we prepare and practice every day,” Lemley said. “Our coaches really do a good job of preparing and scouting for our opponents and at the same time believing in ourselves and believing in my abilities as a wrestler.”

No. 12 Michael DeAugustino started things off with a 2-1 win in tiebreakers over Iowa’s Drake Ayala, ranked No. 5. Dylan Ragusin kept it going with a 5-2 win over No. 18 Cullan Schriever.

That’s when Lemley stepped up to beat last year’s national finalist.

“I would just say just knowing that I’m able to wrestle in all positions,” Lemley said. “He was getting on my leg a little bit, and I know I can wrestle from there, and that I also have some offense that I can look to and obviously just translate that into points. I just focused on competing hard and everything else took care of itself.”

Lemley practically had the win locked up, but he put Woods in a cradle and then nearly pinned him at the buzzer. He got more near fall points to solidify the major.

“Yeah, I’m not the type of dude to just shut down at the end of the match,” Lemley said. “I’m always there to score points, especially for my team. And against number two Iowa, we’re coming at them and feel good to get a good ranked win, it’s been a while.”

Michigan improved to 6-3 with the win during its home finale. The full results are below:

Michigan 24, Iowa 11

125 — #12 Michael DeAugustino (U-M) dec. #5 Drake Ayala, 2-1 TB — U-M, 3-0
133 — #4 Dylan Ragusin (U-M) dec. #18 Cullan Schriever, 5-2 — U-M, 6-0
141 — #19 Sergio Lemley (U-M) major dec. #1 Real Woods, 14-2 — U-M, 10-0
149 — #6 Austin Gomez (U-M) dec. Victor Voinovich, 5-1 — U-M, 13-0
157 — #12 Will Lewan (U-M) dec. #2 Jared Franek, 2-2 TB — U-M, 16-0
165 — #6 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) dec. Beau Mantanona, 9-4 — U-M, 16-3
174 — #3 Shane Griffith (U-M) major dec. #8 Patrick Kennedy, 12-1 — U-M, 20-3
184 — Aidan Riggins (Iowa) dec. Joseph Walker, 6-5 — U-M, 20-6
197 — #11 Zach Glazier (Iowa) tech. fall Bobby Striggow, 19-4 (6:59) — U-M, 20-11
Hwt — #6 Lucas Davison (U-M) major dec. #28 Bradley Hill, 11-2 — U-M, 24-11