RAPID RECAP: Happel’s fall caps Hawkeyes 34-7 Border Battle win over Minnesota

The Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Minnesota Gophers in front of their home crowd 34-7, winning eight of ten matches against their rival to the north. Unsurprisingly the Gophers opted to draw for a starting weight in lieu of beginning the dual at 125 pounds. The upside was that meant that senior Brandon Sorensen got the opportunity to lead things off in what is one of the last matches for the Hawkeye in his home arena.

The dual started off with a bang as Brandon Sorensen racked up an early lead against Ben Brancle, leading 6-2 after the first period. In the second period Sorensen managed to pin Brancale to put the Hawks up big early.

Making his return to the lineup was Michael Kemerer who defeated Jake Short at 157 pounds. After missing last week’s dual against Michigan and the top eight ranked Alec Pantleo, Kemerer made short work of his Gopher opponent, racking up a 16-6 major decision. It was career victory #50 for Kemerer.

The dual featured only two ranked head-to-head meetings, with the first coming at 165 pounds where freshman Alex Marinelli maintained his perfect season with a 5-1 decision over #9 Nick Wanzek. After failing to convert on single leg attempts in the first and second periods, Marinelli was finally able finish on Wanzek in the third to pull away in the match 3-1. A stall point and rideout led to Marinelli’s other two points.

After giving Kaleb Young two consecutive dual starts, Tom Brands switched back to Joey Gunther at 174 pounds to take on Chris Pfarr. Gunther’s performance was highlighted by late period takedowns in the first and second period where he was able to ride Pfarr out. A third period escape pushed the final tally to 5-1 in favor of the Hawkeyes.

Minnesota was able to get their first points on the board in the team score as Brandon Krone took the mat for the Gophers at 184 pounds. Known for his top game, Krone was actually announced as the 197-pound starter during introductions, but dropped down to face Bowman. Krone won by bonus, 12-2 over Mitch Bowman.

Getting the Hawkeyes back on track was sophomore Cash Wilcke who faced the 184-pound Dylan Anderson. Three first period takedowns fueled Wilcke in his 10-7 decision. Anderson was able to pick up takedowns in the second and third period to close the margin of victory after it appeared Wilcke had bonus potential.

Sam Stoll picked up the Hawkeyes fourth bonus victory on the night with his 12-1 major decision over Rylee Streifel in the heavyweight bout. Stoll dominated in all three periods to push Iowa’s lead to 23-4.

The dual’s main event took place near the end as the #4 ranked Spencer Lee took on returning NCAA finalist and the #8 ranked Ethan Lizak at 125 pounds. It was all Lee in the first period, who picked up a takedown and four points via near fall to go up 6-0 early. In the second period Lee got a reversal against Lizak followed by four more near fall to really open the match up. In the end, the main event wasn’t much of an event, as Lee controlled his 15-0 win from start to finish.

Minnesota got its second win at 133 where Mitch McKee downed Paul Glynn. Despite Glynn managing to get in on McKee’s legs on a couple of occasion the Gopher pulled out a 7-2 victory.

Putting an exclamation point on the dual win was freshman Carter Happel, who managed to takedown and pin #10 Tommy Thorn in the closing seconds to pull out the victory. A locked hands point in the second period tied the match at three points apiece. According to head coach Tom Brands, Happel signaled for Brands to challenge the lock hands in the first place. Starting the third period Happel needed to ride Thorn to erase riding time, and with a minute to go in the match Happel was able to do just that and cut Thorn. With the match on the line, Happel was able to lock up with Thorn and hit a trip to to Thorn’s back to secure the fall.

IOWA HAWKEYES 34 – MINNESOTA GOPHERS 7

149: #2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) fall UR Ben Brancale (Minnesota), 3:32
157: #2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) major decision UR Jake Short (Minnesota), 16-6
165: #7 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) decision #9 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 5-1
174: #18 Joey Gunther (Iowa) decision UR Chris Pfarr (Minnesota), 5-1
184: UR Brandon Krone (Minnesota) major decision UR Mitch Bowman (Iowa), 12-2
197: #8 Cash Wilcke (Iowa) decision UR Dylan Anderson (Minnesota), 10-7
285: #3 Sam Stoll (Iowa) major decision UR Rylee Streifel (Minnesota), 12-1
125: #4 Spencer Lee (Iowa) tech fall #8 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), 15-0
133: #19 Mitch McKee (Minnesota) decision UR Paul Glynn (Iowa), 7-2
141: UR Carter Happel (Iowa) fall #10 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), 6:58