Iowa men’s wrestling handles Chattanooga, Utah Valley at “Uncivil War”

HANNIBAL, Mo. – University of Iowa was business-like with bonus points.

The Hawkeyes entered a long holiday break in competition with two dominant dual wins.

Fourth-ranked Iowa won 16 of 20 matches without three regulars and trounced University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, 37-6, and Utah Valley, 33-7, during Journeyman Wrestling’s “Uncivil War” on Friday night at Hannibal High School. The Hawkeyes posted bonus points in 11 victories.

“If you are ready to score when the opportunity arises you are going to be fine,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said in a news release. “You saw that tonight. Adjustments from one match to another, good adjustments. I think Utah Valley was a better team than Chattanooga and I think we got sharper, and guys were more ready, but we need to be ready-ready.”

Dean Peterson set the tone in Iowa’s opening bout, recording a 20-4 technical fall over No. 18 Cooper Flynn at 125 pounds. Ryder Block (149), Patrick Kennedy (174) and top-ranked 184-pounder Angelo Ferrari also posted technical falls against the Mocs. Victor Voinovich (157) and Gabe Arnold, who bumped up to 197, added major decisions.

Iowa’s No. 2 165-pounder Michael Caliendo was the most dominant Friday. Caliendo had a technical fall in hand after whipping over UTC’s Tavian Camper and continuing for the fall in 1:55. Caliendo had a similar finish, building a large lead and decking Utah Valley’s Zyon Trujillo in 1:52.

“I was a little pumped up to get a pin,” Caliendo said. “I can’t remember the last time I got a pin, and then I got two today. I put on a dominant performance that I would say I am proud of. Like I said, I was just happy to get a pin. I can’t remember the last time. I get a lot of tech falls, but I don’t usually put guys to their backs and get a lot of back points, so that was a good refresher.”

Block for in on the pinning mode, using a similar whipover to pin Utah Valley’s Kayd Craig in 53 seconds. Block improved to 6-1 this season.

“I dug his wrist on his back,” said Block. “I used to do that all the time. Once I got it on his back and got my arm snaked through, I pretty much thought it was wraps if I could get it up. So, once I got it, I felt pretty good there.”

Nasir Bailey, ranked 10th, defeated Utah Valley’s No. 17 Haiden Drury, 12-1, while Kennedy closed with a second technical fall, handling Tanner Lofthouse, 20-5.

Iowa was without two-time NCAA finalist Drake Ayala at 133, No. 3 Massoma Endene (197) and All-American heavyweight Ben Kueter. Arnold, who weighed in at 179 according to Flowrestling announcers Christian Pyles and Mark Bader, went 2-0 filling in for Endene. All four losses came at 133 and heavyweight.

“We had three guys out,” Brands said. “Kueter, Endene and Ayala. We always say next guy in; you’ve got to go. Whatever our best team is, we will put it together. That’s what you do. It doesn’t matter if our best team is out there or not. I remember last year Ayala sat out against Ohio State and he really wanted to wrestle for the team, but we aren’t going to lose because Ayala doesn’t wrestle. There are 10 weight classes; everybody do your job and we are in good shape. We’ve got guys going forward the right way and that is what I like.”

Iowa improved to 7-2 overall and doesn’t return to competition until the Soldier Salute on Jan. 3-4 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

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