No. 4 Iowa made a statement with its solid 22-16 win over No. 6 Nebraska, while the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes followed with a win over the Cornhuskers as well, delivering an 0-2 weekend for the Big Red at home.
Here’s what you need to know about those two top-ten barnburner duals, as well as the rest of the action from across the country.
Iowa bounces back with win at Nebraska
After a blowout loss to Penn State, No. 4 Hawkeyes went to Lincoln and beat a top-10 opponent in Nebraska for the first time since the National Duals in November.
At 133 pounds, No. 10 Drake Ayala looked like his national finalist self again after he earned a ranked win over No. 8 Jacob Van Dee by decision. The victory can be marked as an upset because of the national rankings and Ayala’s then- three-match losing streak, but the Hawkeyes’ victory kept him 2-0 against the Cornhusker and delivered Van Dee his first loss in 13 matches.
Drake securing the W. 🙂↕️
— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling)
33 – #10 Drake Ayala (I) dec. #8 Jacob Van Dee (N) 12-6
#4 Iowa 6, #6 Nebraska 0
No. 3-ranked 141-pounder and fellow national finalist Brock Hardy gave Nebraska its first win of the evening over No. 10 Nasir Bailey in a controversial 1-0 decision at 141 pounds. NCAA champion No. 5 Antrell Taylor was the second winner for the Cornhuskers when he defeated Jordan Williams in a sudden victory at 157 pounds. Iowa’s grit in these matches proved that the Hawks have guys who can compete against the best at these weights and score crucial team points in March.
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No. 17 Ryder Block, one of the biggest bright surprises for the Hawks this year, earned the only fall of the night at 149 pounds, pinning No. 14 Chance Lamer and putting Iowa in control. Iowa won three straight matches in the middle wights too, with No. 3 Michael Caliendo and Patrick Kennedy beating top-10 opponents at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively. Gabe Arnold picked up an upset win over No. 7 Silas Allred at 184 pounds in place of No. 2 Angelo Ferrari, showcasing Iowa’s depth and proving that he, too, is a top-ten guy when he’s given the chance to start.
Nebraska won the last two matches of the night. No. 9 Camden McDanel picked up a tech fall over Brody Sampson at 197 pounds, and No. 4 AJ Ferrari claimed the heavyweight bout over No. 8 Ben Kueter in a battle of 2025 All-Americans.
Ohio State takes nail-biter over Cornhuskers
Two days later, Nebraska hosted another tough foe in No. 2 Ohio State. The Cornhuskers mounted a substantial comeback but came up just short, losing 17-16.
Ohio State developed a sizable lead early by winning the first four matches. No. 2 Nic Bouzakis started the afternoon with a 16-4, major-decision win over Kael Lauridsen at 125 pounds, and No. 2 Ben Davino won an important 133-pound match against Van Dee, 7-2.
In a season-defining match at 141 pounds, Ohio State’s momentum continued, with No. 1 Jesse Mendez majoring Hardy. The win amplified Mendez as a leading contender for the Hodge Trophy, given that the two-time champ now has bonus-point wins over All-Americans Nasir Bailey, Vance VomBaur, Ryan Jack and Hardy.
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Lamer tried to get Nebraska on the board by pushing his match against All-American No. 4 Ethan Stiles into extra time, but he lost via a takedown in sudden victory to the transfer Buckeye.
From there, Nebraska began its run. Taylor started the Husker streak with an 11-3 major decision win over Maddox Shaw, and No. 7 LJ Araujo narrowly beat e’Than Birden, 1-0, at 165 pounds. No. 6 Christopher Minto overcame Friday’s loss and beat No. 4 Carson Kharchla 4-1 in sudden victory, and Allred bounced back from the Iowa loss to beat No. 5 Dylan Fishback in a 184-pound tiebreaker, 2-1.
Nebraska took its first lead of the dual when McDaniel earned a decision win over Ohio State’s No. 10 Luke Geog at 197 pounds, putting all of the pressure on a heavyweight brawl between All-Americans Ferrari and No. 3 Nick Feldman.
Feldman had already beaten Ferrari once prior to this duel, and the Buckeye did it again on Sunday, topping Ferrari 4-1 in a sudden victory to claim the individual and team dual win.
Nebraska’s road only gets tough with No. 1 Penn State on Friday, while Ohio State hosts No. 16 Wisconsin and No. 10 Michigan next week.
NC State wins rivalry dual, Virginia Tech holds off Stanford
Both No. 8 NC State and No. 7 Virginia Tech held serve ahead of Friday’s ACC-defining dual. The Wolfpack beat rivals North Carolina 24-10, and the Hokies beat Stanford, 22-14.
With the dual between the Wolfpack and the Tar Heels starting at 141 pounds, North Carolina got an early win when No. 17 Luke Simcox beat No. 12 All-American Ryan Jack by decision, 2-1. That would end up being just one of three individual wins for the Tar Heels in front of a sold-out NC State fanbase in Reynolds Coliseum.
🐺vs.🐏 in b&w
— NC State Wrestling 🤼♂️ (@PackWrestle)
NC State put themselves ahead next after No. 5 Koy Buesgens improved his record to 16-1 with a 15-3 major decision win over Nate Askew at 149 pounds. At 174 pounds, All-American No. 5 Matty Singleton moved to five straight wins after beating Collin Carrigan, 8-3. Heavyweight All-American star Issac Trumble defended his No. 2 ranking with an 8-0 major decision win over No. 28 Nolan Neves, and 2025 NCAA champion No. 5 Vincent Robinson rebounded from last week’s loss at 125 pounds with a 4-2 decision win and charismatic celebration over No. 15 Kysen Terukina.
In Blacksburg, the Hokies faced a tougher challenge in a dual that came down to the last match. All-American No. 3 Eddie Ventresca started the night with a decision win over No. 12 Nico Provo at 125 pounds, 6-1, and true freshman Aaron Seidel stepped in for injured teammate Dillon Campbell and earned a major decision statement upset win over All-American No. 7 Tyler Knox.
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Stanford fired back with a win at 141 pounds from No. 18 Jack Consiglio over No. 22 Tom Crook 6-5, but Virginia Tech’s No. 10 Collin Gaj beat No. 9 Aden Valencia in a battle of top-10 wrestlers at 149 pounds to put the Hokies back in the driver’s seat. The Cardinal kept fighting, though.
All-American No. 13 Daniel Cardenas notched a major decision win over No. 16 Ethen Miller 11-2 to close Stanford’s deficit to three before Tech’s No 14 Ryan Burton and No. 33 Sergio Desiante at 165 and 174 pounds came roaring in. They topped EJ Parco and Sergio Desiante 8-2 and 8-6, respectively, before Stanford picked up its next wins from No. 33 Abraham Wojcikiewicz over No. 31 Jaden Bullock at 184 pounds, and No. 17 Angelo Posada over No. 15 Sonny Sasso at 197 pounds.
Much like Nebraska vs. Iowa, this one came down to the heavyweight match. Sophomore No. 16 Jimmy Mullen emphatically closed the dual by pinning Luke Duthie, securing the win for the Hokies and setting up Friday’s contest between the Hokies and Wolfpack to decide the kings of the ACC.
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