Live updates and results from Iowa, Iowa St., UNI wrestlers in Session 1

March 16th, 2023

TULSA, Okla. — Good morning from the BOK Center, home of the greatest sports show on the planet this week.

The 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships begin this morning, Thursday, at 11 a.m. CT. You can watch the action on ESPNU and ESPN+, or follow along online through Trackwrestling or by following me, Cody Goodwin, the Des Moines Register’s wrestling writer, for live updates, analysis, commentary, and more throughout the tournament.

Here’s the schedule for Thursday:

Session 1: 11 a.m. CT, ESPNU — pigtail + first-round matches
Session 2: 6 p.m. CT, ESPN — second-round + pigtail and first-round wrestlebacks

Below, we’ll provide updates throughout Thursday’s first two sessions, so be sure to check back throughout the day for results.

MORE:How to watch and follow Iowa, Iowa State and UNI wrestling at the 2023 NCAA Championships

125 pounds

Analysis: Spencer did what Spencer does — takedown, quick tilt, then ran a bar for the fall in just 36 seconds. Blink-and-you-missed it type stuff. Wagner, a Bettendorf graduate who stopped at both Iowa and Northern Iowa before arriving at North Carolina, scored a takedown late in the first period to knock off Kaylor, a returning All-American. A lot of early madness at 125, with five wrestlers seeded 20 or higher winning in the first round.

133 pounds

Pigtail: #32 McGwire Midkiff (North Dakota State) lost 5-3 to #33 Ethan Oakley (App St.)
#14 Zach Redding (Iowa State) won 7-2 over #19 Domenic Zaccone (Campbell)
#23 Brody Teske (Iowa) lost 13-10 to #10 Lucas Byrd (Illinois)
#15 Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) won by fall in 6:02 over #18 Jason Shaner (Oregon St.)

Analysis: Redding gave up an early takedown but rolled back to lead before the end of the first period. Biscoglia was locked in a tight match, up 4-2, when he turned Shaner for the fall in the third period. Teske fell into a 7-1 hole against Byrd, a two-time All-American, and roared back to come within 9-6, but Byrd reversed Teske to his back in the third to go up 13-6, which more or less iced the match. Midkiff, a Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson grad in his first NCAA tournament appearance, gave up two takedowns in the second and third periods.

141 pounds

#1 Real Woods (Iowa) won 13-1 over #32 Kal Miller (Maryland)
#24 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) lost 4-1 #9 Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado)
#14 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) won 4-3 over #19 Matt Kazimir (Columbia)

Analysis: Kal Miller won the pigtail bout, and his reward was top-seeded Real Woods, who rolled to a major decision with over four minutes of riding-time. Swiderski gave up more than two minutes of riding-time in a first-round loss to Schwartz, overwhelming the true freshman and sending him to the backside. Happel, who hadn’t won a match in two previous trips to the BOK Center (both for the Big 12 tournament), scored takedowns in the second and third to advance to the Round-of-16.

Northern Iowa’s Cael Happel talks with teammates during the practice session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

149 pounds

#8 Max Murin (Iowa) won 6-3 over #25 Caleb Tyus (SIUE)
#5 Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) won 3-2 (TB1) over #28 Alec Hagan (Ohio)
#10 Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) won 3-2 over #23 Victor Voinovich (Oklahoma State)
#15 Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa) won 7-3 over #18 Mitch Moore (Oklahoma)

Analysis: Murin and Realbuto both controlled their opening matches and cruised to victory — Murin scored a pair of takedowns, Realbuto scored a reversal in the second then turned Moore in the third. Paniro’s opener was wild. Went to sudden victory, where Hagan nearly scored a takedown. To the rideouts, where Paniro rode Hagan out for the full 30 seconds, so Hagan gave Paniro an escape, but Paniro got tagged for a stall call because his shoes were untied, tying the match at 2-2. Paniro defended Hagan’s last-gasp attempts to win, but that was a wild one. Blockhus scored a takedown midway through the first to knock off Voinovich.