Iowa men’s wrestling to kick off NCAA team title defense in Detroit

The Hawkeyes won the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championships by a 15.5-point margin.

DETROIT — The No. 3 Iowa men’s wrestling team will begin competing in the 2022 NCAA Championships Thursday at 11 a.m. inside Little Caesars Arena. All 10 wrestlers in the Hawkeyes’ starting lineup qualified for the event.

When this year’s national tournament concludes, seven of Iowa’s 10 grapplers will have competed in at least four NCAA Championships.

“A lot of these guys are veterans,” Brands told reporters via Zoom on Monday morning. “So, you know they’ve been there before. But that doesn’t mean that there’s not an extra buzz. Our young guys can pick up on that. But remember, these guys have trained and prepared for important tournaments their whole lives, even a guy like [true freshman 125-pounder] Drake Ayala.”

Alex Marinelli and Michael Kemerer, who are sixth and seventh-year seniors, respectively, are both still chasing individual national titles. The pair helped the Hawkeyes claim a team title in 2021.

“Yeah, lots of excitement,” Kemerer said. “I just love competing, putting on that singlet, stepping out there every time. I mean, seven years of being here, it’s never gotten old. I love being out there, feeling that atmosphere, having those coaches in my corner, watching my teammates wrestle, and going out and competing.”

Kemerer added that winning an individual national championship and defending the Hawkeyes’ team title were two of the main reasons he returned to the University of Iowa for a seventh season.

“Kemdawg” has finished inside the top four as an individual in three NCAA Tournaments. Last year, he was defeated, 3-1, in the national finals by Penn State’s Carter Starocci.

Kemerer is a four-time All-American. He’s seeded fifth in the 174-pound bracket this year.

“It’s just another opportunity to do that on the big stage,” Kemerer said. “A big part of coming back was being able to do that with my teammates. Now, with a full crowd, full-capacity crowd and all that. So, you throw all those factors in there and I feel pretty blessed to get one more tournament.”

Marinelli, the No. 3 seed in the 165-pound weight class for this season’s NCAA Championships, has been the top seed at the national tournament for the last three seasons. He has never placed inside the top four. 

The four-time Big Ten individual champion stressed a message of resilience and fight — for both himself and the team —  ahead of his last chance at a solo crown. 

“We compete with intensity, with a lot of fighting, and a lot of grit, and a lot of resilience,” Marinelli said. “We go in there for business, right? So, we’re gonna stick to what we know. We got business to do and to take care of. We always step on the mat expecting the win, expecting a fight. It’s the same thing every time, but it’s the biggest stage in college wrestling, and that’s the national tournament. We got to take it as each match is the finals.”

Now, in his 15th season as Iowa’s head coach, Brands knows how to make the stakes the NCAA Tournament carries clear to his athletes, fellow coaches, and fans.

“The talk is done,” Brands said, answering his second and final question from reporters on Monday. “It’s time to not talk anymore. It’s time to go and time to perform. And they know that. We’re fired up. We’re excited.”