Ohio State, Jan. 18
The top-ranked Hawkeyes started their march toward the Big Ten dual championship by opening the conference season with a 24-10 victory at No. 6 Ohio State.
Iowa won seven matches, getting a pin from Jay Borschel, victories from Joey Slaton, Dan LeClere and Brent Metcalf over ranked opponents and wins from Ryan Morningstar, Chad Beatty and Charlie Falck.
LeClere posted his first win against a returning All-American, using a third-period takedown to beat ninth-ranked J Jaggers 5-3 at 141.
Ultra-aggressive sophomore Brent Metcalf's relentless attacking wore down All-American Lance Palmer. Eventually, third-ranked Metcalf took the lead on a third-period stalling point and later tacked on a takedown to win a 5-3 decision against fifth-ranked Palmer at 149.
Borschel and Beatty helped the Hawkeyes clinch the dual after eight matches. Borschel pinned Alex Picazo at 174, and Beatty outlasted John Weakley, riding out the Ohio State freshman in the final tiebreaker to win 3-2 by virtue of a seven-second advantage in riding time accumulated in four minutes of overtime periods.
— Andy Hamilton