Penn State, Iowa ready for latest chapter of wrestling’s best rivalry

Friday’s dual is 3rd all-time with teams ranked 1-2

There are few things that Cael Sanderson and Tom Brands see eye to eye on, but this week each in his own imitable way revealed two.

The Penn State and Iowa wrestling coaches each said they want to win their 9 p.m. Friday dual meet, and that win or lose, they are each pointing their team toward a national championship in March.

"This weekend, it's like every other match. You always want to win. You always want to wrestle great. It's more important to just kind of see where you're at and then continue to improve," Sanderson said.

"We know Iowa's really good at showing you what you need to do better and improve on. That will be the game plan this year. Wrestle great on Friday, but continue to wrestle better as the season goes along."

The No. 1 Nittany Lions (13-0, 5-0 Big Ten) visit the No. 2 Hawkeyes (11-0, 5-0) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, for a dual meet that's been anticipated nationally since the teams' respective schedules were released last year. It will be televised nationally by Big Ten Network.

This will be the third time the two teams have met as the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the NWCA Coaches Poll. Iowa won both previous encounters ranked No. 1: 35-5 on Jan. 5, 1986 and 19-17 on Jan. 31, 2020.

The match should feature 19 ranked wrestlers, including 12 among the top five of their respective weights. Nine wrestlers, six Nittany Lions and three Hawkeyes, are undefeated. Two matches, at 141 and 174, will be rematches of the 2021 NCAA finals, both won by Penn State.

The expected matchups, with Nittany Lions listed first, are:

125: No. 7 Drew Hildebrandt (4-1) vs. No. 11 Drake Ayala (13-4)

133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (10-0) vs. No. 2 Austin DeSanto (12-0)

141: No. 1 Nick Lee (10-0) vs. No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (12-0)

149: No. 19 Beau Bartlett (10-3) vs. No. 10 Max Murin (6-2)

157: Terrell Barraclough (6-6) vs. No. 12 Kaleb Young (10-5)

165: No. 11 Brady Berge (3-0) vs. No. 5 Alex Marinelli (14-1)

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (13-0) vs. No. 2 Michael Kemerer (5-0)

184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (11-0) vs. No. 17 Abe Assad (9-3)

197: No. 2 Max Dean vs. No. 4 Jacob Warner (11-1)

285: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet (11-0) vs. No. 5 Tony Cassioppi (10-2)

"There's some big matches that, you know, there's a lot at stake in these matches when you look at all that's at stake -- seeding and those things," Brands said. "Just being able to move forward is it's easier when you have success. And there's just a lot of reasons to go out there and do your job and shine. This is college athletics at the highest level."

Dating back to 2008, Penn State was won eight national championships and Iowa four in those 14 years. Ohio State won in 2015 and no championship was contested in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

These programs are two of a very short list that can start each season with the stated goal of winning the NCAA title and few people can dispute it. So, when they meet in a dual, it's kind of a big deal.

"It's big because there's a lot of -- not saying hatred, not saying bad blood -- but there's a lot of tensity or friction there. You know, obviously they want to win, we want to win," Hawkeye 197-pounder Jacob Warner said. "And there's not very many teams that can say that they go out to win the nationals every single year. And I can honestly say that them and us are two of the teams that go out there and legitimately, even if we have no shot, which isn't the case ever for us, and then we still expect ourselves to win at the highest level and expect to win a national title."

In an odd twist, Iowa's lineup will feature more wrestlers with Pennsylvania roots (4, DeSanto, Murin, Young, Kemerer) than Penn State's (1, Starocci). One Hawkeye, Kemerer, has a unique perspective.

"It's about two teams that pride themselves on chasing that national title every single year. And when you look at the past 15 years or whatever, it's pretty much been Penn State and Iowa and there's been other teams in there for sure. And you can't disrespect those other teams but (it's a) strong rivalry. (It's) two areas I've gotten the privilege to be from, Pennsylvania and then be in Iowa now for seven years. And honestly, it's two extreme hotbeds of the sport, areas where they love wrestling, super knowledgeable about the sport. So, you combine all that with the success of the programs and, you know, the coaching staffs and everything. It just makes it an awesome rivalry."

Each team is riding a substantial dual meet winning streak. Penn State has won 24 in a row. Iowa has won 29 straight overall and 22 straight at Carver-Hawkeye. There doesn't figure to be an empty seat in the house, where capacity for wrestling is listed at 14,905. Iowa sold out of season tickets for the first time in program history.

Those 15,000 fans figure to give the Hawkeyes a decided home-mat advantage. Brands, though, cautioned that his team must still deliver.

"They've still got to do their job. Our crowd and our administration and our coaches and our athletes in our program all demand the same standard of excellency," he said. "The bottom line is when it's your time to step on the mat, be ready, be smart, and make things go your way. And it's a funny thing to say but that's really how simple it is. It's difficult to do. It's difficult to impose your will on an opponent. But that's what it comes down to. It's you or the other guy; that's what's great about this sport."