The undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes host the Fighting Illini on Friday January 17th at 6 pm in Iowa City Iowa. This is always a fun one for Hawkeye Fans. Illinois brings a solid 7-1 record, while the Hawkeyes are a perfect 7-0. While Iowa is heavily favored, several intriguing match-ups do exist.149 will be fantastic and Webster (despite being from Illinois) is one of my favorite wrestlers. Ayala vs Byrd at 133 should also be a good one. Arnold and Ruth at 184 is another one, you won’t want to miss!
History: Iowa leads the series 12-2 and has won the last 10 in a row! The last time these two met Iowa won 36-6 in Champaign in 2024.
Keys To Victory: For Iowa its simple, just show up. For Illinois it’s a little more complicated, their best bet to leave without a loss is the meet getting canceled by blizzard or power outage. Iowa is favored in 7 of the 10 bouts.
125 Joey Cruz VS Caelen Riley
133 Drake Ayala #3 VS Lucas Byrd #2
141 Jace Rhodes VS Danny Pucino #17
149 Kyle Parco #4 VS Kannon Webster #11
157 Jacori Teemer #1 or Miguel Estrada VS Jason Kraisser #32
165 Michael Caliendo #2 VS Braeden Scoles #12
174 Patrick Kennedy #6 VS Danny Braunagel #19
184 Gabe Arnold #6 VS Edmond Ruth #13
197 Steven Buchanan #1 VS Zac Braunagel #11
285 Ben Kueter #13 VS Luke Luffman #11
Conclusion: Iowa is favored in 7 of the 10 matches, Illinois is favored at 133, 141, and Heavyweight. I see Iowa winning 9 of the 10 bouts and securing a 28-3 victory.