Tag: Iowa wrestling

Best photos of Iowa’s Spencer Lee at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Spencer Lee is one match away from Gold. His best photos in Paris so far.

Spencer Lee, an Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling legend, is going for the gold medal on Friday, Aug. 9, in the 57 kg men’s freestyle.

Lee will battle Japan’s Rei Higuchi in the finals for the gold medal. Higuchi is a 2022 World champion and 2023 World bronze medalist who won a silver medal in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Lee rolled into the gold-medal finals with a 14-4 technical fall victory over No. 7 seed Gulomjon Abduallaev of Uzbekistan. A pair of takedowns followed by two turns gave Lee a huge early lead at 8-0 over Abduallaev.

Lee didn’t look back from there, securing the technical fall with one final takedown to secure the final 14-4 margin.

Lee won his first two matches on Thursday morning, stopping Wanhao Zou of China, 3-2, then getting a 12-2 technical fall over Bekzat Almaz Uulu of Kyrgyzstan.

During his decorated career with the Hawkeyes, Lee was a three-time NCAA champion.

Now, Lee has the chance to join another illustrious list of Hawkeye greats. The Murrysville, Pa., native is already set to become the 11th Hawkeye wrestler to win an Olympic medal.

But, with a gold-medal victory over Higuchi on Friday, Lee would become just the sixth Hawkeye ever to win Olympic gold in wrestling. Lee would join Ed and Lou Banach, Tom Brands, Randy Lewis and Terry McCann upon that mountaintop.

Lee would be the first to do so since 1996 when Brands won gold.

As Lee gears up for the gold-medal match versus Japan’s Higuchi, here’s a look at his best photos in the Paris Games.

Iowa wrestling legend Spencer Lee advances to Olympic semifinals

Gold is within Spencer Lee’s reach.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are shining bright on the biggest stage in the world. They are making their presence known in Paris at the 2024 Olympics and Spencer Lee, the Iowa wrestling legend, just made his mark.

Spencer Lee is onto the Olympic Wrestling semifinals after two wins in a row. In the round of 16, Lee took down China’s Zou Wanhao by a score of 3-2.

He followed that performance up with an even more impressive win in the quarterfinals. He marched past Kyrgyzstan’s Almas Uulu with a 12-2 victory to secure a spot in the semis.

Up next for Spencer Lee is a semifinal matchup with Gulomjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan which is set to take place around 11:15 a.m. CT with a spot in the championship match on the line.

Taking the mat under the bright lights is nothing new for Spencer Lee. While at Iowa, he amassed a career record of 98-6. He won the Big Ten Championships three times (2020, 2021, 2023) and took home first place in the NCAA Division I Championships three times (2018, 2019, 2021) in the 125-pound weight class.

Lee also has experience on the international stage. He won the U17 World Championship in 2014, the U20 World Championships in 2015 and 2016, and the 2024 Pan American Championship in 2024.

Lee is one win away from a chance at the gold medal but is also still very much in contention for the podium pending the results of his next match as just four wrestlers remain.

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Ben Kueter temporarily stepping away from Iowa football to focus on wrestling dreams

Good luck, Ben!

Ben Kueter decided that Iowa wrestling needed his full attention in order to achieve the championship aspirations that he and the program are both seeking.

In a message on X, Kueter revealed his decision to temporarily step away from Iowa football and focus on Hawkeye wrestling for the next 10 months.

“First off, I would like to thank Coach Wallace and Coach Ferentz for letting me live out a dream of mine. Coach Wallace is the reason I chose to play football at Iowa. Secondly, I would like to thank my football brothers for making this last year so enjoyable. I’ve made bonds with those guys that will last a lifetime.

“With that being said, I would like to announce that I will be transitioning to just wrestling for the next 10 months in order to win a World title, NCAA title and a NCAA team title. To meet these goals will require my full attention for the next 10 months, but this is not the end of my football career. I will start back up in spring ball. Thank you to the best fans in the world and GO HAWKS!” Kueter wrote on X.

Kueter, a blue-chip football signee in Iowa’s 2023 signing class, is also one of the state’s most decorated wrestlers of all time.

A product of Iowa City High, Kueter was a four-time undefeated state champion, posting a 111-0 high school mark with 74 career pins and 105 career bonus-point wins. Kueter was the seventh in the history of Iowa high school wrestling to accomplish that feat.

Kueter was the 2023 Iowa Class 3A Dan Gable Mr. Wrestler of the Year and the 2023 Bob Steenlage Iowa High School Wrestler of the Year. He was the firth Iowa high-schooler to win a Junior world wrestling title and the fourth from Iowa City High to do so.

Kueter was a Freestyle Junior World Champion at 97 kg and a Freestyle Under-20 Pan American Champion at 97 kg.

Kueter finished with a 3-1 record, including a 2-1 record against ranked opponents during his first season in Iowa City. Kueter’s lone defeat came against No. 1 Greg Kervliet of Penn State.

The 6-foot-3, 285 pounder topped then-No. 29 Bennet Tabor of Minnesota and then-No. 11 Konner Doucet of Oklahoma State by decisions. Kueter pinned Northwestern’s Jack Jensen in 45 seconds.

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Who are the 4 Iowa football commits competing in the state wrestling tournament?

Iowa football continues to look at wrestling for recruits, with Trent Cakerice, Drew Campbell, Cody Fox and Mason Knipp competing in the state championship.

Defense. Toughness. “Punting is winning.” Iowa’s football team thrives on physicality, and for that, it’s unsurprising that head coach Kirk Ferentz takes a page out of the Hawkeyes’ dominant wrestling program in his recruiting efforts.

“The theory I developed was that if a guy was a great wrestler, it didn’t mean he was going to be a great football player, but rarely was he a bad football player,” Ferentz said.

Four Hawkeyes football commits in the class of 2024 are participating in the Iowa state wrestling tournament, and the Des Moines Register did a deep dive on the quartet.

Trent Cakerice, a two-star defensive lineman from Grundy Center, told the outlet he’s focusing on strength and calculated attacks. He has a 38-4 record. On the gridiron, he recorded 56.5 tackles, eight tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Drew Campbell of Cedar Falls told the Register that wrestling helps him in football.

“Leverage is a great thing to have in wrestling. It teaches you feel in football and mentally in a wrestling match you can’t give up, so it teaches you to never give up on a play,” he said.

Last football season, the three-star defensive lineman recorded 64.5 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss and six sacks.

East Buchanan’s four-star lineman Cody Fox served on both lines last season, playing offensive guard for a dynamic rushing team and recording 62.5 tackles, nine tackles for loss and two sacks on defense. He was recruited as an offensive lineman, for which he is ranked four stars and in the top 20 of his class.

Mason Knipp, at Columbus Catholic, also played on both sides of the ball. Despite being unranked, he played a role in the rushing attack that amounted for 2,022 yards and had 78 tackles, 36.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks on defense.

Read more about the athletes at the Des Moines Register.

Dynasty Starter: Iowa Women’s Wrestling wins 2024 NWCA Duals National Championship

The dynasty is officially underway! The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s wrestling team has won the 2024 NWCA Duals National Championship.

Somebody get the pen and ink ready to start writing the story of another Iowa Hawkeyes dynasty because it is officially underway. The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s wrestling team has won the 2024 NWCA Duals National Championship.

In Iowa fashion, the ladies rolled to a title this year with a regular season that was complete and utter dominance in the way to be expected by Iowa wrestling.

On the year, the Hawkeyes went a perfect 9-0 on the year in duals. They ran through the NWCA Championships in dominant fashion with wins over Adrian College, Presbyterian, King University, and North Central College.

Up next for the Hawkeyes is the Iowa Duals on Jan. 21 in Iowa City followed by the Indiana Tech Warrior Duals on Jan. 26 and 27.

Things continue for the women when the NCWWC Regionals get underway on Feb. 23 and 24 which lead into the NCWWC National Championships on March 8 and 9.

This appears to be just the beginning for the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s wrestling team as a dynasty is ready to get underway and be built into a national powerhouse. The support is there, the talent is undeniable, and things are off to a start that while expected, could not be going any better.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.

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How to watch No. 2 Iowa wrestling at the 2023 Soldier Salute

Want to watch #Hawkeyes wrestling compete against the best in the country? The two-day 2023 Soldier Salute tournament will be streamed live on B1G+.

Get ready for collegiate wrestling action on Friday, Dec. 29, and Saturday, Dec. 30 at the 2023 Soldier Salute, headlined by the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes. 

The second annual Soldier Salute, set to take place at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, will include competitors from 10 ranked teams in the Intermat’s top 30 including No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Missouri, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 12 Minnesota, No. 13 South Dakota State, No. 15 Navy, No. 16 Oregon State, No. 25 Northern Iowa and No. 27 North Carolina. The women’s team from Iowa is also set to compete.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Iowa wrestling in the 2023 Soldier Salute” link=”https://bit.ly/SoldierSession3″]

The tournament is hosted by the Iowa City Area Sports Commission and 100% of the annual tournament proceeds will be split between the United Service Organizations (USO) and a development fund targeted towards the continued growth of high school girls wrestling.

If you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place. Individual mat cameras will be available for all four sessions of the Soldier Salute. All action will be airing on B1G+.

Soldier Salute Schedule

Date Session Time (E.T) How to watch
Fri, Dec. 29 Session 1 11 a.m. Watch Session 1
Fri, Dec. 29 Session 2 4:30 p.m. Watch Session 2
Sat, Dec. 30 Session 3 12 p.m. Watch Session 3
Sat, Dec. 30 Session 4 6 p.m. Watch Session 4

Last year the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling team finished second in the NCAA to fellow Big Ten foe Penn State. They last won the national championship in 2021. Earlier this year, Iowa extended its win streak over No. 5 Iowa State to 18 in an epic dual.

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Hawkeye signee Ryder Block wins Junior national championship

Hawkeye signee Ryder Block captured a Junior National Championship in Fargo, N.D. Kale Petersen also garnered All-American status.

Ryder Block is once again a national champion!

Incoming University of Iowa wrestler Ryder Block won a national title at the Junior Nationals Freestyle Championships on Wednesday. Block mowed through opponents in the Fargo Dome, winning his seven matches by a combined score of 75-10. The Waverly, Iowa, native successfully defended his crown at 138 pounds with a 10-0 victory over California’s Daniel Zepeda.

Block comes to Iowa as a two-time junior national champion and a three-time IHSAA State Champion. He finished his high school career with a 159-1 record.

Block was not the only incoming Iowa signee to achieve All-American status, though. Incoming freshman Kale Peterson took second at 132 pounds. Petersen outscored his opponents, 56-20, before falling to Arizona’s Kyler Larkin 8-0.

Petersen is another big-time recruit for Iowa. He is a three-time IHSAA State Champion, Iowa Class 2A Mr. Dan Gable Wrestler of the Year, and a finalist at the 2023 U20 U.S. Open at 61 kg. A star at Green County, Petersen finished high school with a 111-9 record.

Two All-Americans at the Junior National Championships is not bad at all for the Hawkeyes, especially considering the dominance their top wrestler Block displayed. Block and Petersen are just two recruits in a highly decorated 2023 class that includes state champion Gabe Arnold and undefeated four-time state champion Ben Kueter.

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Olympic champion Gable Steveson’s tweets ignite Hawkeye fans’ hopes

Could it be? Olympic champion and two-time NCAA heavyweight champion Gable Steveson teased a potential transfer to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Talk about a potentially perfect match. One of the greatest wrestling showmen and champions of all time joining the nation’s preeminent wrestling champions of the past 50 years.

Gable Steveson teased as much on Sunday night, tweeting out an emoji that is synonymous with Iowa athletics followed by a question mark. Then, he doubled down on Monday night with a picture at Iowa.

There’s just one catch. Steveson is still wearing his WWE shirt with Minnesota Gopher shorts on in the picture he shared from Iowa City.

Oh, and there’s the whole tweeting out teases for a potential return to the University of Minnesota, too. It’s equal parts mixed signals and marketing genius from Steveson.

The two-time NCAA heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist created quite the stir when he told FloWrestling that he was planning to use his final year of college eligibility back in mid June.

Then, he ratcheted up the excitement recently as he exited the WWE Performance Center with Eddy Thorpe.

“I sent a few guys flying, but about the future of Gable Steveson? A national title? The Olympics? There’s so much to think about, but I love being here, too. I don’t know. Man, there’s just a lot to think about,” Steveson said.

After his series of tweets to follow, it’s full-on hopeful pandemonium among the Hawkeye faithful now. Really, it would be the perfect collegiate finish for Steveson, right?

After all, he picked up his namesake from legendary Iowa head wrestling coach Dan Gable. Why not finish his college career off with a program that’s accustomed to winning national championships just like he is?

Gable Steveson wins his third individual NCAA championship and pushes the Hawkeyes past Penn State for Iowa’s 25th all-time team national championship. Sounds like the perfect script to us.

At any rate, there’s no denying that Steveson has all of Iowa and the college wrestling world’s attention right now. Take a look at how all of this has unfolded online and the social media stir that has followed.

Iowa wrestling adds pair of All-American transfers

Iowa wrestling continues its offseason additions, bringing in a pair of All-American transfers in Jared Franek and Michael Caliendo.

Who said the Iowa football team was the only one who could get in on the transfer portal fun?!

Iowa wrestling got in on the transfer portal fun, bringing in two All-Americans to an already stacked lineup. The program received a boost on Friday as both Jared Franek and Mikey Caliendo announced their intentions to transfer from North Dakota State to join the Hawkeyes.

Franek enters Iowa with one year of eligibility left. Last year in Fargo, Franek won a Big 12 individual title at 157 pounds, following that up with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Franek qualified for the NCAA Championships in four seasons at North Dakota State. He holds an overall record of 92-20.

As stated in his Instagram post announcing his transfer, Franek is heading to Iowa City with the hopes of becoming a national champion.

“After giving NDSU everything I had for the last five years, I entered the transfer portal with the intention of putting myself in the best position possible to win a national title,” Franek wrote on Instagram. “With that being said, I have decided to spend my last year at the University of Iowa. Special thanks to my coaches, teammates, and fans at NDSU for all the support over the years. Excited to get to work!”

Meanwhile, Caliendo finished in seventh place at 165 in the NCAA Championships last year to earn All-American honors. Caliendo shared his thoughts on why he’s making the move to Iowa City.

“After a recent coaching change at NDSU I have decided to continue my wrestling career at the University of Iowa! GO HAWKS!!!! #gohawks,” Caliendo wrote on Instagram.

Former North Dakota State head wrestling coach Roger Kish recently accepted the head coaching gig at Oklahoma. Interestingly enough, Iowa recently added a transfer from the Sooners.

Former Oklahoma Sooner Joey Cruz announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes via Instagram on May 27.

“I’m excited to announce that I will be furthering my education and athletic career at the University of Iowa. Thank you for everyone who’s been on this ride, we’re just getting started. Go Hawks!” Cruz wrote in his Instagram post.

Cruz arrived in Norman, Oklahoma, as the No. 13 overall prospect and as the No. 3 recruit at 120 pounds by FloWrestling in the 2022 signing class. The Fresno, California, native also spent time as the nation’s top recruit per MatScouts.

He originally picked Oklahoma over offers from Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Little Rock. Cruz went 2-2 during his redshirt season with OU. All four of his matches came at the Michigan State Open.

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3-points takedown college wrestling rule change ignites social media

Takedowns in college wrestling are now worth 3 points instead of 2. Twitter reacted to this massive change in the sport.

It’s late in the match. The score is deadlocked 1-1 between two fantastic grapplers. Neither is giving the other an inch or an in. This is high-level collegiate wrestling.

Suddenly, late in the third period, the hometown wrestler swoops in for a single leg. After a long struggle, he finally gets the better of his opponent. The jubilated crowd becomes unglued and responds with a roar, “THREE!”

Sounds a little bit weird doesn’t it?

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel oversaw a massive change to the sport this past week. Takedowns will now be worth three points instead of the traditional two points. The Panel explained in the official release that the new rules will reward offensive actions and help eliminate a lot of the passive stalling we see today.

Members of the Wrestling Rules Committee, which proposed the change, agreed that increasing the scoring for takedowns by an additional point will enhance the sport by rewarding offensive actions and risk-taking.

The committee also agreed there was a need to create a more appropriate point differential between takedowns and escapes and incentivize offense when competitors are in the neutral position. – NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, NCAA.com.

The explanation does make sense. A lot of times in big matches you will see both sides pretty much come to a stalemate, neither side wanting to potentially give the other an opening. While some see this as the true strategy and mental game behind wrestling, other observers will criticize the lack of any action. If one wrestler deliberately doesn’t do much of anything, that’s stalling. However, if both competitors do, well, that’s strategic!

As you would expect, this new rule change caused ripples throughout the collegiate wrestling community. As expected, fans are extremely split on the decision and voiced their opinions on social media. Here are the best reactions to a massive change in college wrestling.