Top moments in recent Penn State-Iowa history
The rivalry between Penn State and Iowa wrestling is perhaps as hot as its every been right now.
While the Hawkeyes have largely had the measure of the Nittany Lions in duals in the Cael Sanderson Era, it's been Sanderson's Nittany Lions that have been the preeminent program in college wrestling when it comes to national championships.
Recently, the Hawkeyes have begun to found their footing a bit, highlight by the 2021 team championship. Now, Penn State heads to Carver Hawkeye Arena on Friday night once again as the No. 1 team in the nation and will take on the second-ranked Hawks.
With that said, we're taking a look back at some of the top moments in Penn State-Iowa history over the last 10 years. While there were plenty of moments to choose from, these five were some of our favorites.
1. Nick Lee gets revenge over Jaydin Eierman, winning his first national championship
We start with a moment that should be fresh in everyone's mind.
When Nick Lee and Jaydin Eierman squared off in the finals of 2021 NCAA championships at 141 pounds, it was bound to be a barn burner. The two had met just two weeks prior, with Eierman using his elite mat wrestling to pick up a 6-5 victory in the finals of the Big Ten Tournament.
This time around, Lee didn't give Eierman the chance to go to work on top. The Penn State senior chose neutral to begin the third period, trailing 1-0 at the time. He then immediately finished a high crotch takedown to take a 2-1 lead before an Eierman escape tied it back up.
Lee almost won the match in regulation with a late single leg, but time ran out and the two went to sudden victory. In the overtime period, the two came up into a upper-body situation and Lee reacted quickest, using an inside trip for a takedown to claim the first national championship of his career with a 4-2 victory.
2. Nico Megaludis tops Thomas Gilman to finally win a national championship
Nico Megaludis is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in Penn State history. The 125-pounder shocked the college wrestling world when he reached the NCAA finals as a freshman and never looked back. He lost that year to Iowa's Matt McDonough before reaching the finals again as a sophomore in 2013, falling this time to Illinois' Jesse Delgado. As a junior, Megaludis lost in the semis to Cornell's Nahshon Garrett before wrestling back for third.
He then decided to redshirt in 2014-15 and refine his game. When he returned in 2015-16, it was with one goal in mind, a national championship. A somewhat kind draw saw Megaludis land opposite Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello, who had beaten him twice earlier in the season. Instead, Megaludis rolled his way into the finals with an 8-2 win over American's David Terao in the semis. On the other side, Iowa's Thomas Gilman knocked of Tomasello in the semis to bring things full circle for Megaludis.
In the last match of his college career, Megaludis yet again found an Iowa wrestler in the way of him winning a national championship. This time, however, he left no doubt, using takedowns in the first and second period en route to a 6-3 victory and an elusive national title.
3. Bo Nickal goes spladle to quiet Carver Hawkeye
Bo Nickal was on a warpath of sorts in the 2016-17 season. After coming perilously close to a national title as a freshman the year before, Nickal made the move up to 184 pounds as a sophomore and began the year on fire, with a 11-0 record and 10 bonus point victories.
In his 12th match, he faced Iowa's Sammy Brooks. Brooks was the reigning Big Ten champ at 184 pounds and entered the match ranked fifth in the country. Brooks didn't back down, though we may well regret that decision.
The Iowa senior got in deep on a single leg just about 30 seconds into the first period. Nickal, as he's wont to do, immediately turned a dangerous situation for him into a dangerous situation for his opponent. The future three-time national champ whizzered hard before reaching over Brooks' body to grab his far leg. Keeping Brooks' head stuffed in his hip, Nickal locked up a spladle and took Brooks to his back for the fall just 37 seconds into the match, silencing a stunned Iowa crowd.
Not only was Nickal's win huge in continuing his growing legend, but it also gave Penn State six huge points with the dual still in the balance at 12-11 headed into that match.
4. Carter Starocci becomes a freshman national champion
Jumping back to the 2021 NCAA Championships and a second Penn State-Iowa matchup, we have Carter Starocci's then upset victory over Iowa's Michael Kemerer.
Starocci, a redshirt freshman, had impressed during the shortened campaign. After losing his first match of the year, Starocci went 6-0 over the rest of the regular season, including a pair of nail-biting wins in tiebreakers over Michigan's Logan Massa and Ohio State's Kaleb Romero.
Iowa's Michael Kemerer, meanwhile, wrestled just four regular season matches during his senior season and picked up three bonus point wins. After Starocci edged Nebraska's Mikey Labriola in the semis of the Big Ten Tournament, the two met for the first time in the finals. Kemerer won fairly easily, with a 7-2 decision that was never really in doubt.
But Starocci wasn't to be denied. He methodically worked his way through a precarious bracket at the NCAA Tournament, only really being tested in a 2-0 win over Utah Valley's Demetrius Romero in the semis. That set up another finals showdown with Kemerer, who had dominated the top half of the bracket with two tech falls, a major decision and an 8-1 win in the semis.
Kemerer entered that finals showdown as a clear favorite, but Starocci had other plans. Both had opportunities for takedowns in regulation, with Kemerer nearly locking up a cradle in the first and Starocci almost scoring on the edge to end the second. Instead, the pair went to sudden victory tied at 1-1 after exchanging escapes.
The extra period didn't last long, as Starocci got in deep on a reattack just five seconds in, popping his head outside, doubling off and finishing for two points and the first of what many believe could be multiple national title for the Erie Cathedral Prep (Pa.) product.
5. Retherford an Sorensen go toe-to-toe for 11 minutes
Make no mistake, Zain Retherford dominated Iowa's Brandon Sorensen over their respected college careers. Retherford went 6-0 in his career against Sorensen with two bonus point victories. But for one night, in front of boisterous Hawkeye crowd, Sorensen almost had the better of the three-time national champ.
With the Hawkeyes leading 8-3 and sensing an upset, the two took the mat ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the country. An early Retherford takedown appeared to set the tone, but Sorensen escaped quickly and scored a takedown of his, the first of his career against Retherford, which led to a 3-3 tie after the first period.
The pair exchanged escapes to make it 4-4 early in the third period, before Sorenson converted a knee pull single to grab a surpise 6-4 lead with :50 seconds remaining. Not to be denied, Retherford escaped just seconds later and immediately dove back in on a shot. He worked up through a hard Sorensen sprawl to finish a takedown over his own with 30 seconds left in regulation to take a 7-6 lead. Sorensen then notched an escape with 12 left to send the match to sudden victory tied at 7-7.
Neither wrestler threatened much in the way of a takedown in the first sudden victory period, sending it to a first tiebreaker session. In those periods, both notched escapes to make it 8-8 and advance to a second sudden victory period. Once again, neither threatened on their feet, sending us to a final set of tiebreakers. In the first of those tiebreakers, Retherford utilized a strong crab ride to ride out Sorensen, meaning that Sorensen would either need to score near fall points or notch a takedown in the second tiebreaker to win. Sorensen opted for the second, giving Retherford an escape to start the period. But the Hawkeye couldn't muster a takedown and Retherford came away with a hard-fought 9-8 win.
The two would meet again later in the season in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships. That time, Retherford left no doubt, pinning Sorensen in just 2:47, part of an absurd tournament performance that saw no one last the full seven minutes with Retherford.
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