The December 30 Soldiers Salute wrestling night belonged to two entities- one was AJ Ferrari and the second one was the Iowa Hawkeyes. AJ was all set to signify his return after missing the mat for two long years. For the 2021 NCAA victor ludorum, the Soldier Salute Collegiate Wrestling tournament set up the platform nicely. But all he could do was to dismantle the chance and hand Zach Glazier the ultimate victory in the 197 category. The same went with his brother, Anthony, who lost to Caleb Rathjen. 

These two medals contributed to the Iowa Hawkeyes’ fairy run in Soldiers Salute that extended to the women’s wrestling category as well last night. Both these medal tallies couldn’t make a better merriment. Both the men and the women produced impeccable results, emerging as victors in their own rights.

Iowa Hawkeyes’ starry night in Soldiers Salute

The Iowa Hawkeyes’ women wrestling comrades needed to make 10 teams kowtow before them in the Soldiers Salute this year. The event in Coralville at Xtreme Arena wore that hat nicely. Themat. com reported that the women’s team scored 29.5 ahead of the runner-up Life, the NAIA’s spearhead last night. The coveted win came riding on five champions’ shoulders. Sterling Dias kicked off the winning spree last night in the 101 category. In the middle, Ava Bayless, Brianna Gonzalez, and Bella Mir played their part in categories. The death knell was from Hayley Ward in 170 pounds to earn the supremacy. 

But that didn’t come with despair. The biggest of it came via the defeat of Reese Larramendy, the NCAA topper. Emily Frost joined Larramendy on the losers’ list by getting humbled by Sarah Savidge. Lilly Luft tasted the dust by Zaynah McBryde. The men’s category had ample fanfare too.

The men’s category jumps to the occasion 

In the Soldiers Salute, Real Woods’ bone with Lachlan McNeil raised much commotion. The No. 1 vs. No. 5 tussle ended in Real Woods’ side in the 141- category. Runner-up Minnesota’s agony increased in the absence of their finalists in 184-category. However, Minnesota could snatch two weight categories. But that paled in comparison to the Hawkeyes’ eight gold medals. Their score touched the majestic 251.5, way ahead of the nearest contender, Minnesota’s 148.5 points. 

Read more: Iowa Hawkeyes Wrestling Dominate Soldiers Salute Tournament with a Staggering 22 Athletes Advancing to Semifinals

The main reason for the phenomenal success turned out to be the influential support of the fans and the grit of the wrestlers in the Soldiers Salute. Accentuating that, the head coach of Iowa Hawkeyes’ wrestling women’s coach termed some aesthetics. “The fans showed up and we have great fans traveling from across the state, from other states, that came to watch and cheer on our women”, Clarissa Chun claimed to Iowa Athletics. Now Hawkeyes’ next stoppage will be the NCWA National Duals. 

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