Skip to main content
Iowa
Join Now

#3 Iowa falls in National Duals final after dramatic Oklahoma St win

by: Tanner Lafever12 hours agoTannerLafever
Drake Ayala National Duals
#2 Drake Ayala was one of several Iowa wrestlers who ran into a buzzsaw against the Buckeyes. (Photo Credit: Ethan McLaughlin/Daily Iowan)

With the emotional whiplash Iowa wrestling fans underwent on Sunday, it may be wise to invest in neck brace stock.

At least that was my initial reaction, when a mere six hours after its thrilling (18-16) win over #5 Oklahoma State to reach the final of the National Duals Invitational, Iowa found itself trailing #4 Ohio State 21-0(!) midway through the championship dual.

Ultimately, Iowa won a modest 4/10 bouts in its 27-12 loss to the Buckeyes – which included a forfeit at heavyweight. Alas, the damage had been done.

Despite the runner up result, the Hawkeyes will still return to Iowa City $150,000 richer – thanks to the unprecedented prize pool that helped to bring together this revamped event.

But that’s not why you’re here.

(Unless they’re suddenly handing out cuts of the prize money – in which case I’ve got my Venmo information right here.)

No, you want to know how it all happened. And in that regard, I’m at your service.

Buckeye blowout blemishes run to final

I mentioned the lopsided championship dual, so let’s get right to it.

This was uncompetitive from the jump, starting with Nic Bouzakis’ early pin of Dean Peterson at 125 pounds.

The Hawkeye – who was riding high after this morning – took an early shot but found himself in trouble after Bouzakis rolled him through and locked up a cradle.

A few moments later, it was all over. And that was just the start of Iowa’s troubles.

At 133, #2 Drake Ayala was surprisingly outclassed by a talented freshman.

Ben Davino, already ranked ninth nationally after a strong redshirt season, jumped Ayala from the start. Two first-period takedowns and another in the second all looked pretty routine. And Iowa’s two-time NCAA finalist never presented a threatening attack of his own in the 10-4 defeat.

Somehow, 141 was even worse.

Ohio State’s two-time reigning national champion, Jesse Mendez, looked every bit the part in a 17-2 dismantling if Iowa’s Nasir Bailey.

The ninth-ranked Hawkeye was nearly stalled out of the match in the third period, as Mendez asserted himself in every aspect. And after three bouts involving three Iowa wrestlers ranked in the top 10, the score was 14-0 in favor of the Buckeyes.

Oof.

A fourth-consecutive loss came at 149, as Ryder Block lost a late lead against #9 Ethan Stiles after having put together a strong first six minutes of the match.

And at 157, #8 Brandon Cannon picked Victor Voinovich apart with repeated low single leg shots – and was probably unfortunate not to get a technical fall for his efforts.

The team score now a ghastly 21-0, I found myself looking up the largest dual loss in Iowa wrestling history.

(No, seriously.)

Thankfully for Hawkeye fans, it didn’t ultimately come to that.

Triple Yahtzee, plus Endene impresses again

The dual result all but in hand, Iowa still had several matches to find individual success – and that they did.

Ironically, the first three instances all had identical results.

At 165/174/184, each of Michael Caliendo, Patrick Kennedy and Angelo Ferrari prevailed 4-1 in sudden victory.

Caliendo’s was Iowa’s first takedown of the entire dual, scoring off a nice reattack to cap off what was an otherwise uncharacteristically defensive match from the senior.

After that, Patrick Kennedy exercised some demons against #9 Carson Kharchla – whom he’d lost to twice last season. Through seven minutes, neither wrestler generated many prime scoring chances. But early in the extra period, PK converted a low shot for the winning takedown.

And at 184, #3 Angelo Ferrari earned his third top-eight-ranked win of the weekend by downing #7 Dylan Fishback.

In truth, sudden victory maybe (probably) shouldn’t have been required in this one, as a slick third-period takedown by Ferrari was surprisingly waived off after an Ohio State challenge. Undeterred, he went out and got one that would stand up – then let folks in attendance know it (as did the Iowa coaches).

That set the table for yet another Mo-ment from Iowa’s growing fan favorite at 197 pounds.

#16 Mo Endene completed an undefeated weekend in Tulsa with some more fireworks, defeating 2025 NCAA blood round finisher Seth Shumate via 8-3 decision.

Trailing by one after several earlier attempts just missed their mark, the Wartburg transfer exploded from space – converting a blast double into an outside trip that planted Shumate on his back.

And though a pin went (surprisingly) uncalled by the referee, it was still enough to earn a six-point sequence that put the Hawkeye ahead for good – and made the final dual score a bit more respectable.

Iowa – Oklahoma State delivers once again

In contrast to the nightcap, Iowa’s Sunday morning semifinal was about as nip-and-tuck as a dual can get.

Of the nine contested matches between the Hawkeyes and Cowboys, eight of them were decided in one of the following manners:

  • Sudden victory (x3)
  • A last second scoring sequence in regulation (x2)
  • A two-point margin or fewer (x3)

The lone exception was at 157 pounds, where Victor Voinovich III had to hang on for dear life to prevent a technical fall loss against star Oklahoma State true freshman Landon Robideau.

(That’s a habit Voinovich will want to kick, after it happened twice on Sunday.)

Here’s how it all played out:

Craziness from the very start

With so many close matches, the chaos had to start early. And at both 125/133 pounds, that meant a pair of comebacks staged by Iowa seniors.

First, it was #10 Dean Peterson – who scored a wild takedown in the waning seconds to defeat second-ranked Troy Spratley.

Next, Drake Ayala had to overcome an early takedown by Cowboy freshman Ronnie Ramirez.

It started with a quick escape late in the first period to preserve a point. And from there Ayala stalked the freshman to the tune of three separate stall calls to force sudden victory – where he converted a reattack for the winning score.

Head to 141, and it was Oklahoma State’s turn to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

In a cagey affair, Iowa’s Nasir Bailey had the best scoring opportunities of the match – including a prolonged standing single leg sequence in sudden victory.

But Okie State freshman Sergio Vega somehow escaped the danger and created some of his own to pull his team with three points:

Next came 149, where Ryder Block picked up his second top-six win of the weekend – this time over #3 Casey Swiderski.

The Waverly-Shell Rock alum looked lean and mean, and the better wrestler over seven minutes – even overcoming an early takedown to earn the 5-3 victory.

After Robideau’s major decision over Voinovich at 157, Iowa led 9-7 at the halfway mark.

The madness continues

Look, I could try to describe the match at 165 pounds between #2 Michael Caliendo and #6 Ladarion Lockett – but it’s probably better if you just watch it for yourself.

Luckily, you can do so (in full) right here and now:

Twice, a pair of high-flying exchanges were called unfavorably for the Hawkeye in the 7-2 defeat, but it’s the latter – with the match seemingly destined for sudden victory – that left many scratching their heads.

Lockett – yet another of Oklahoma State’s supremely talented true freshmen – lifted Caliendo in the waning moments, but in his attempt to return him to the mat saw the Hawkeye throw on a headlock to nullify the score.

After some confusion, officials awarded Lockett the takedown, then went to the monitor to review their decision.

Apparently unconvinced, they reversed the call on the mat on their own accord, only for Oklahoma State to challenge that decision and initiate a third-party independent review. And after even more waiting – as coaches from both teams spilled onto the mat looking for answers – the reversed call was re-reversed to give Lockett the takedown (and win) after all.

Just bonkers.

Iowa would respond though, as Patrick Kennedy grinded out a sudden victory takedown to defeat old Penn State rival, #17 Alex Facundo, followed by an Angelo Ferrari 4-2 win over #4 Zach Ryder at 184.

Now leading 15-10, the dual essentially came down to 197 – as Iowa would’ve been forced to throw out reserve heavyweight Gage Marty in a decidedly unfavorable matchup against #9 Konner Doucet.

(Ben Kueter did not weigh in Sunday, per Tom Brands.)

But it didn’t come to that, as Mo Endene came up big yet again – this time with a go-ahead takedown of #10 Cody Merrill midway through the third period.

Short time

In the grand scheme of things, the entire weekend has to be considered a success not only for Iowa but for wrestling as a whole.

We all got to watch many of the best wrestlers in America duke it out in mid-November – establishing storylines that will permeate throughout the rest of the 2025-26 season.

And for the teams themselves, (besides the cash prizes) they all gained valuable data points to assess upon their returns to campus. What was good, what was bad? And what do they need to emphasize/improve between now and March to get what they want at the NCAA Championships?

For Iowa, guys like Ryder Block (two top 10 wins) and Mo Endene (undefeated at 197), two of Iowa’s biggest question mark weights entering this season appear much closer to being answered.

Angelo Ferrari looks every bit like the title contender we thought after running a gauntlet at 184.

Patrick Kennedy continues his hold on the #2 ranking at 174 after a relentless weekend.

Meanwhile, it was a mixed bag for some established stars and other newcomers – see Dean Peterson, Drake Ayala, Nasir Bailey and Michael Caliendo.

What is the health status of Ben Kueter at heavyweight, and is 157 a little more up in the air than we thought after Jordan Williams’ explosive start on opening night?

All of this feeds the appetites – both competitive (athletes/coaches) and fanatical (you guys) – of folks who love the sport of wrestling.

(And I sure as heck enjoyed covering it as well.)

That said, thank you guys for following along all weekend and I’ll talk to you again real soon – starting with a recap of a weekend to remember for the Iowa women’s team (publishing sometime on Monday).

‘Til next time!

You may also like