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Turtle soup: Iowa wrestling gobbles up #25 Maryland, 34-9

by: Tanner Lafever02/03/25TannerLafever
Ben Kueter
Ben Kueter was among several Hawkeyes who got back to their winning ways on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Iowa Wrestling Twitter)

The sting of Friday night undoubtedly still lingers, but at least Iowa wrestling returns home from its East Coast road trip off a win.

A 34-9 victory over #25 Maryland got the #2 Hawkeyes back in the win column on Sunday afternoon.

Iowa won 8/10 bouts, it’s only defeats coming by backups at 133 and 157 pounds.

Six different Hawkeyes who took losses against Penn State some 40 hours prior rebounded with wins against the Terrapins – none ‘bigger’ than Ben Kueter.

The Iowa heavyweight bested #12 Seth Nevills via 5-4 decision to earn another significant ranked win. That feat was tied by 184-pounder Gabe Arnold – who earned a one-point victory of his own versus #11 Jaxon Smith.

Here’s how things went down on Sunday in front of a packed Xfinity Center Pavillion crowd of 2000 fans.

For this recap, we’ll get back to a semi-recurring format I like to call: “The Good. The Best. The Rest.”

The Good

Winning is good.

Thus, several Hawkeyes are worth mentioning here for their accomplishments today.

One of only three non-bonus-point victories for Iowa on Sunday (the others we’ll get to later), Cullan Schriever picked up his first win since December. The 141-pounder used two escapes, a second-period takedown and a riding time point out to defeat Dario Lemus.

The Mason City native gave up the opening takedown before ultimately earning his first Big Ten dual win since January 28, 2024.

Meanwhile, Iowa did earn bonus points at several other weight classes.

#2 Kyle Parco, #2 Michael Caliendo and #6 Patrick Kennedy each cruised to second-period technical falls versus unranked opponents. Meanwhile, #26 Joey Cruz fell just one point shy of joining his teammates.

Iowa’s 125-pounder probably won’t be thrilled with that fact – not because the ‘perks’ of the club are all that great, but because Cruz had plenty of time to get the tech-sealing takedown in the third period and failed to do so.

And then there’s another Hawkeye who’s apparently too cool for the club altogether.

#1 Stephen Buchanan led his 197-pound bout 16-3 in the first period, one measly takedown away from a tech. fall. Instead, the undefeated senior elected to forgo a mere five team points and get himself the full six pack.

As Iowa coach Tom Brands said on today’s Iowa radio broadcast regarding point-scoring wrestling, “We like greedy.”

The Best

The best of Sunday’s performance wasn’t so much about the scoreboard output but the competition in front of two Hawkeyes.

Brands spoke about both in the aftermath of the dual:

At 184 pounds, #5 Gabe Arnold wrestled his second-consecutive sudden victory match – only this time it went even longer.

Competing against a familiar foe, the redshirt freshman got tough in the biggest moments to emerge victorious.

Arnold won’t be thrilled to have not scored a takedown (and he was only close on a couple of occasions), but truthfully speaking #11 Smith spent nearly nine whole minutes keeping his distance from his childhood club teammate.

If there were a ‘heat map’ to show where Smith’s feet spent most of this match it’d line up pretty closely with the out-of-bounds circle.

Meanwhile, Ben Kueter did convert some offense in his top-12-ranked matchup.

The Hawkeye was the aggressor early on, getting to the legs of #12 Seth Nevills several times in the first period. It was the last of those attempts that finally paid off.

Kueter finished a single leg with short time, persisting through a position in which he’s been stymied before.

In the third period, it appeared for all the world that he was about to seal the deal. Instead, Kueter got a bit out of position on a reattack and Nevills capitalized for himself.

Thankfully, the Iowa City native kept his wits about him, building up for an escape right on the edge of the mat.

Whereas Kueter rode out Nevills in the first, that extra point proved critical in the 5-4 win.

The Rest

We try not to dwell too much on the negative here.

(That gets a lot more difficult on nights like this past Friday.)

Having said that, Iowa’s two losses on Sunday will reside in this category. Both came against ranked Maryland foes. Both were by Hawkeye backups.

Up first, a rough showing by Kale Petersen versus #11 Braxton Brown.

The redshirt freshman wrestled in place of Drake Ayala at 133 pounds, and after a scoreless first period things only got worse.

Petersen gave up a turn for four near fall points after choosing the bottom position. Then he’d be taken down twice successively, the latter of which resulted in a cradle and subsequent pin.

The loss would give Maryland its only lead of the dual, 6-4.

Conversely, Miguel Estrada stood right in with undefeated sixth-ranked Ethen Miller in a 4-2 decision.

Miller got the bout’s lone takedown, but never really threatened to score again. The problem was Estrada couldn’t crack the Terrapin’s defense either.

In truth, the biggest story from this match was that Estrada wrestled in at all. By doing so, the true freshman exceeded his five-event maximum that would’ve maintained his redshirt.

It doesn’t sound like that portends anything ominous for starter Jacori Teemer – who just returned from a nine-week injury absence eight days ago.

On the Iowa radio broadcast Mark Ironside said Teemer wasn’t fully healthy just yet but had wanted to wrestle against Penn State on Friday night.

Even so, it’s a notable development for a program that rarely pulls a freshman’s redshirt unless he’s the guy.

(Of course, Estrada could always take a redshirt season at some point in the future if need be.)

Short time

There you have it.

I realize Iowa women’s basketball was having a pretty special moment in Iowa City simultaneous to today’s dual.

So, hopefully this recap has helped fill in any gaps there may’ve been with Iowa fans’ attention occupied elsewhere.

The #2 Hawkeyes (10-1, 4-1 B1G) return to the mat next weekend for another big-time test.

#7 Nebraska visits Iowa City in a matchup that never lacks for testiness between the two programs.

Until then, thank you guys as always for following along with my coverage here at Hawkeye Report.

I’ll talk to you again real soon.

Full dual results

#2 Iowa 34, #25 Maryland 9

125 – #26 Joey Cruz (I) major dec. Tyler Garvin (M), 20-6

133 – #11 Braxton Brown (M) pinned Kale Petersen (I), 5:57

141 – Cullan Schriever (I) dec. Dario Lemus (M), 6-5

149 – #2 Kyle Parco (I) tech. fall Michael Pizzuto (M), 17-1

157 – #6 Ethen Miller (M) dec. Miguel Estrada (I), 4-2

165 – #2 Michael Caliendo (I) tech. fall Alex Uryniak (M), 26-10

174 – #6 Patrick Kennedy (I) tech fall. Branson John (M), 22-6

184 – #5 Gabe Arnold (I) dec. #11 Jaxon Smith (M), 2-1 TB1

197 – #1 Stephen Buchanan (I) pinned Chase Mielnik (M), 2:50

285 – #11 Ben Kueter (I) dec. #12 Seth Nevills (M), 5-4

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