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Iowa finishes in fourth place after emotional NCAA Championships

by: Tanner Lafever03/22/26TannerLafever

An emotional three days for the Iowa men’s wrestling team wrapped up on Saturday at Rocket Arena.

There, the Hawkeyes exited the site of the 2026 NCAA Championships with several laudable achievements in hand – but once again, none of the ultimate hardware which has served as the program’s lone standard for 50 years.

Yes, a fourth-place team finish meant a trophy would be coming back to Iowa City. But the Hawkeyes have placed fifth or better at each of the past 18 national tournaments – dating back to Tom Brands’ second year as head coach in 2008.

Yes, Michael Caliendo’s runner-up finish at 165 pounds meant that Iowa continued its streak of 35-consecutive NCAA Championships with at least one finalist. But his decisive loss also left Iowa without an individual champion for the fourth time in five years.

And yes, each of Iowa’s seven All-Americans (it’s most since 2021) outwrestled their seeds – thanks to downright commendable efforts from those Hawkeyes. But that still left Iowa well behind its chief competition for national supremacy.

Iowa’s fourth-place finish put it squarely between Big Ten competitors Nebraska and Ohio State.

Penn State set a team scoring record for the third year in a row – and in so doing won its fifth-consecutive title (and 13th of the past 15 NCAA Championships).

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State advanced four freshmen to Saturday night’s finals – three of whom won titles in their NCAA debuts.

The totality of Iowa’s current circumstance had Tom Brands looking inward and preaching improvement as attention already turns toward next season.

“You don’t like where you’re at…you know what, go control what you can control and make it go your way – and I’ve got to do the same,” said Brands.

“Our fans, I see them on the street…I see them here, I see them there…I say, ‘We’ve got to do better for you.’ We know that. We know that.”

“The expectation – from coaching staff (to) the roster (to) the fanbase…to the administration – it’s the same.”

Caliendo foiled by nemesis one last time, ending incredible college career

Michael Caliendo concludes his college wrestling career with a 103-19 record (74-14 at Iowa).

He’s a four-time All-American and a two-time NCAA/Big Ten finalist.

By just about any measure, those accomplishments deserve the utmost praise.

And yet, the final match of his career will be a bitter pill to swallow – just as it was the eight previous times he wrestled Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink.

Four first-period takedowns by the insatiable Nittany Lion quickly narrowed the already-thin hopes of an upset. And when Caliendo failed to convert a ‘home run swing’ from the top position to begin the second period, the outcome was all but certain.

20-4 was the final score – tying the largest margin of defeat in the nine-match series between them.

But even if a picture-perfect ending wasn’t in the cards for Caliendo, the Geneva, Illinois native can still hold his head high with the knowledge that he gave everything he had to the Hawkeyes.

The sizable void his absence will create going forward is more than proof of that – not that anyone paying attention would’ve doubted otherwise.

Session V summary – a pair of seniors go out as winners

With Caliendo sitting in the finals, six other Iowa All-Americans hoped to climb the podium on Saturday morning.

(That number became five when Angelo Ferrari medically forfeited out at 184 pounds – placing sixth.)

Of the group, four left Cleveland getting their hand raised – some to end their season, others their careers.

Drake Ayala and Patrick Kennedy fit into the latter category, finishing fifth and third at 133/174 pounds respectively.

Ayala rebounded from a tough consolation semifinal loss to #4 Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) – one of several freshman superstars at the weight. And in his final match in the iconic black singlet, he didn’t disappoint.

Just like that, a kid from ‘Dirty Dodge’ wrapped up his Hawkeye career as a three-time All-American (and two-time finalist).

“It’s bittersweet,” said Ayala. “My last time on the mat, you know? It was fun. It has been a roller coaster of a year, as you guys know. I know I didn’t get what I wanted – and never did – but I learned a lot, I grew as a man and I’m proud of myself.”

Meanwhile, Patrick Kennedy won twice on the final day of competition – majoring #15 Danny Wask (Navy), 11-1, then securing third place with a 9-6 defeat of #4 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State).

The second bout – the last of his Iowa career – gave PK a 4-3 lead in the all-time series between he and his Ohio State rival.

Once it was all over, the consummate Hawkeye (and two-time All-American) reflected on the people who’ve helped him along his college journey:

Session V summary – Class of 2028 builds future momentum

The three other Hawkeyes in action on Saturday morning were all members of Iowa’s promising 2023 recruiting class.

And while their accolades at the college level may not have piled up as quickly as many anticipated, this weekend was unquestionably a step in the right direction.

Gabe Arnold still has two more years of eligibility but likely wrestled (and won) the last match of his career at 197 pounds.

The selfless sophomore used an acrobatic second-period reversal – and accompanying near-fall points – to defeat #16 Branson John (Maryland), turning the tables of a matchup he’d lost at Big Tens.

It marked just the latest unbelievable turn amidst an inspiring, adversity-filled journey for Arnold.

As for his classmates, neither Ryder Block nor Ben Kueter won a (contested) match during Session V. But both will carry career-best momentum into next season.

Block lost a pair of close decisions to #11 Lachlan McNeil (Michigan) and #4 Collin Gaj (Virginia Tech). However, the unsatisfactory ending shouldn’t obscure the fact that he placed sixth as the #15 seed – nor that he did so in his first full college season after overcoming a pair of ACL tears.

The memory of all that prior adversity helped to drive Block to this weekend’s accomplishment:

And for Ben Kueter, a second loss this season to #3 Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) preceded a fifth-place victory via medical forfeit.

A 14-9 sophomore campaign probably wasn’t what most folks had in mind for the homegrown heavyweight. Even so, he’s now a two-time All-American – this latest finish a marked improvement over last year’s eighth-place honor.

Short time

As we put a bow on these NCAA Championships – and the 2025-26 season – it’s important to remember that two things can be true.

  1. Iowa remains far from meeting the program’s entrenched, championship expectations.
  2. After a rocky, doubt-ridden season, this group of Hawkeyes still put forth a valiant effort this weekend.

Truth #1 isn’t going to be solved today – and will encompass plenty of offseason content/conversation here at Hawkeye Report (and beyond).

Truth #2, however, can be addressed here and now – and deserves to be for the sake of the nine Iowa wrestlers who laid it on the line this weekend.

Seven All-Americans (plus two bloodround finishers) is hardly nothing. And plenty of those Hawkeyes did themselves and the program proud with their showing in Cleveland.

I’d urge Iowa fans to carry both of those thoughts with them into the coming days/weeks.

Full Day 3 results

FIRST PLACE
165 – #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) tech. fall #3 Michael Caliendo, 20-4

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
133 – #4 Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) major dec. #6 Drake Ayala, 11-0
149 – #11 Lachlan McNeil (Michigan) dec. #15 Ryder Block, 6-3
174 – #5 Patrick Kennedy major dec. #15 Danny Wask (Navy), 11-1
184 – #10 Caleb Campos (American) MFF #7 Angelo Ferrari
285 – #3 Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) dec. #8 Ben Kueter, 5-0

THIRD PLACE
174 – #5 Patrick Kennedy dec. #4 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State), 9-6

FIFTH PLACE
133 – #6 Drake Ayala major dec. #15 Tyler Knox (Stanford), 16-5
149 – #4 Collin Gaj (Virginia Tech) dec. #15 Ryder Block, 4-0
184 – #5 Brock Mantanona (Michigan) MFF #7 Angelo Ferrari
285 – #8 Ben Kueter MFF #25 AJ Ferrari (Nebraska)

SEVENTH PLACE
197 – #27 Gabe Arnold dec. #16 Branson John (Maryland), 6-2

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