Iowa has slipped to fourth place at the NCAA Wrestling Tournament in Cleveland.
Ohio State leads the team race (80.5) with a 13.5-point edge over Penn State (67). Michigan has moved into 3rd (59.5) ahead of the Hawkeyes (53), who will have two wrestlers in tonight’s semifinals. Both are freshman – Spencer Lee at 125 and Alex Marinelli at 165.
Lee was leading 11-1 when he pinned his foe from Oklahoma State this morning. In three matches, Lee has outscored his opponents 47-to-1. He’ll face Ohio State’s Nathan Tomasello in tonight’s semifinal.
The pair split their two meetings earlier this season. Marinelli scored a 7-6 victory this morning for a matchup tonight with two-time NCAA champ Isaiah Martinez of Illinois. Iowa’s other quarterfinalist, Michael Kemerer, dropped a 6-2 decision to Penn State’s defending national champ Jason Nolf at 157. University of Northern Iowa 174-pounder Taylor Lujan also lost to a Penn State wrestler in the quarterfinals.