Iowa Wrestling: #3 Iowa vs CSU Bakersfield / Kent State Preview + Open Thread

Broadcast Info

Dual Time: 4:00PM CST vs CSUP and 6:00PM CST vs Kent St. // November 9, 2018

Location: The Kent State Field House // Kent, OH

TV/ Online: Flowrestling ($)

Radio: AM800 KXIC (possibly on iHeartRadio) // Hawkeye All Access ($)

***The earlier duals start at 3:00PM CST. Also I’m seeing conflicting start times so I listed the earlier ones to be safe***

FINALLY. The season is here. A majority of the landscape kicked things off last week, but oh no, not us. Why? Because we wanted that extra week of anticipation. But why? Because we wanted that extra week of excitement. BUT WHY! Because it kills us and we love it, we need more of it!

Okay, probably because the schedule didn’t work out, but that makes today that much sweeter.

Flowrestling is dubbing this “The Frenzy at the Fieldhouse”. I want to say that’s dumb, but it’s not. It’s just the wrong field house. #3 Iowa, #19 Wisconsin, Cal-State Bakersfield, and Kent State are all going to war this afternoon.

Cal-State Bakersfield: This is the seventh time we’ve faced the Roadrunners and we’re 6-0 all-time, but haven’t faced them in 35 years. That’s a long time to wait to be 7-0. CSUB enters the dual already 2-0, but they’re going to leave 3-1. They have one ranked wrestler, #13 Sean Nickell.

Here is their projected lineup:

125: Alex Hernandez-Figueroa

133: #13 Sean Nickell

141: Carlos Herrera/Noah Blakley-Beanes

149: Russell Rohlfing

157: Wyatt Gerl

165: Jacob Thalin

174: Bryan Battisto

184: Dominic Ducharme

197: Mark Penyacsek

285: Jacob Sieder

Kent State: The Golden Flashes enter the war zone 3-1. This is the first time we’ve ever been Flashed, so let’s give them a hearty welcome with a bloody beatdown. They have some solid guys up and down the lineup, but we should handle them accordingly. They feature one ranked wrestler in #2 Kyle Conel at 197lbs, so look for that to be potentially their only win of the dual. Kyle is a returning All-American and made an incredible run last year to get third. In my opinion, it’s hard not to cheer for this kid, but dammit, in this instance we can’t. So don’t!

Here is their projected lineup:

125: Jake Ferri or Tomas Gutierrez

133: Tim Rooney or Raphael Rodriguez

141: Cory Simpson or Leno Ciotti

149: Kody Komara or Jake Hinkson

157: Richard Jackson or Joe Andrassy

165: Isaac Bast or Lane Hinkle

174: Dylan Barreiro

184: Andrew McNally

197: #2 Kyle Conel or Shane Mast

285: Billy Bolia or Spencer Berthold

Your Iowa Hawkeyes!!!: ­This is a bit of bummer to start this season because three of our starters will not be traveling with. #6 Michael Kemerer, #12 Jacob Warner, and #1 Sam Stoll are all staying home. Myles Wilson, Connor Corbin, and Aaron Costello will fill respectively.

Sam Stoll will complete his suspension this afternoon because of an offseason altercation with a bullet. (141 backup Vince Turk is also suspended and will not travel). Jacob Warner recently returned from competing at the Junior World Championships and needs a bit of down time according to Tom Brands. And then there’s the curious case of Michael Kemerer. Nothing has been said or alluded to, but reports are coming in that he was a bit gimpy this week.

Hopefully, this is just a precautionary measure and we have nothing to worry about. But Kemdawg has had a history of injuries, including the one that ended his NCAA run last year. So please pray to whichever wrestling deity you hold near and dear that he’s good to go by next week.

Other than Corbin vs Conel, DeSanto gets the only true ranked matchup as he faces #13 Sean Nickell. Nickell was an NCAA qualifier last year. He was majored by Jack Mueller (Virginia) in the opening round of the NCAA tournament who in turn was majored by DeSanto the very next round. This could mean nothing or it could mean everything. I could mean another major for DeSanto.

Here’s our projected ass kickers:

125: #1 Spencer Lee

133: #9 Austin DeSanto

141: #16 Max Murin

149: #6 Pat Lugo

157: #17 Kaleb Young or Jeren Glosser

165: #4 Alex Marinelli

174: Myles Wilson

184: #13 Cash Wilcke or Mitch Bowman

197: Connor Corbin

285: Aaron Costello