Penn State is good at wrestling, folks.

The top-ranked Nittany Lions (7-0, 2-0 Big Ten) torched the rival Iowa Hawkeyes (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten) 32-3 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday night, winning all but one match. The difference is the largest margin of victory in the all-time series between the two teams.

Penn State compiled three bonus point victories, including a pin and two major decisions, outscoring its opponents 65-25 in total match points.

Upset victories from Rocco Welsh and Cole Mirasola highlighted the match as the Nittany Lions secured their fifth straight victory over Iowa.

How It Happened

125 Pounds

In the first matchup of the night, No. 2 Luke Lilledahl faced No. 6 Dean Peterson. The two wrestlers came out swinging with significant shot attempts on both sides. Lilledahl struck first with a takedown near the midway point of the first period. Peterson quickly reversed the Nittany Lion after the restart, and Lilledahl escaped to increase his lead back to two.

In the second period, Peterson escaped from bottom position quickly to cut the lead to 4-3. Lilledahl got in on another deep shot, securing his second takedown of the match. Peterson escaped to make it 7-4 before the end of the period.

Lilledahl escaped from bottom position immediately to start the third period. Lilledahl tallied his third takedown along the edge of the mat to put a commanding 11-4 lead on the Hawkeye. Peterson escaped to cut the lead to six, but was unable to manage a comeback. The Nittany Lion’s offense powered him to an 11-5 decision.

133 Pounds

Next, No. 4 Marcus Blaze took on No. 8 Drake Ayala at 133 pounds. Blaze was unable to convert a front headlock into a takedown early in the period, leaving the match scoreless heading into the second.

Blaze escaped from bottom position after nearly 40 seconds of enemy riding time. Blaze managed a takedown; however, Ayala escaped to keep his riding time above 20 seconds. The Nittany Lion headed into the third period up 4-1.

Blaze was unable to keep the Hawkeye down for long to start the final frame as Ayala crept into a 4-2 difference. Blaze defended a tough shot from Ayala and was able to bleed out the rest of the period to keep Penn State ahead.

141 Pounds

At 141 pounds, No. 7 Braeden Davis wrestled No. 11 Nasir Bailey. The Hawkeye was first to strike as he secured a takedown and cradle combination a minute into the period. Davis was able to break free of the cradle but found himself in a 3-0 hole early on. Davis escaped to get on the board during a restart, but was unable to generate points before the buzzer.

Bailey started in bottom position, but was unable to escape Davis’ control throughout the period.

Davis escaped quickly from bottom position to cut the difference to one; however, the Nittany Lion did not manage to secure a takedown. Bailey’s lone takedown was good enough to knock off Davis in a 3-2 decision.

149 Pounds

Next, No. 1 Shayne Van Ness faced No. 17 Ryder Block at 149 pounds. The Hawkeye got the first points with a takedown within the first minute. The Nittany Lion would escape and proceed to get a takedown of his own to take the lead. Block escaped to tie the matchup.

Shayne Van Ness controlled the Hawkeye for the entirety of the second period to rack up over two minutes of riding time.

Van Ness escaped quickly to take the lead 5-4 early in the third. Block was able to put the Nittany Lion in a dangerous situation, but Van Ness reversed his efforts into a takedown of his own. Van Ness ran with the takedown into a bow and arrow pinning combination to tack on four near-fall points. Van Ness rode out the rest of the match to win in a 13-4 major decision.

157 Pounds

At 157 pounds, No. 3 PJ Duke took on No. 12 Jordan Williams. The two wrestlers each had opportunities to score in the opening frame but neither could score any points.

Williams escaped within five seconds to score the first point of the match. Although Duke was close to a takedown in the final seconds, there were no points awarded after a challenge from the Penn State challenge.

Duke escaped quickly to tie the match at 1-1. The Nittany Lion secured a takedown with just over a minute left in the third. Williams escaped with 40 seconds remaining to cut the difference to two, but was not able to mount a comeback. The Nittany Lion held on to a 4-2 decision victory.

165 Pounds

After the break, No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink wrestled No. 3 Mikey Caliendo. Mesenbrink was quick to his offense as he secured the takedown early in the first period. Caliendo escaped and defended numerous Mesenrbink attacks before the period ended.

Caliendo escaped to start the second period, cutting Mesenbrink’s lead to one. As the period wound down, the Nittany Lion finished with an ankle pick takedown to extend his lead to 6-2.

Mesenbrink escaped after a few seconds to start the third. The Nittany Lion forced a stall call before getting his third takedown to get the 11-2 major decision victory.

174 Pounds

Next, No. 1 Levi Haines faced Gabe Arnold. The Nittany Lion took down the Hawkeye halfway through the first to score the first points of the match. Arnold escaped with 40 seconds remaining to get on the board, heading into the second down 3-1.

Haines escaped from bottom position after 15 seconds to add to his lead; however, no other points were scored before the next buzzer.

Arnold escaped from bottom position after 30 seconds to cut the lead to two, but was unable to mount a comeback as the Nittany Lion defeated the Hawkeye 4-2.

184 Pounds

At 184 pounds, No. 4 Rocco Welsh took on No. 1 Angelo Ferrari. As expected, the first period did not have any score. Both wrestlers had shot attempts, but neither could break through the hand fighting.

Ferrari escaped after 25 seconds to put the first point on the board. There were no other points scored in the period before the buzzer.

To start the third period, Welsh escaped to tie the match at 1-1 early in the final frame. The Nittany Lion forced a stall warning as the two wrestlers headed into sudden victory.

Ferrari defended the first real shot attempt by Welsh before the Nittany Lion flashed his own defense on the Hawkeye’s re-attack. Welsh was close to a takedown on the edge of the mat near the one-minute mark, but the two landed out of bounds. The match went to the tie-breaker period, tied 1-1, with Ferrari clearly in some pain in his leg.

Welsh was tabbed with his own stall warning, but managed to keep the Hawkeye down for the entirety of the first tie breaker. The Nittany Lion elected to start from bottom position in the second tie breaker. Welsh would break free from Ferrari’s hold and take the lead 2-1 and take down the No. 1 wrestler in the class

197 Pounds

Next, No. 1 Josh Barr faced Brody Sampson. The Nittany Lion earned the first points with a takedown midway through the opening period. Sampson escaped but was taken down a second time to go down 6-1 before the end of the first.

Barr was able to escape from the Hawkeye to start the second period before Josh Barr flipped the Hawkeye into an assassin pinning combination and collected the fall.

Heavyweight

In the final of the match of the night, No. 13 Cole Mirasola wrestled No. 5 Ben Kueter. The Nittany Lion was close to finishing a shot in the back half of the period, but was not successful in finishing for points.

Kueter escaped from bottom position after over 20 seconds to score the first point of the match. Mirasola secured his first takedown, but was unable to keep Kueter down before the end of the period.

Mirasola escaped to make the deficit two in the third period. Kueter forced the stall point out of Mirasola to make it 4-3, but could not manage to get the takedown to beat the Nittany Lion. Mirasola knocked off the No. 5-ranked heavyweight with a 4-3 decision victory.

What’s Next?

Penn State wrestling will be back in action at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 18, when the Nittany Lions take on Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois. The match will be streamed on B1G+.