Wisconsin @ Iowa

Iowa Men’s Wrestling defeated Wisconsin Men’s Wrestling 23-12 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on January 9, 2026. The Hawkeyes pulled away late, turning a tight dual into an 11-point victory behind a string of bonus-point wins from their upperweights.

Wisconsin grabbed attention early when #10 Zan Fugitt rallied to beat #4 Drake Ayala 6-5 at 133 pounds, and Joseph Zargo’s upset at 149 was another sign the Badgers weren’t going to go quietly. Those decisions kept the dual close and gave Wisconsin momentum in the middle weights.

Iowa answered emphatically in the mid-to-upper weights. At 165 pounds #3 Michael Caliendo ran up a 21-6 technical fall, then #3 Patrick Kennedy followed with a 14-3 major decision at 174. The sequence was capped by #1 Angelo Ferrari’s 19-4 technical fall at 184. That trio of bonus-point victories created the decisive scoring run, accounting for the bulk of Iowa’s team points and swinging the dual firmly in the Hawkeyes’ favor.

Iowa’s top-ranked wrestlers delivered when it mattered, and Wisconsin’s early upsets weren’t enough to overcome those big team-point finishes. The final margin reflected the difference those bonus wins made down the stretch.