Wrestling: #1 Iowa defeats #2 Penn State
The top two wrestling programs in the country had a dual yesterday. The powerhouse, Penn State came in the lower ranked team and looked to upset the top ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.
The Hawkeyes ended up winning 19-17. The close matchup, the Carver-Hawkeye Arena was sold out with 14,905 in attendance.
Entering the final match, the Hawkeyes were down by one point. Iowa heavyweight Tony Cassioppi beat Penn State’s Seth Nevills. The win was Iowa’s first over Penn State since February of 2015.
“Just another wrestling match,” Cassioppi said at the post meet press conference. “I wrestle on a black-and-yellow mat every day. It didn’t change anything.”
At 174, Iowa’s second ranked Michael Kermer dominates the top ranked Mark Hall with a score of 11-6. While it’s a huge win for Kermer and could put him ranked number one in his class, his eyes are on something much bigger.
“The goal is in March. It was good to go out there and get this win and prove to myself, but at the same time nationals is what we’re looking to. We’re going to keep getting better every day until then.”
He says of his match, “Honestly, it’s a blur to me. I’ll have to go back and watch the match. It’s just believing in what God’s given me and just letting it happen. It’s been that way my whole life. Good things happen the less I think (and) the more I just do it.”
Iowa vs. Penn State Results
125: Spencer Lee tech fall Brandon Meredith, 16-1
133: Roman Bravo-Young Inj Def. Austin DeSanto, 1:50 *
141: Nick Lee tech fall Carter Happel, 20-5
149: Pat Lugo dec. Jarod Verkleeren, 6-1
157: Kaleb Young dec. Bo Pifer, 6-1
165: Vincenzo Joseph dec. Alex Marinelli, 7-5
174: Michael Kemerer dec. Mark Hall, 11-6
184: Aaron Brooks dec. Abe Assad, 7-3
197: Jacob Warner dec. Shakur Rasheed, 4-2
285: Tony Cassioppi dec. Seth Nevills, 7-0
March Madness is a little over a month away. Stay posted to My MMA News for news around the giant wrestling tournament.
