By: Ryley Collom, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications & Digital Media
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University wrestling team set a new program record for attendance as they battled second-ranked Iowa in the Dale E. & Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center. The 4,676 attendance mark shattered the previous record by more than 1,000 that was set in 2018 when CBU competed against Ohio State.
The Hawkeyes would inevitably take the dual 40-0, with six major decisions, two decisions, and two technical falls.
The showing from the Lancer faithful and the Southern California wrestling community was evident to CBU Head Coach Derek Moore.
"Despite the outcome, tonight was a great night for CBU Wrestling. Our guys fought hard against the #2 team in the nation in front of a record-setting crowd. The Southern California wrestling community showed up to support this program. The fans created a wrestling environment that can rival any fan base in the nation. I am so grateful for everyone who came out to be a prt of this special night. We are excited to get back to work and prepare for next week's match against Wyoming."
The Hawkeyes came into the dual as the second-ranked team in the nation, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll. They featured six ranked wrestlers, three of which were in the top 10 nationally.
The first bout of the night was the lone ranked matchup as #29 Elijah Griffin battled #13 Drake Ayala. Griffin came out aggressive, earning the bout's first takedown before Ayala responded with an escape and a takedown of his own. Griffin earned four more escape points throughout the bout, but Ayala would come away with the 18-8 major decision victory.
Hunter Leake and Brody Teske battled each other in the 133lb match for the second time in two years. Teske defeated Leake in 2022 in Iowa City via decision 6-4 and again came away with the win in their rematch. Teske entered the match as the #14 ranked wrestler in his weight class and took the bout 12-1.
Darren Green arguably had the most challenging assignment of the evening as he grappled with Real Woods, who was ranked #1 in the nation in the 141lb weight class according to InterMat. Woods was a three-time All-American and an NCAA runner-up a season ago. Woods earned 12 back points in the match and won via technical fall.
Dayne Morton, in his CBU debut, battled #10 Victor Voinovich III and took him the distance. Morton allowed a single escape point but could not generate any offense and eventually surrendered the bout 2-0 as Voinovich III earned his riding time point.
Drayden Morton, Dayne's brother, had a tall task in front of him as he battled #2 Jared Franek. The freshman hung tough with Franek and avoided giving Iowa a major decision by registering a critical escape point in the second period.
In perhaps the most entertaining match of the evening, CBU's Nathan Haas battled Brennan Swafford of Iowa in the 184lb matchup. Haas, a Nebraska transfer, came out aggressive and battled Swafford to a stalemate in the first period. Swafford would gather six quick points to start the second before Hass would earn a pair of escape points to keep things close. Hass would register the quick reversal to begin period three, but a late takedown by Swafford extinguished any comeback attempt, and Iowa collected the 15-4 major decision.
Iowa rounded out the evening with a pair of major decision victories to earn the final tally of 40-0.
IOWA 40 CBU 0
125: #13 Drake Ayala (Iowa) wins by major decision over Elijah Griffin (CBU) 18-8
133: #14 Brody Teske (Iowa) wins by major decision over Hunter Leake (CBU) 13-1
141: #2 Real Woods (Iowa) wins by technical fall over Darren Green (CBU) 15-0 (2:04)
149: #10 Victor Voinovich III (Iowa) wins by decision over Dayne Morton (CBU) 2-0
157: #2 Jared Franek (Iowa) wins by decision over Drayden Morton (CBU) 8-1
165: #5 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) wins by Technical Fall over Mateo De La Pena (CBU) 23-7 (6:26)
174: Aidan Riggins (Iowa) wins by major decision over Peter Acciardi (CBU) 18-4
184: Brennan Swafford (Iowa) wins by major decision over Nathan Haas (CBU) 15-4
197: Zach Glazier wins by major decision over Eli Sheeren (CBU) 11-2
285: Bradley Hill (Iowa) wins by major decision over Max Acciardi (CBU) 16-4
NEXT: The Lancers will remain in Riverside to battle the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday, November 11, at 7 p.m. in the Van Dyne Gym.
