No. 12 Michigan wrestling upsets No. 2 Iowa 24-11

Friday night was a night for the Michigan Men. 

The No. 12 Wolverines stopped No. 2 Iowa 24-11 in front of a home crowd in dominant fashion, winning seven bouts and delivering the Hawkeyes their first non-Penn State Big Ten loss in the last six years. 

Graduate student No. 12 Michael DeAugustino ignited the momentum for the Maize and Blue early by out-scrambling Iowa’s No. 5 Drake Ayala and earning a tie-breaker rideout win at 125 pounds that will elevate him in the rankings of the craziest weight class in the country. Michigan veteran Dylan Ragusin followed DeAugustino with a solid 5-2 win over Iowa’s Cullan Schriever at 133 pounds. 

The Wolverines were in a good position after these first two bouts with a 6-0 lead. Their veterans had stepped up. Michigan was comfortable. 

Then the Wolverines debuted their hero of the night: Sergio Lemley. 

Following the lead of his teammates, Lemley surged off the whistle against Iowa’s NCAA finalist Real Woods with zero fear in his eyes. He held Woods scoreless for the first period before coming alive in the second period with a big six-point move that brought the crowd to its feet. The rookie wasn’t done. He then cradled up Woods in the third period to finish off the match by nearly pinning the Hawkeye before ultimately settling for the 14-2 upset over the No. 1-ranked athlete in the country.

What an UPSET by the freshman! 🤯

No. 19 at 141 pulls off the 14-2 major decision over No. 1 Real Woods of Iowa! 💥

— Big Ten Wrestling (@B1GWrestling)

The Lemley result electrified the crowd, though the Wolverine's team victory was truly a group effort.

Michigan All-Americans Austin Gomez and Will Lewan added decisions to the point totals with gritty wins over Victor Voinovich and Jared Franek respectively, with the latter of those two wins coming in another tie-breaker rideout. 

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Iowa then put itself on the board at 165 pounds with a 9-4 decision win from Mikey Caliendo over Beau Mantanona, but Michigan responded with bonus points from NCAA champion Shane Griffith at 174 pounds to take the team lead 20-3. Griffith's performance, one of his most offensive of the season, showed heart, toughness and intention, and suggested that Griffith is the same All-American athlete and perhaps title contender athlete that he's been the last three seasons. 

Icing the bonus win late. goes out a big winner at Crisler Center.

— Michigan Wrestling (@umichwrestling)

Iowa would go on to win 184 pound and 197 pounds with a decision win from Aiden Riggins and a tech fall from Zach Glazier before Michigan closed out the dual with a win from Lucas Davison. 

It's a night that will be remembered in Ann Arbor, and it's a performance that showed the country that Michigan is coming for a team trophy. 

Iowa's opportunity for a rebound win will be tough too, as the Hawks take on the No. 1 Penn State Nittany Lions next. Pulling off an upset against the top team in the country is going to require more from Iowa's lightweights, but, as tonight proves, anything can happen. There's nothing easy about Big Ten wrestling. 

COMPLETE DUAL RESULTS