Iowa wrestling rolls over Rutgers

Austin DeSanto got his second consecutive win over a top-six opponent as Iowa crushed Rutgers 30-6 on Friday evening.

He became the third Iowa wrestler to beat Nick Suriano, joining Thomas Gilman and Spencer Lee. After a fairly quiet first period, Suriano got in on DeSanto’s leg early in the second for a takedown. DeSanto got the escape and Suriano was dinged twice in the third to knot up the score.

DeSanto pulled ahead with an escape, but Suriano had the riding time point secured as the clocked ticked closer to the end of the third. DeSanto was then able to get in deep on a shot with less than five seconds to go in the match and was able to get a takedown at the buzzer.

“I got to my tie and he blocked me off with his fingers when we were going at it,” DeSanto said in a release. “Once I got that tie, I hit it. It kind of surprised me a bit because I need to fire more shots. I cut that corner, and I’ve really been working on that finish.”

The win moved DeSanto to 12-1 on the year and he’ll surely move up in the rankings this week. Here’s the video of the match, if you’re curious:

Elsewhere, Iowa pretty much took care of business where expected. Spencer Lee got a pin over Nick Denora in 38 seconds, which was the fastest he’s got one in his career. Alex Marinelli got the Hawkeyes only other pin, which was his sixth of the year and a team-high. He completely dominated that match and led 8-2 before he got the fall late in the first.

Kaleb Young is now 5-1 against ranked competition this year, which is awesome. He’s 12-1 overall and having a pretty great season so far — Iowa will need points out of him at the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. The five match points he scored was actually his lowest output in a win so far this season.

Jacob Warner and Sam Stoll also got solid wins, winning their matches 6-0 and 10-0, respectively. Stoll is now 4-0 and the major was just his second bonus-point win of the year.

Iowa’s only two losses were at 149 and 174, as Pat Lugo and Mitch Bowman both lost. Lugo gave an extremely good Anthony Ashnault quite a fight, taking him to overtime. Ashnault, however, was able to get a takedown at the 38 seconds into the first sudden victory period to win.

The loss drops Lugo to 8-6 on the year. Bowman, meanwhile, falls to 4-4.

Overall it was a pretty solid showing overall for the Hawkeyes. They’re now 5-0 all-time against Rutgers and the 24 point margin of victory matched the largest in the series. Up next for the Hawkeyes is a Friday matchup with Illinois followed by a Sunday dual with Northwestern.

#4 IOWA 30, #14 Rutgers 6

125 — #2 Spencer Lee (IA) pinned Nick Denora (R), 0:38; 6-0

133 — #8 Austin DeSanto (IA) dec. #3 Nick Suriano (R) 6-4; 8-0*

141 — #15 Max Murin (IA) dec. Peter Lipari (R), 8-4; 11-0

149 — #2 Anthony Ashnault (R) dec. #12 Pat Lugo (IA), 3-1; 11-3

157 — #5 Kaleb Young (IA) dec. #14 John Van Brill (R), 5-2; 14-3

165 — #2 Alex Marinelli (IA) pinned Anthony Oliveri (R), 2:17; 20-3

174 — Joseph Grello (R) dec. Mitch Bowman (IA), 7-3; 20-6

184 — #13 Cash Wilcke (IA) dec. Willie Scott (R), 6-1; 23-6

197 — #5 Jacob Warner (IA) dec. Matthew Correnti (R), 6-0; 26-6

285 — #3 Sam Stoll (IA) major dec. Christian Colucci (R), 10-0; 30-6

(All rankings via InterMat)