Five Iowa Hawkeyes and an incoming recruit will be competing at the U20 World Freestyle Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.
Otto Black will compete in Greco-Roman at 63kg on Monday-Tuesday, September 2-3. Black won U20 Greco-Roman Nationals in April and the U20 World Team Trials in May. He also won Gold at 63kg/138 lbs. at the U20 Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru. Black is a member of the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024
Brianna Gonzalez(50kg), Cadence Diduch(62kg), Reese Larramendy(65kg), and Naomi Simon(76kg) will compete on Wednesday-Friday, September 4-6. They all won titles at the U20 Women’s National Championship in April to make the world team.
Larramendy and Diduch won Bronze and Gonzalez and Simon placed fifth at the Grand Prix of Spain in July.
Reese Larramendy won an NCWWC national title at 143lbs. in leading Iowa to the national team title last season as a redshirt freshman. Gonzalez placed second in the country at 116 lbs. for the Hawks as a redshirt freshman.
Diduch(Freeport, IL) and Simon(Decorah, IA) are true freshmen and members of the Recruiting Class of 2024. In the final National Girls High School Rankings for the 2023-24 season, Diduch was ranked #2 at 135 lbs. and #12 P4P and Simon was #2 at 170 lbs. and #13 P4P.
Ben Kueter will be looking for his second U20 World title. Kueter was a 2022 U20 World Champion at 97kg/213 lbs. and will compete at 125kg this year.
Kueter was a member of the Iowa Football team last season. In April he announced that he will concentrate on wrestling for the next ten months and return for Spring football in April of 2025. Kueter was 3-1 as a true freshman for Iowa last season at Hwt.
Iowa Head Coach Tom Brands, Assistant Coach Ryan Morningstar and Hawkeye Wrestling Club Coach Daniel Dennis will be in Spain coaching for Kueter.
U20 World Freestyle Championships in Pontevedra, Spain
50kg: Brianna Gonzalez
62kg: Cadence Diduch
65kg: Reese Larramendy
76kg: Naomi Simon
125kg: Ben Kueter
U20 World Freestyle Championships
***All times posted are CST
Wednesday, September 4
3AM – Qualifications Round for Women’s 50kg and 76kg
9:45AM – Semifinals for Women’s 50kg and 76kg
Thursday, September 5
3AM – Qualifications Round for Women’s 62kg and 65kg
9:45AM – Semifinals for Women’s 62kg and 65kg
11AM – Finals for Women’s 50kg and 76kg
Friday, September 6
11AM – Finals for Women’s 62kg and 65kg
Saturday, September 7
3AM – Qualifications Round for 125kg
9:45AM – Semifinals
Sunday, September 8
11AM – Finals for 125kg
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
