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Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling Dropped in Big Ten Finale vs. No. 3 Iowa

The Wisconsin Badgers dropped a tough dual against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

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Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling
Photo: Courtesy of BadgerNotes Staff Writer Ryan Eilers

The No. 22 Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling program fell to Iowa 34–7 on Sunday at Carver Hawkeye Arena.

Let’s take a look at how the Badgers performed vs. Iowa.

125 pounds

No. 3 Eric Barnett vs. Joey Cruz

EB did what he usually does – he wins. It seems like Drake Ayala may have been ducking him in the season finale. Maybe he didn’t want to hurt his Big Ten tournament seeding with an ‘L’ ?

While I was certainly thinking that as a guy sitting on the couch – did Barnett think similarly?

Barnett won the match by a 8–0 major decision.

133 pounds 

Nicolar Rivera vs. Brody Teske

Don’t let the score and lack of rankings fool you. Brody Teske is a top wrestler in this weight class if he wrestled enough this year. Teske took the fight to Nico and was not taking a loss on Iowa’s senior day. Nico fought tough – just couldn’t get the offense flowing.

Rivera lost the match by a 19–4 technical fall.

141 pounds

Felix Lettini vs. No. 2 Real Woods

Real Woods is looking like the betting favorite to win NCAAs at 141 pounds. Lettini had a tough dual season but continued to show heart and fight until the very end.

Lettini lost the match by fall.

149 pounds

No. 19 Joseph Zargo vs. No. 8 Caleb Rathjen

Every dual has those “closer than the score says” match.  This was the match of the day. In a controversial no-takedown ruling, Zargo was a referees bad call away from this being a 4–4 match in period two.  That doesn’t guarantee a win – but it certainly makes it a closer match on the scoreboard.

Zargo lost the match by a 8–1 decision.

157 pounds

Luke Mechler vs. No. 5 Jared Franek

Mechler like he’s done all year – he kept fighting but the Wisconsin Badgers 157 pounder just couldn’t match the offense of Franek.

Mechler lost the match by a 17–5 major decision.

165 pounds

No. 5 Dean Hamiti vs. No. 7 Michael Caliendo

DJ finally won a match decided by a decision. While that may sound silly to read – Hamiti has been a bonus point machine. Of his 23 wins this year – only one came without bonus points.

Early in the match it looked as if Hamiti was going to be en route to another bonus point victory but Caliendo really dug in and made it a great match.

Hamiti won this match by 14–11 decision.

174 pounds

Cale Anderson vs. No. 7 Patrick Kennedy

With Max Maylor out of the lineup – Anderson stepped up to take on the challenge.  While the score looks brutal – Anderson stood toe-to-toe and battled.

Anderson lost this match by a 19–4 technical fall.

184 pounds

No. 16 Shane Liegel vs. Gabe Arnold

Gabe Arnold is going to be a menace in the Big Ten for years to come.  The true freshman brought power and physicality to the match and kept Liegel off guard.

Liegel is as decorated and experienced as he can be and just couldn’t fend off the true freshman. Liegel is a warrior and will bounce back from this in the postseason.

Liegel lost this match by 8–6 decision.

197 pounds

Josh Otto vs. No. 11 Zach Glazier

The ultility knife for Coach Bono kept fighting and was able to stave off a technical fall. Otto likely didn’t want to go out like this up three weight classes but that shows the character he possesses.

I’m hoping he can make a solid run at Big Ten’s so he can qualify for NCAAs.

Otto lost this match by a 13–4 major decision.

285 pounds

Gannon Rosenfeld vs. No. 29 Bradley Hill

After a back–to–back wins vs Purdue and Illinois – Rosenfeld had two tough losses to Minnesota and Iowa. THis is all good learning to help him build off of in the offseason.

The best is yet to come.

Rosenfeld lost this match by a 11–3 major decision.

What’s Next for Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling?

Wisconsin finishes up their dual season next Sunday 2/25 vs. Northern Iowa at 1PM. This is the last team dual before the Big Ten Championships in March hosted by Maryland.

Stay tuned to Badger Notes for coverage of the Wisconsin Badgers wrestling program and their upcoming competitions!

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Ryan Eilers covers the Wisconsin Badgers football and wrestling programs for BadgerNotes.com and has had his work published on Bleacher Report. He also makes up 1/4 of the BadgerNotes After Dark podcast crew.

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