In one of the most significant duals every season, No. 1 Penn State takes its 78-match streak to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday to face No. 4 Iowa at 7 ET.
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With four top-ranked wrestlers and eight in the top five, the Nittany Lions are once again the team to beat. Their dual streak started after a loss to Iowa in 2020, the last team to beat Penn State in a dual.
Since that match, Penn State has earned four straight victories against Hawkeyes coach Tom Brands’ team. Iowa, meanwhile, has already taken two losses this year, one to the No. 2 Buckeyes at National Duals 27-12 and another to No. 3 Iowa State 20-14, the latter being the first loss to the Cyclones in 21 years. Let’s break down each bout ahead of the 45th meeting between Penn State and Iowa:
125 pounds: No. 2 Luke Lilledahl vs. No. 6 Dean Peterson
Last year’s third-place finisher Luke Lilledahl is undeafeated this season, including wins over No. 13 Nico Provo and No. 17 Ezekiel Witt. Lilledahl hasn’t faced an opponent as strong as Dean Peterson this season, who enters with a 7-1 record and a top-10 win. In their last meeting, the now Hawkeye Peterson beat Lilledahl 4-1, though the Nittany Lion outplaced him at NCAAs.
Given that both Penn State and Iowa have a history of preferring to start their duals at 125 pounds, the match between Lilledahl and Peterson could set the tone for the night.
133 pounds: No. 4 Marcus Blaze vs. No. 8 Drake Ayala
The 133-pound bout is one of wrestlers moving in different directions. Iowa’s Drake Ayala will enter Friday’s dual having lost three of his last four matches and sitting at a 4-4 record on the season. Marcus Blaze, on the other hand, is a 11-0 and coming off a major decision win over Rutgers’ Dylan Shawver.
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Ayala’s tech fall was one of just two wins for the Hawkeyes in last year’s dual against Penn State. Blaze, a U20 world champion and true freshman, has an opportunity to take down the two-time national runner-up in his first trip to Iowa City.
141 pounds: No. 7 Braeden Davis vs. No. 11 Nasir Bailey OR Kale Petersen
There’s a new face in the lineup for the Nittany Lions at 141 pounds this season in 2025 All-American Braeden Davis. After a season-ending injury to 2023 All-American Aaron Nagao, Davis, who has wrestled at 125 and 133 over the last two seasons, is back at a higher weight and will come into his match against Iowa with a 5-0 start. In his first dual at 141, Davis majored Rutgers’ Tahir Parkins 18-7 and will now face either Nasir Bailey or Kale Petersen of Iowa on Friday.
An 18-7 major for Braeden Davis making his home debut in 141!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/lzoG8TwX6W
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) January 10, 2026
Fellow All-American Nasir Bailey is 9-5 in his first season at Iowa since his transfer from Little Rock. He and Davis met last year down at 133 pounds with Davis taking the win 1-0. The extra eight pounds could make this one interesting again. Iowa also has sophomore Kale Petersen listed as probable, and Peterson is 8-1 and fresh off a win over Carson Exferd against Wisconsin last weekend.
While Davis will be favored against either Iowa wrestler, both wrestle tough. Friday is an opportunity for Davis to prove himself further at 141 pounds in enemy territory.
149 pounds: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness vs. No. 17 Ryder Block
Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness enters Friday’s dual with a 11-0 record, building off last year’s third-place finish at 149 pounds. So far this year, he’s earned four falls and four tech falls this season and will be looking to score big points for the Nittany Lions.
Wrestle hard for the full seven minutes. pic.twitter.com/Ydg98ajvih
— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) January 14, 2026
After his pin against Rutgers’ Devon Magro, Van Ness has the potential to keep his dominance rolling against Iowa’s Ryder Block. While Block has been solid for the Hawks all year with a 6-2 record, he will enter the biggest match of his career fresh off a loss to Wisconsin’s No. 16 Joe Zargo.
157 pounds: No. 3 PJ Duke vs. No. 12 Jordan Williams OR Victor Voinovich III
Penn State freshman standout PJ Duke is 9-0 thus far this season for the Nittany Lions and earned his first tech fall of the season against Rutgers’ Easton Doster to go along with five falls this year. He also already has wins over a former fourth-place finisher in Daniel Cardenas.
Iowa’s Jordan Williams will be a solid test, and Williams has developed momentum with five straight wins since losing twice in November, but Duke remains a favorite. Iowa could also start Victor Voinovich III, a senior who is 5-4 on the year. The best version of Williams likely has the edge over Voinovich in terms of Iowa’s most competitive starter, though matchup styles matter, and the Hawks have options here against Duke.
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This point in the dual could be Penn State’s chance to pull away and create a big scoring gap. Penn State will likely roll out back-to-back national champions after Duke followed by two national finalists, the latter of which Iowa is favored against, but none of those matches will be easy. If Iowa expects to stay in this, the Hawkeyes will need to win more than half of the first five bouts, which is a difficult task against the reigning champs.
165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink vs. No. 3 Michael Caliendo
Wrestling fans have seen this match before, six times to be exact. Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink topped Caliendo most recently in the 2025 NCAA finals, but he also has the other five wins over the Hawkeye and will come into this dual with a 11-0 record on the season. Known for his dominance, Mesenbrink has already racked up six pins this year, including his most recent fall against Rutgers last weekend.
He’ll now meet his familiar foe Caliendo again with the goal of delivering Caliendo his first loss since dropping to Oklahoma State’s No. 2 Ladarion Lockett by decision in November. While the match will be Mesenbrink’s toughest test of the season so far, the Nittany Lion will once again be favored with the potential for bonus points.
174 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines vs. No. 3 Patrick Kennedy OR Gabe Arnold
Levi Haines and Patrick Kennedy will likely meet again after facing each other in the third-place match last March in Philadelphia at NCAAs. Haines will walk into Carver-Hawkeye arena undefeated, while Kennedy’s only loss of the season was against No. 15 MJ Gaitan in the Cy-Hawk dual. At last year’s dual in Happy Valley, Haines earned a 10-3 decision victory over Kennedy.
Iowa, notably, also lists Gabe Arnold as an option at 174 pounds. Arnold wrestled at the weight at the Soldier Salute and took second to Navy’s Danny Wask, but he has also wrestled up at 197 pounds against Utah Valley and Chattanooga. He could be an option for the Hawks there too following the departure of Mo Endene earlier this week. Regardless of who Iowa fields against Haines, the Nittany Lion senior will have the advantage.
The bigger story will likely revolve less around 174 pounds and more around how Iowa best uses Arnold in the lineup this year, given the strength of Kennedy at 174, teammate Angelo Ferrari at 184 pounds and the current hole at 197 pounds.
184 pounds: No. 4 Rocco Welsh vs. No. 1 Angelo Ferrari
Redshirt freshman Angelo Ferrari enters Friday’s dual at 9-0 with a win over No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair from Missouri. Rocco Welsh is also perfect this season and enters off a major decision win against No. 15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh.
The battle of young unbeatens is one that will set the tone for the conference and national tournaments at 184 pounds. Ferrari wrestled in last year’s dual against Penn State, losing a decision to eventual national champion Carter Starocci.
197 pounds: No. 1 Josh Barr OR Connor Mirasola vs. Harvey Ludington OR Brody Sampson
With Endene no longer on Iowa’s roster, the Hawkeyes listed two probables to go against Penn State’s dominant Josh Barr. True freshman and highly-touted recruit Harvey Ludington has already competed in three competitions this season and got the nod against Wisconsin, dropping 10-8 to Wyatt Ingham. He could wrestle against the Nittany Lions without burning his redshirt, though his performance against the Badgers suggests Barr will be a tough matchup for the young Hawk.
Iowa’s secondary option, redshirt freshman Brody Sampson, has lost four of his last five matches. Iowa could also bump up Arnold, though none of these options give the Hawkeyes the manpower they need to have an advantage over returning NCAA finalist Barr.
Barr, who is 8-0, will look to add to his two falls and five tech falls he’s earned so far this season and maintain his 100% bonus rate against whoever faces him from the Black and Gold.
285 pounds: No. 13 Cole Mirasola vs. No. 5 Ben Kueter
In one of just two matches where Iowa’s wrestler out-ranks its Penn State counterpart, Ben Kueter will be expected to step up for the Hawkeyes after his sudden-victory win over Wisconsin’s No. 9 Braxton Amos. Penn State will likely run Cole Mirasola, who protected the shutout over Rutgers with a decision win over No. 20 Hunter Catka.
If Penn State has a dominant day in its other contests, Mirasola’s only pressure could be once against maintaining a shutout against the Hawkeyes for the first time in program history against an All-American big man in Kueter.
