125
#4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) 25-1 vs #13 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) 24-9
The pair have wrestled each other three times in their collegiate careers, with Gilman coming out on top each time. The first meeting was the closest, a 2-1 decision that Gilman took, but that was back in 2014. Look for Gilman to get to his offense and win by major
#9 Dylan Peters (UNI) 15-2 vs #8 Barlow McGhee (Missouri) 23-7
If Peters wants to reverse the result form the MAC Championship match he’s going to have to find a way to get to McGhee’s legs. McGhee was able to keep a distance between the two wrestlers too keep Peters off his offense and it worked. Peters is 3-1 against McGhee in his career.
Backside:
Kyle Larson (Iowa State) 23-16 vs Brandon Jeske (ODU) 18-12
Larson had the toughest match of the first round, losing 18-0 to #1 seed Nathan Tomasello, and now he has to wrestle the consolation pigtail match against Brandon Jeske from ODU. These two are pretty evenly matched but I think Larson comes out on top, and then he’ll wrestle Sean McCabe (Rutgers, 14-15) to advance to next round on the consolation side.
133
#2 Cory Clark (Iowa) 23-1 vs #15 Josh Alber (UNI) 27-10
Clark had no trouble dispatching Utah Valley’s Jade Rauser, 8-0, in the first round, but will probably face some stiffer competition from UNI’s Alber. Alber defeated Okie State’s Harding 10-6 with some really good scrambles, and he’ll need to put on a good defensive show to upset the Hawkeye. This will be the first time the two have met, as they were supposed to wrestle at The Midlands before Clark had to medically withdraw.
#8 Earl Hall (ISU) 30-7 vs #9 Mack McGuire
These two met back in January with Hall coming out on top of a close 4-3 match. The two are pretty evenly matched and both scramble really well. I’d expect an exciting match but for Hall to come out on top
149:
#2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) 26-1 vs Victor Lopez (Bucknell) 29-12
Sorensen cruised to a 9-1 major decision victory over EMU’s Barber in the first round and I don’t expect him to have much trouble with Lopez. Although Lopez has had a nice season, his best win comes against Princeton’s Chase Piperato, and he hasn’t defeated a top 20 wrestler all season.
157:
#13 Edwin Cooper Jr. (Iowa) 18-9 vs #4 Ian Miller (Kent State) 21-1
Cooper improved on his win over Tyler Berger in the first round, taking that match 8-3 and really being the aggressor the entire way. He’ll have to continue that to defeat #4 Miller in the second round, who might not be 100% entering the tournament.
Bryce Steiert (UNI) 23-9 vs Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) 31-3
Steiert had two matches this morning, taking down Spartak Chino in the pigtail match, then upsetting the #11 seeded Luke Smith in the first round. Steiert and Smith are both really young, so this should be a fun match, and one that if Steiert can win would put him square in the national spotlight (I haven’t seen Smith wrestle this season, so I have no real comment about this match).
165:
Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) 29-8 vs Chad Welch (Purdue) 31-7
These two didn’t have any problems with their opening matches, with Weatherman winning by pinfall and Welch wining 13-4. The pair have met only once in their careers, with Welch winning by pinfall last season. This should be a pretty good match as they’re both pretty even, but if Weatherman can finish a shot I don’t think he should lose.
Backside:
Cooper Moore (UNI) 16-7 vs Tyler Buckwalter (Kent State) 24-11
Moore won his pigtail match 9-4 but got caught in a bad scramble positon and lost by pinfall to Virginia Tech’s David McFadden in the first round, which drops him to the consolation bracket to face KSU’s Buckwalter. I don’t think Moore will have any problem advancing, Moore has been able to get to his offense against Buckwalter and is 2-0 against him.
Patrick Rhoads (Iowa) 13-12 vs Casey Fuller (Edinboro) 26-10
Both these wrestlers struggled in their first round matches, but both come to the backside looking to do more for their teams. If Iowa has any hope of being the top team, they need Rhoads to win at least two matches on the backside, and that starts against Fuller. The two have never met before.
174:
Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) 24-10 vs #15 Brian Harvey (Army) 23-9
Weatherspoon was the first to take down a number two seed in the tournament, defeating Brian Realbuto from Cornell to advance to the second round. He hit a takedown in the first period and then a couple more in the 3rd to secure his win. He’ll need to continue that offensive style if he wants to advance.
Backside:
#13 Alex Meyer (Iowa) 23-5 vs #4 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) 22-3
This match comes as expected for most fans, but it comes in the consolation bracket where no one expected. Iowa needs Meyer to have a good comeback on the backside, but it will be tough work against Ramos. Meyer’s match with Wolf featured some crazy scrambles and a few reversals by each man, but Meyer wasn’t able to put on a tough enough ride, or get to his offense when he needed it.
184:
#2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) 25-3 vs Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan) 29-12
Brooks put on a great show in his first match, winning by tech fall 23-8 over John Lampe. As long as he stays on his offense he’ll be fine against Ellingwood.
#14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) 19-5 vs Joe Ariola (Buffalo) 14-15
Miklus got himself into some trouble in the first period, getting taken down and then ridden for nearly 2:20, but, as he so often does, he hit a reversal and a NF4 to take the lead and never looked back. He’ll be taking on the unseeded Ariola, who upset #3 Victor Avery from Edinboro 7-5. Unless Ariola has another major upset in him though, Miklus is 3-0 against him, the Tiger should advance.
197:
#4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) 24-2 vs Jacob Smith (West Virginia) 31-10
Burak did not look good in his first match, only taking a few shots and not connecting on any. He’ll need to do a bit more tonight in his match with Smith, who won 3-2 in his opening round match, if he wants to advance.
Patrick Downey (Iowa State) 7-2 vs #6 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) 17-7
Downey was able to stay out of an upper-body battle with the heavier Wellington in his first match to win 3-1 in sudden victory, although that would be something he would have wanted. Much like Burak he’ll need to find more offense, and be solid on defense as well as Haught likes to shoot and score.
285:
Ross Larson (Oklahoma) 20-11 vs #5 Adam Coon (Michigan) 19-2
Larson had a nice 8-4 win over Rutgers #12 Billy Smith to advance to the second round tonight. Larson connected on a few takedowns to secure his win, and if he’s able to do so against Coon then we might be seeing him in the quarterfinals. Coon is able to fend off those shots a bit better than most wrestlers though, but it should still be a great match.
Backside:
#11 Sam Stoll (Iowa) 22-6 vs #6 Denzel Dejounette (Appalachian State) 31-3
Stoll medically forfeited his match with Boyce Cornwell due to his knee injury to fall to the consolation round. It would really surprise me if we saw him take the mat again today, he just wasn’t able to bend his knee or move around as much as he’s used to.