:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52215653/529bdb3d839f3.image.0.0.jpeg)
The wrestlers are headed to the friendly confines of Carver on Saturday to take on the third ranked Hawkeyes. Rumor has it that several sections of Iowa fans have already taken their seats and begun chanting "stalling" to cleanse and prepare the arena for the meet.
Where: Carver Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, IA
When: 7PM, Saturday, Dec 10th
Stream: BTN Plus ($)
Projected Lineups:
| Weight | ISU Wrestler | Record | - | Iowa Wrestler | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125 | Markus Simmons 19/18/18 | 10-2 | vs. | Tom Gilman 1/1/1 | 7-0 |
| or | Kyle Larson | 6-6 | - | - | - |
| 133 | Earl Hall 7/15/10 | 8-3 | vs. | Phil Laux | 6-4 |
| or | Nathan Boston | 2-2 | - | - | - |
| 141 | John Meeks | 4-3 | vs. | Topher Carton | 9-0 |
| or | Gabe Moreno | 4-4 | - | - | - |
| or | Kanen Storr | 19-3 | - | - | - |
| 149 | Chase Straw UR/17/UR | 12-5 | vs. | Brandon Sorenson 2/2/2 | 9-0 |
| 157 | Colston DeBlasi | 12-6 | vs. | Micheal Kemerer 4/5/4 | 9-0 |
| 165 | Dane Pestano | 5-4 | vs. | Joey Gunther UR/17/UR | 9-0 |
| - | - | - | or | Alex Marinelli | 4-0 |
| 174 | Lelund Weatherspoon 11/12/10 | 12-3 | vs. | Alex Meyer 7/4/7 | 8-0 |
| 184 | Pat Downey 9/8/7 | 4-0 | vs. | Sammy Brooks 8/5/8 | 6-0 |
| or | Carson Powell | 8-6 | - | - | - |
| 197 | Marcus Harrington | 1-2 | vs. | Cash Wilcke | 7-1 |
| or | Joe Teague | 4-6 | - | - | - |
| HWT | Quean Smith | 5-2 | vs. | Sam Stoll 6/UR/5 | 0-0 |
| - | - | - | or | Steven Holloway | 5-2 |
Weight by Weight breakdown
125
Honestly I’d really rather see Larson here. Gilman is a hammer and Larson is extremely skilled at slowing down a match and staying off his back against elite opponents. Neither of them is going to beat Gilman but Larson can keep it to a decision or major but Simmons will get teched.
Prediction: If Larson, Gilman by major. If Simmons, Gilman by tech fall.
133
It looks like Clark is going to be out for this one. So Hall will be favored if he wrestles better than he did in Vegas last weekend. Assuming we see the good version of Hall then I think he wins this by decision. But if he wrestles like he did last weekend I think Laux wins in a squeaker. If Clark does take the mat I see this going the same way as every other match between Clark and Hall in their careers, a tight match through the first period and a half with Clark pulling away for a 4 point or so win in the third.
If the coaches really want to roll the dice they could consider putting Boston out here (or Simmons if they use Larson at 125) and bumping Hall up to 141. But I don’t see that happening because Laux likely would be favored over Boston or an underweight Simmons. Plus after last weekend getting Hall a winnable match in a tough environment is important to help get his season back on track. But if they did roll the dice they could end up with a net positive on dual points if that turns in to wins at both 133 and 141.
Prediction: Hall by decision if Laux. Clark by decision if Clark.
141
Topher Carton is one of the weaker wrestlers in Iowa’s lineup and if Gabe Moreno was wrestling up to expectations this would be an easy win for ISU. But, whether it is a weak shoulder or just psychological, Moreno has not been hitting expectations so far and John Meeks hasn’t been doing all that hot either. So whichever one takes the mat I’d consider this match to be a tossup. And in Carver the Hawks win the tossups.
It is worth noting that true freshman Kanen Storr is listed as an "or" in the lineup for Iowa State for this dual. But hopefully that’s just a motivation thing for Moreno/Meeks and we won’t actually see a redshirt getting pulled.
Prediction: Carton by decision.
149
Chase Straw put together a good tournament last weekend and has started to show up in the rankings. But he’s going up against a returning NCAA finalist in Sorenson. Short of a lucky pin I don’t see this being close.
Prediction: Sorenson by major.
157
Like Straw, Diblasi had a good showing last weekend in Vegas. But Kemerer is a stud who beat a still healthy Gabe Moreno 20-7 at Midlands last season. Combine that with Diblasi’s tendency to go big or go home (he has 8 pins on the season but almost all of his losses are by major decision or pin) and I think this one ends poorly. Though an upset pin by Colston is not out of the question.
Prediction: Kemerer by pin.
165
This is a tough one to predict. Gunther is 9-0 on the season after an 18-5 campaign while redshirting last year but most of those wins are against lower division guys and backups. On the other side of the mat Pestano is talented but has shown himself to be struggling with the weight cut to 165. Like 141, this match is a tossup and in Carver the Hawks win the tossups.
Prediction: Gunther by decision.
174
The first of two marquee matchups of the night. Last season Meyer won this match 7-1 but ended up placing lower than Lelund at NCAAs. Weatherspoon has been inconsistent this season though so I think that we’re likely to get a similar result as last year. With luck Lelund will figure things out and reverse the result at Midlands and NCAAs but so far this season he hasn’t shown himself to be All American caliber.
Prediction: Meyer by decision.
184
If Downey is healthy and takes the mat this should be a great match between two returning All Americans that are both likely to end up back on the podium in March. Brooks and Downey both score a lot of points and get a lot of pins so one way or another this is likely to be an exciting match. If healthy, I think Downey gets the win. If he isn’t able to go then Brooks shouldn’t have to much trouble against Powell.
Prediction: If Downey, Downey by decision. If Powell, Brooks by tech fall.
197
Harrington’s season has been off to a rocky start and his neck may or may not still be an issue. If he was healthy I’d give him the edge in this match but if he isn’t then this is likely to be another Iowa win. If we toss Teague out there it’ll probably be by bonus.
If Harrington is still having neck issues and Downey is less than 100% but able to wrestle it wouldn’t be the worst call for the coaches to send Powell out at 184 and bump Downey up to 197 for what would likely be a net benefit in dual points. It wouldn’t be the most popular decision for the coaching staff since it would deny the crowd of the most anticipated matchup of the night. But it could be a good call if it gets us a win at 197 instead of losses at both weights.
Prediction: If Harrington, Wilke by decision. If Powell, Wilke by major.
HWT
Smith is coming off of one of his best weekends of wrestling in an ISU singlet with his podium finish in Vegas. And Iowa’s Holloway hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire this season. However, Sam Stoll is listed as an "or" in the lineup and might be making his return to the mat for the Hawks. Smith would be favored over Halloway as long as he doesn’t pin himself, but against Stoll Smith would be a heavy underdog.
It is worth mentioning that Smith is the only current starter that has a win in a Cy-Hawk dual.
Prediction: If Holloway, Smith by decision. If Stoll, Stoll by decision.
Overall Prediction
There’s lots of tossups and both teams have some question marks. Overall I think there will be a number of competitive matches but the dual score won’t be very close. Something along the lines of a 9-27 Iowa win seems about right.
Next Up:
The wrestlers will take some time off for finals and the holidays before returning to the mat on Dec 29th-30th at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL.