Five of the top 10 college wrestling programs in the country are in the Big Ten. Four of those teams — No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 7 Nebraska and No. 8 Minnesota — will wrestle a fellow top-10 foe, while No. 1 Penn State will take on Maryland.
Here are the big matches to watch in each of those elite matchups.
1. Iowa has an opportunity to make a statement against the Huskers
No. 2 Iowa split its duals last weekend, dropping to No. 1 Penn State 30-8 before beating then-No. 25 Maryland 34-9 in College Park. This weekend, the Hawkeyes have another test in No. 7 Nebraska (8 p.m. ET Friday on BTN), a dual in which Iowa will be favored in seven matches, some of which by the narrowest of margins.
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Two of most intriguing bouts in this dual will come at 149 pounds, where Iowa’s No. 4 Kyle Parco will be expected to take on No. 2 Ridge Lovett, and at 184 pounds where Iowa’s No. 5 Gabe Arnold will likely wrestle No. 8 Silas Allred.
Parco, a four-time All-American, took his first loss of the season last weekend by major decision to No. 3 Shayne Van Ness of Penn State at 149 pounds, and while Lovett majored Van Ness himself earlier this year, Parco is 2-0 against Lovett, creating a clash of styles at the weight.
This match could have serious Big Ten conference tournament seeding implications.
The 184-pound situation is even more interesting, as Iowa's Arnold wrestled only one of his two matches last weekend, creating online buzz and questions as he sat against Penn State’s No. 1 Carter Starocci in place of true freshman Angelo Ferrari before beating No. 11 Jaxon Smith of Maryland 2-1 on Sunday. Now Arnold has All-American Allred who, at his best, can beat national champions. Allred’s schedule has been brutal this year, as he has had No. 2 Parker Keckeisen, No. 4 Max McEnelly and No. 1 Carter Starocci in back-to-back-to-back weekends in January and took losses to all three of them by bonus.
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Arnold has the potential to turn up the offense, but he showcased a more hard-nosed, forceful style on Sunday, pushing Smith around and putting up a tough hand-fight but failing to score a takedown. Allred, like Smith, wrestled at 197 pounds last year, and a win here could be exactly what the Hawkeye needs for his confidence after an emotional weekend last week.
Iowa will also be favored at 133 pounds with No. 3 Drake Ayala taking on No. 15 Jacob Van Dee, 165 pounds with No. 2 Mikey Caliendo wrestling No. 8 Chris Minto, 174 pounds with No. 6 Patrick Kennedy set to face No. 14 Lenny Pinto, 197 pounds via No. 1 Stephen Buchanan against No. 20 Camden McDanel and, lastly, heavyweight with No. 11 Ben Kueter competing against No. 21 Harley Andrews. In ranked matches like these, however, one upset could flip the momentum of the dual, and this is not a matchup that Iowa can overlook.
2. Minnesota poses a sneaky threat against No. 4 Ohio State thanks to bonus-machine anchor
Iowa vs. Nebraska isn’t the only top-10 Big Ten dual to watch this weekend. The No. 8 Gophers are also set to take on the No. 4 Buckeyes on Friday night (7 p.m. ET on B1G+) in a match in which the Buckeyes are favored in the rankings while the individual matches are split 5-5 on paper. This is a classic clash where depth and energy could play a key role in which program finds the extra edge to squeak out a win.
If Minnesota wrestles its full lineup, the Gophers have the advantage from the start with No. 9 Cooper Flynn from the Gophers facing off against No. 18 Brendan McCrone. Flynn is 11-2 on the year but did not wrestle last week against Rutgers. His best win thus far this season came against All-American Tanner Jordan of South Dakota State earlier this year, 7-2, though he does also have a win against Big 12 champion Stevo Poulin, 7-1. McCrone has been similarly tested against some of the best, posting a 17-6 record, though he has not yet secured his signature win of the season over an All-American yet. If McCrone sees Flynn on Friday, this is an opportunity for the sophomore to clear that hurdle and secure a top-10 victory. If he loses, the pressure will be on Ohio State's No. 10 Nic Bouzakis to avoid dropping an upset loss to No. 18 Tyler Wells in the next weight up to keep Ohio State in the bout.
The Buckeyes' path to victory involves building a base of team points before Minnesota likely rolls out No. 1 Gable Steveson at heavyweight. Steveson, a 2021 Olympic gold medalist at 125kg, is 8-0 on the year with 100% bonus. None of his matches thus far this year have gone the full seven minutes, and he's buried everyone from All-Americans to first-year starters. Ohio State's heavyweight, No. 9 Nick Feldman, is tough, but he faces a size and strength disadvantage against Steveson, a generational talent who has also dabbled in WWE and the NFL. Feldman will, of course, want to avoid giving up bonus, but the Buckeyes don't want to be in a position where the dual depends on Feldman holding Steveson to a decision or even a major decision.
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In order to prevent that, Ohio State needs bonus points from one of their own stars: No. 1 Jesse Mendez. A 2024 NCAA champion, Mendez is 20-0 on the year with 80% bonus and a recent 13-2 win over a tough Sergio Lemley of Michigan. Mendez's opponent in this dual against Minnesota is likely to be No. 8 All-American Vance Vombaur, so bonus points in that match is a tall order, but Mendez is made for the moments when he can put his team on his back in this way. Mendez has yet to wrestle Vombaur in his career, though he has majored other All-Americans, notably Luke Stanich of Lehigh, earlier this year. A top-10 win is big regardless of the score, but bonus points will be a factor in this dual, and Mendez has a chance to show off here, if he can run up the scoreboard against a stingy, competitive Vombaur.
Another bonus point victory for to help lead Ohio State over Michigan.
— Shane Sparks (@ShaneSparksBTN)
Ohio State is also favored at 149 pounds with No. 8 All-American Dylan D'Emilio, 165 pounds with No. 9 Paddy Gallagher and 174 pounds with No. 5 Carson Kharchla, though the 165-pound match in particular between Gallagher and No. 11 Andrew Sparks is unquestionably a coin-flip bout.
Each team needs their stars to come through big, but all 10 matches will feature elite competition between wrestlers who will be battling for podium spots come March.
3. No. 6 Ethen Miller’s biggest challenge yet will be a young Nittany Lion
The most iconic image to emerge from college wrestling duals last weekend was Penn State's Tyler Kasak's definitive win over Iowa's Jacori Teemer — . Kasak said in the press conference after the dual that he "blacked out" and did not remember what he did in that moment, but the picture lives on as a symbol of the moment when Kasak took down the No. 1-ranked athlete in the country and reclaimed that top spot for himself.
Now Kasak will be tested again, this time against a rising Terp junior who holds a 17-0 record on the year and is chasing the first All-American honor of his career: Ethen Miller. Penn State and Maryland will dual at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on B1G+.
Though Miller has not faced anyone of Kasak's caliber yet this year, he does have a top-10 win against No. 7 Joey Blaze of Purdue and two additional top-20 wins against Matt Bianchi of Little Rock and Chase Saldate of Michigan. Miller looks faster and stronger up at 157 pounds this season — Kasak's fearlessness and talent could still be a problem though, especially since he pinned the Terp in their last meeting in 2024 at 149 pounds.
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Kasak has proven himself to be a title favorite at this point in the year up at 157, and he benefits from being able to train alongside All-American Shayne Van Ness and NCAA finalist and Hodge Trophy contender Mitchell Mesenbrink. He has a hard-nosed, never-say-die style, and he's someone that continues to impress as he improves and grows.
One wrestler — Kasak or Miller — though will leave Sunday's dual with his first loss of the season. If that loss goes to Kasak, chaos could ensue at one of the few weights without a returning champion in the mix. Kasak's battle with Miller is the only top-10 individual bout in the Maryland vs. Penn State dual this weekend, but it's one that could put a Terp in the spotlight, if he can withstand the pressure of Kasak this time and figure out how to take down the All-American, a task proven difficult thus far this year from all of Kasak's opponents.
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