No. 1 Penn State wrestling was supposed to take on No. 2 Iowa next Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Most of that sentence is still accurate, but there’s just one change.
Barring something crazy Iowa won’t be ranked No. 2.
No. 12 Michigan didn’t just upset Iowa Friday night in Ann Arbor, it demolished “Team Brands”, 23-11.
The night’s biggest upset took place at 141. Iowa’s Real Woods, who came in ranked No. 1, not only lost to No. 19 Sergio Lemley, he did so in a 14-2– yes, 14-2– major decision, nearly pinning Woods.
Woods is slated to take on Penn State’s Beau Bartlett next Friday. Bartlett came into Friday as No. 2 and beat No. 3 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State 4-1 in sudden victory. Now, Bartlett will be ranked No. 1. It remains to be seen where Woods will fall.
Barring something strange in the rankings, this will be the first time Penn State and Iowa have wrestled not as No. 1 and No. 2 since February 2018. The last time Penn State wrestled Iowa in Iowa City, PSU won 19-13. Current Penn State wrestlers Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks got wins that night at 174 and 184, respectively. Brooks, a three-time national champion at 184, has since moved up to 197, and Starocci, a fellow three-time champ, is still the king at 174. Heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet also wrestled that night for Penn State, but he fell to Tony Cassioppi. Cassioppi has been suspended for this season due to a gambling scandal that several athletes, including some of his Iowa teammates, are caught up in.
When Penn State wrestled Michigan last month, it got a big win, 27-9. Penn State-Iowa wrestling is scheduled to begin at 8:30 Friday night on the Big Ten Network.
