The Iowa schedule has dropped!  During these lean wrestling months, it’s always fun to see the season begin to take shape and begin preliminarily highlighting the biggest upcoming matches.  Though there's no Ohio State or Penn State on the schedule, be not discouraged!  The Hawkeyes have a fire schedule with more than enough elite individual match ups on deck. 

Here’s a quick look at Iowa’s biggest potential matchups of the season.

Nov 9: Iowa at Kent State

197 -  Kyle Conel vs Jacob Warner: The vice mayor of Cleveland (can’t forget Tariq Wilson) Kyle Conel sent shockwaves when he pinned then #1 seed Kollin Moore at NCAA’s last year.  He’ll have his work cut out for him against Junior World Teamer Jacob Warner, Iowa’s true freshman.

Nov 16: Princeton at Iowa

125 -  Patrick Glory vs Spencer Lee: I probably shouldn’t even indulge this one, but tell me you aren’t watching.

149 - Matt Kolodzik vs Pat Lugo: At this point in the season, Kolodzik could very well be the #1 guy in the country.  Of note, Lugo pinned Kolodzik at Midlands and teched him at U-23’s this Spring.

Nov 24: Purdue at Iowa

174 - Michael Kemerer vs Dylan Lydy: Lydy knocked off Amine last year and is a definite All American threat.  This will likely be Kemerer’s first big test of the season up two weight classes.

Dec 1: Iowa State at Iowa

133 - Austin DeSanto vs Austin Gomez: The battle for Austin supremacy.  DeSanto’s pace vs Gomez’s arsenal.  

197 - Jacob Warner vs Willie Miklus: Warner won last year, but there’s no surprise factor this year for the three time AA Miklus.

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Dec 8: Lehigh at Iowa

133 -  Austin DeSanto vs Scotty Parker: Remember how DeSanto stared down the Lehigh bench last year after Parker didn’t wrestle against Drexel? Imagine how bad he’ll want to get his hands on Parker this year, in front of a raucous crowd at CHA.

174 - Michael Kemerer vs Jordan Kutler: Lydy was the early test, now here comes some serious heat against All American Jordan Kutler.

Jan 13: Iowa at Minnesota

133 - Austin DeSanto vs Ethan Lizak: There is no way this isn’t an insane match.  DeSanto’s pace against Lizak’s occasional stamina issues.  Lizak’s top game vs DeSanto’s bottom problems.  

285 - Sam Stoll vs Gable Steveson: Stoll could be among the top ranked guys in the country against maybe the most talented true freshman heavy we’ve ever seen. 

Jan 18: Rutgers at Iowa

125/133 - Nick Suriano vs Spencer Lee or Austin DeSanto: Depends on what weight Suriano goes, but either way it’s an incredible match up.

149 - Pat Lugo vs Anthony Ashnault:  Pure fire here.  Probably two top 5 guys at this point in the year.

Jan. 25: Iowa at Illinois

141 - Max Murin vs Mikey Carr: Murin knocked Carr out of Midlands in the bloodround, and this is one of those baseline tests to see if Murin is a borderline AA or someone who can definitely score team points for the Hawkeyes in Pittsburgh.

165 - Alex Marinelli vs Joey Gunther: Interesting in that it is a battle for former teammates.

184 - Cash Wilcke vs Emery Parker: The returning third placer, Parker represents a major hurdle for Wilcke, who has fared well at 197 in his two NCAA tournament appearances.

Jan 27: Iowa at Northwestern

125 - Spencer Lee vs Sebastian Rivera: Could be #1 vs #2.  Could also be a tech fall.

Feb. 3: Iowa at Nebraska

165 - Alex Marinelli vs Isaiah White: Last season, 165 was an absolute meat-grinder in the Big Ten and it is no different this year. These two did not hit at all in 2017-18, but this may become a crucial matchup for seeding purposes at the Big Ten tournament.

174 - Mikey Labriola vs Michael Kemerer: Two Mikes, both state champs from Pennsylvania, meeting in a Big Ten dual. It’s a classic WPIAL vs Lehigh Valley matchup, and you’ve got to favor the Pittsburgh boy Kemerer. 

Feb. 17: Iowa vs Wisconsin

165 - Evan Wick vs Alex Marinelli: Last time around, this one didn’t go so well for Marinelli. After taking a 3-2 lead late in the first, Wick reeled off 14 unanswered points for the dominating 16-3 major in the consi semis at NCAAs. Hopefully the coaches agree to wrestle this one last in what promises to be the highest attended dual of Chris Bono’s first season at the helm in Madison.

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Feb. 24: Iowa at Oklahoma State 

(Please note that Oklahoma State has about 36 awesome lineup combinations they could go with, so who knows what we’ll see but know this is pure fire from 25 on)

125 - Daton Fix vs Spencer Lee: The one we’ve all been waiting for. It’s never happened in folkstyle, and they’re making us wait until the last dual meet of the year for it to happen. That is, if Daton wrestles 125. If not, we’ll still get Picc vs Lee and Daton vs DeSanto.

165 - Joe Smith vs Alex Marinelli: They’re still young, but these two have placed at the national tournament every chance they’ve been given. I’m curious to see how this one plays out, with both being more traditional straight on shooters, old school types who are reluctant to scramble.

174 - Chandler Rogers vs Michael Kemerer:  Upper body freak vs leg attacker.

197 - Preston Weigel vs Jacob Warner: We still don’t know Oklahoma State’s schedule just yet, but Weigel is almost definitely going to be ranked in the Top-5. He’s one of the best top wrestlers in the country, but by this point will Warner will have a whole season of Big Ten duals under his belt to prepare him to get out from bottom.