Iowa’s Michael Caliendo wrestles Michigan’s Justin Gates in a 165-pound match Feb. 13, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo/Julia Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen)

Eli McKown | Des Moines Register

IOWA CITY – In what has been a rough 2025-26 season, Iowa wrestling won its final home dual of the year vs. Michigan.

After losing four of the first five bouts, Iowa rallied to win 19-17. The Hawkeyes won four of the last five matches as well Drake Ayala fittingly got to deliver the knockout punch in his last home dual, securing a 21-5 technical fall to complete comeback in the deciding bout.

As a two-time NCAA finalist and fan favorite, Ayala got his memorable moment inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with fans showering him with cheers after a job well done.

“It was a fitting end,” Ayala said. “That’s how I wrestled growing up, is pace. Take ‘em down, let ‘em up.”

It was a roller coaster of a night for Iowa, as the Hawkeyes overcame an abysmal start to end with an emotional finish for the way Ayala ended his time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena

Check out match-by-match results below to experience the night as a whole.

141 pounds – Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin over Iowa’s Kale Petersen, 11-2 major decision

Within 30 seconds, Ragusin had the first takedown. Petersen looked to elude the Wolverines’ throw-by attack, but Ragusin got to the ankles and brought down Petersen for three. The Hawkeye escaped after 59 seconds of riding time as Ragusin’s 3-1 lead went to the second period.

Ragusin began on top in the second, with Ragusin escaping in 12 seconds to expand his advantage to 4-1. With just over 30 seconds left in the second, Ragusin propped Petersen up with a standing single. Petersen tried to roll out, but the Wolverine hauled him in for a takedown. With the ride-out, he led 7-1 with 1:22 of riding time entering the third.

Petersen escaped quickly off the whistle in the third to cut it to 7-2. Petersen got in on a pair of leg attacks in the third period, but Ragusin was able to counter score on the edge late in the final frame to lock up an 11-2 major decision.

149 pounds – Michigan’s Lachlan McNeil over Iowa’s Ryder Block, 8-3 decision

McNeil got offense rolling with his leg attack midway through the first period. Block scrambled well and nearly scored a takedown, but the Wolverine finished for three. McNeil rode out Block for the rest of the frame to get up to 51 seconds of riding time and a 3-0 advantage entering the second period.

Block started on top in the second. After a trio of mat returns from Block, McNeil escaped in about 21 second to make it 4-0. Block had one leg attack in the frame, but was unable to get points on the board. Starting from neutral in the third, Block would need more than a takedown to get a victory. He was able to stand up McNeil from a single leg and sweep him down for three to cut it to 4-3 with about 40 seconds remaining. Block cut McNeil and attacked late in desperation, but McNeil counter scored late to lock up his win by decision.

Ultimately, the loss of the scramble, followed by the ride out in the first decides this top-20 ranked bout. Block looked strong late, but it was too little too late after a slow second period.

Ragusin is a former NCAA All-American, much better than his No. 26 ranking suggests. However, Petersen with little to no offense early put him in a precarious position as Iowa goes down early.

157 pounds – Michigan’s Cameron Catrabone over Iowa’s Jordan Williams, 5-4 decision

With 49 seconds left in the first period, Williams hit a fierce blast double for a takedown. Catrabone escaped quickly in just five seconds, but the Hawkeye took a 3-1 lead into the second. Williams began on top in the second, with the Wolverine escaping in seven seconds to cut it to 3-2. Williams was in deep late on a leg attack, but was unable to finish the shot before the buzzer.

165 pounds – Iowa’s Michael Caliendo over Michigan’s Justin Gates, 21-6 technical fall

On Senior Night, Caliendo got his team a much-needed bonus-point victory after an abysmal start. Caliendo had six takedowns in the first period, followed by one more via a counter score in the second to lock up a dominant 21-6 technical fall.

Iowa needed five team points in a bad way from Caliendo and got it.

The third period began from neutral. Catrabone got in late on a leg attack, and while Williams scrambled for a good while, he was unable to fend off the takedown. Williams escaped with under 10 seconds to go, but could not get the takedown needed to win the bout.

Until that takedown, Williams had controlled most of the bout. However a pair of good attacks at the end of the first and second period that were not completed to expand his lead.

174 pounds – Michigan’s Beau Mantanona over Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy, 6-3 sudden victory

Kennedy pushed the action in the first period, but things remained scoreless as Mantanona was able to fend off Kennedy’s forward pressure and attacks. Kennedy started on top in the second, riding out Mantanona for the entire second period.

In the third, Kennedy chose bottom and escaped in four seconds to take a 1-0 lead with 1:56 of riding time. With under 10 seconds to go, Mantanona got to a single leg and finished the attack for three. The Wolverine was hit a second time for stalling to make it 3-2 with two seconds to go, so with the riding time, Kennedy and Mantanona were going to sudden victory.

Kennedy nearly scored off of a go-behind, but the Wolverine scrambled out of the attack and counter scored for the win to spoil Senior Day for Kennedy.

Michigan is favored by rankings in three of the next five bouts. Losing four of the first five, Iowa is in a dangerous position to lose once again at home at intermission.

184 pounds – Iowa’s Gabe Arnold over Michigan’s Brock Mantanona, 3-2 TBs

Little action occurred in a scoreless first period. Mantanona began the middle frame on bottom, escaping in 36 seconds to make it 1-0. Late in the second, Arnold was in deep on a high single, but was unable to finish at the end of the period as Mantanona looked to counter score.

Arnold started on bottom in the third, escaping in eight seconds to tie it at one apiece. Neither wrestler was able to break down one another’s head-hands defense as it went to sudden victory. Both wrestlers were unable to score, taking it to tiebreakers.

Arnold was on top first, with Mantanona escaping in 13 seconds. Arnold then took bottom, escaping in three sconds in win in dramatic fashion.

Iowa had to have this one after a tough start. Arnold has been in this spot a lot this season, but finally got one over No. 7 Brock Mantanona.

197 pounds – Iowa’s Harvey Ludington over Michigan’s Hayden Walters.

At the end of the first period, Ludington got to a high single and finished. Walters escaped at the buzzer to make it 3-1. Ludington started on top in the second, but conceded a reversal and was nearly rode-out for the remainder of the period. However, he escaped with about five seconds remaining to make it 4-3 entering the third. Additionally, a locked hands call on Walters adjusted riding time to 49 seconds and awarded Ludington a point.

In the third, Ludington was on bottom and escaped in 13 seconds to make it 6-3. Walters did have 1:04 of riding time, essentially making it 6-4. Ludington was hit once for stalling, but held on for the win by decision.

The Hawkeyes needed a couple upset wins to close and got it from Arnold and Ludington. It’s 13-11, with Iowa favored in two of the final three bouts. Walters was ranked No. 19 at 197, giving Ludington the best win of his career.

285 pounds – Michigan’s Taye Ghadiali over Iowa’s Ben Kueter, 10-0 major decision

Ghadiali got to a high single about midway through the first period. Kueter scrambled well, but the veteran heavyweight finished the attack for a takedown. The Wolverine rode Kueter for the remainder of the period, getting up to 1:32 of riding time. In the second, Kueter was on bottom once again. He was held down once again for the entire second period, locking up a riding time point for the Wolverine in the middle frame.

In the third, Ghadiali was on bottom. He escaped after one minute, then went body lock late with Kueter on the edge of the mat and scored a takedown. That made it 8-0 with the riding time, but an additional two near-fall points were awarded in a 10-0 major decision.

Iowa trails by six. With a win by decision for Dean Peterson, Drake Ayala could be in a position to clinch on Senior day. A loss for Peterson ends in a defeat for Iowa.

125 pounds – Iowa’s Dean Peterson over Michigan’s Diego Sotelo, 4-1 SV

After a scoreless first period, Sotelo started the second by escaping from bottom in four seconds. Peterson got in deep on a single leg and carried Sotelo to center mat, but could not finish the shot as Sotelo got out of bounds. Otherwise, action was sparse in the frame.

In the third, Peterson escaped off the whistle to tie it at 1-1. No attacks threatened in the period, sending the bout to overtime. Peterson was able to drop to a single-leg attack in sudden victory, stand up Sotelo and sweep it out for a takedown in the clutch.

Now, it’s up to Drake Ayala on Senior Night to clinch the dual for Iowa.

133 pounds – Iowa’s Drake Ayala over Michigan’s Gauge Botero, 21-5 technical fall

Ayala came up big on Senior night. His first score came off of a throw-by into a single-leg takedown. He cut Botero immediately. With 38 seconds to go in the first, Ayala counter scored for a takedown and was able to ride out Botero for a 6-1 lead. In the second, Ayala and Botero started from neutral. He scored a single-leg takedown right off the whistle then cut Botero to make it 9-2. He went takedown to cut four more times to secure the bonus-point win and dual victory.

Dual score:Iowa 19, Michigan 17