Iowa’s meet with Penn State that had been circled, highlighted and asterisked on the calendar — the one that drew over 14,000 people to Carver-Hawkeye Arena late on a Friday night — quickly had a cloud over it just seconds into the 133-pound match.

After a technical fall by Spencer Lee that took just 17 seconds longer than what the first period would allow, Austin DeSanto was set to square off against Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young. That match, one of the marquee face-offs on the night, never really happened in its truest form. 

Just seconds into the match, the once-electric crowd in Iowa City fell silent. DeSanto was laying on his back, hands over his face, his left knee propped up as Iowa’s medical trainer bent his right back and forth. 

DeSanto continued the match, but later left with an injury default. 

“I don’t know how much he’s been injured like this,” head coach Tom Brands said. “I think he maybe could have handled that a little bit differently, being a little bit calmer on the mat, those types of things. At that point, we’re either going to pull you off the mat or you’re going to go wrestle. One thing is, calmness helps a lot there.”

DeSanto going down to give Penn State six free points made things a little more interesting for the Hawkeyes, sure. But it certainly didn’t define them. 

One moment — away from the Hawkeye crowd — embodies what Iowa wrestling is all about when something devastating happens to one of its own. 

“I went upstairs after 141 and Spencer was in there just talking to DeSanto, working him through the match, telling him it doesn’t really matter right now, March is what matters,” Tony Cassioppi said. “We’ve got a great group of guys who support everyone on the team.”

Iowa found itself in a hole for the first time this season, and it took every member of the roster to help it climb back out. 

If you move your focus away from the action on the mat for just a moment of any Iowa dual meet, the bench is a sight to be seen. From beatdowns on the road against Indiana and Purdue to tonight, it doesn’t matter what position the team is put in. Every member, from a starter to someone used as a sparring partner in the room, is jumping and shouting and having their teammates’ backs. 

In Carver, there’s the wrestler on the mat and four coaches in his corner, of course, but behind them stands a huddle of Iowa’s roster, Spencer Lee in pajama pants, and Hawkeye Wrestling Club members by the stands. 

Iowa lost at 133, 141, 165 and 184 against Penn State, but in the end it didn’t matter.

It didn’t matter how Marinelli’s match went; he was out there and was one of the first to grab Michael Kemerer when the 174-pounder knocked off No. 1 Mark Hall. 

DeSanto stood with his arms around Marinelli and Pat Lugo as Cassioppi completed the rally for the Hawkeyes. 

“Marinelli, especially, that takes a man. You get beat, and that’s a big match… and he’s down there,” Brands said.

Anna attended the University of Iowa, where she covered multiple sports from volleyball to football to wrestling. She went to Pittsburgh in March 2019 for the NCAA DI Wrestling Championships and did live coverage of the entire event and Spencer Lee’s second-straight NCAA title. Follow her on Twitter.