The return of Spencer Lee, big dual results, upsets, and more highlight the eighth week of NCAA wrestling. Take a look below at the biggest stories from the past week.

Spencer Lee Is Back For The Hawkeyes

Iowa has Spencer Lee back at 125 and all is right with the world for the Hawkeyes…almost. Lee took the mat for the first time this season at the Collegiate Duals and went 3-0 including a 6-1 win over national qualifier #14 Jakob Camacho. Lee proved to be one of the difference-makers for the Hawkeye’s success at the Collegiate Duals in their dominant wins over Lehigh (28-7) and Central Michigan (44-0). However, Iowa was tested by NC State-escaping just 19-15 over the Wolfpack. It's also worth noting Iowa had six wrestlers go 3-0 at the Collegiate Duals - Spencer Lee, Austin DeSanto, Jaydin Eierman, Alex Marinelli, Jacob Warner, and Tony Cassioppi.

Despite Spencer Lee’s return to the Hawkeye lineup, and the overall performance of the team, Iowa has yet to see returning NCAA finalist Michael Kemerer in the lineup at 174 pounds. The Hawkeyes have the longest current active winning streak in the country (check out the top 5 winning streaks in the country here), but they will likely need Kemerer in the lineup in order to go undefeated for the remainder of the season. Iowa is set to face Penn State at home on January 28th and will travel to Arlington, Texas to wrestle Oklahoma State at the Battle of the Ballpark on February 12th.

Hear from Jacob Warner after his win over Isaac Trumble:

JW: "I’m not really doing it for myself. I’m doing it for my team." #FightForIowa pic.twitter.com/1ix74a2puy

— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) December 22, 2021

Penn State's Heavy Hitters Carry The Load At Collegiate Duals

Penn State went 3-0 at the Collegiate Duals with wins over Northern Iowa (29-9), Cornell (21-16), and Arizona State (29-10). Like Iowa, Penn State had 6 wrestlers go undefeated in Florida - Roman Bravo-Young, Nick Lee, Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, Max Dean, and Daniel Kerkvliet. On top of their performances at the duals in Florida, those 6 are undefeated on the year with a combined 42-0 record. The rest of the Nittany Lion lineup is only 15-23 through their 8 dual meets - proving just how important the “big 6” have been to Penn State’s success.

Vito At 125 And Cornell Looking Stronger Than Ever

With Vito Arujau back at 125, Cornell went 2-1 at the Collegiate Duals with wins over Northern Iowa (29-7) and Virginia Tech (18-15). Arujau had dominant wins over Brody Teske (18-7), Jakob Campbell (pin), and Sam Latona (10-2). After wrestling his first match of the season up at 133, Arujau will be at 125 for the remainder of the season and should be considered one of the main threats to Spencer Lee in March.

Along with the success against Northern Iowa and Virginia Tech, Cornell almost pulled off the biggest upset of the season against Penn State. The Big Red’s two major chances in the dual came at 174 and 197. At 174, Chris Foca recorded the only takedown of the match in the first period against Carter Starocci. However, the defending national champion recorded 2 escapes and was able to ride Foca out the entirety of the third period to edge out Foca, 3-2. Then at 197, Jacob Cardenas and Max Dean were tied at 2 in the third period when Foca was in deep on a single-leg before Dean scrambled out to secure the match-winning takedown. 

Yianni looking smooth:

Re - Shot! @yiannidiako_LGR pic.twitter.com/H7GbCNonFX

— Journeymen Wrestling (@jmenwrestling) December 21, 2021

NC State A Defensive Pin Away From Win Over Hawkeyes

In their pool-final, Iowa and NC State met in one of the most exciting duals of the week (and season). Like Cornell against Penn State, NC State had two major chances to secure the upset over Iowa. First, at 141, freshman Ryan Jack nearly took out defending national finalist Jaydin Eierman. Jack held a 5-2 lead going into the third period before Eierman got an escape and takedown to tie up the match. Jack went into the lead with an escape with a minute left before Eierman got the go-ahead takedown with 23 seconds remaining. Controversy struck in the final 10 seconds of the match when Eierman put legs in but Jack caught a leg and rolled through putting Eierman dangerously close to giving up a defensive fall. The ref never called the pin and Eierman held on for the 7-6 victory.

Even with the controversy at 141, the Wolfpack stormed back with wins at 4 of the next five wins highlighted by Ed Scott's pin over All-American Kaleb Young. NC State brought a 15-13 lead into the 197-pound match between #4 Jacob Warner and #14 Isaac Trumble. At 1-1 with just a minute left in the match, Trumble attempted a shot from space that Warner turned into a quick go-behind for the match-winning takedown. Though Penn State got the win, NC State proved to be a worthy competitor and capable of defeating any team in the country in a dual meet this season. 

Eierman didn't think he was pinned...

I might be biased here but I’m gonna say no https://t.co/mq8yBYphTd

— Jaydin “The Riddler” Eierman (@JEierman141) December 22, 2021

Oklahoma State Continues Dual Domination

Oklahoma State concluded its 2021 dual schedule with a 37-0 win over Utah Valley to extend their season record to 7-0. Some of the Cowboys' best dual wins this season include over #30 Oklahoma (31-3),  #22 Wyoming (30-3), and #15 Stanford (29-7). In fact, their closest dual of the season was a 23-10 win over #11 Minnesota. The Cowboys are averaging 9 wins a dual and their team has a combined 64-6 record in their 7 dual meets. Riding a 17 dual meet win streak, Oklahoma State will be a major favorite in their next eight dual meets until their showdown with the Iowa Hawkeyes on February 12th at the Battle of the Ballpark.

Oklahoma State’s recent dual win over Utah Valley:

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While the above stories were the biggest from the week, take a look at all of the NCAA Box Scores HERE.