Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruits competed over the weekend.

Leo DeLuca continued to run the gauntlet of facing high ranked opponents. In the Blair-Wyoming Seminary dual meet on Friday, #1 nationally ranked DeLuca defeated #3 Nathan Desmond (Penn St recruit), 6-3. DeLuca will look great in the Black and Gold of Iowa.

The DeLuca-Desmond match:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhw-ENEukZA

Dru Ayala was scheduled to compete at the JHAWK in Cedar Rapids but Fort Dodge was unable to attend. A blizzard shut down quite a bit of competition across Iowa on Saturday.

Keyan Hernandez won the 126 lbs. title at the 35 team Cowboy Invitational in Miles City, MT. Hernandez was 4-0 with three pins and a 7-1 decision in the finals.

Jake Howell won the 215 lbs. title at the Jaguar Invitational with three first period pins. 

Leister Bowling placed first at 171 at the Pueblo Centennial Invitational. Bowling was 3-0 with three pins.

I did not see where any of the incoming Iowa Women’s Wrestling recruits competed this past weekend.

As I have done for years I will continue to post a blog on Friday of where our incoming recruits will be competing for the weekend and a follow up blog with results.

Recruiting Class of 2024

Dru Ayala – Fort Dodge, Iowa  120 lbs.

Did not compete.

Keyan Hernandez – Billings (West), Montana 126 lbs.

Fri/Sat Jan 12-13 – at Cowboy Invitational (Miles City)

Champ. Round 1 – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) won by fall over Logan Douma (Three Forks/Ennis) (Fall 2:41)

Quarterfinal – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) won by fall over Brenner Mullin (Sidney) (Fall 3:14)

Semifinal – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) won by fall over Ty Peterson (Cody) (Fall 3:49)

1st Place Match – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) won by decision over Cole Krutzfeldt (Lockwood) (Dec 7-1)

Miguel Estrada  Bakersfield (Frontier HS), California  144 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Angelo Ferrari – Melissa, Texas  175 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Jake Howell –  Glenwood Village (Cherry Creek HS), Colorado  215 lbs.

Sat Jan 13 – at Jaguar Invitational (Littelton, Colorado)

Champ. Round 1 – Jake Howell (Cherry Creek) received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Jake Howell (Cherry Creek) won by fall over Braydon Powell (Erie) 4-3 (Fall 1:41)

Semifinal – Jake Howell (Cherry Creek) won by fall over Tavin Weed (Arapahoe) (Fall 0:13)

1st Place Match – Jake Howell (Cherry Creek) won by fall over Matthew Redfearn (Arapahoe) (Fall 0:40)

Recruiting Class of 2025

Leo DeLuca  – Blair Academy New Jersey  120 lbs.

Fri Jan 12 – at Wyoming Seminary Dual Meet

#1 Leo DeLuca dec over #3 Nathan Desmond, 6-3

Leister Bowling – Mead, Colorado  175 lbs.

Sat Jan 13 – at Pueblo Centennial Invitational

Champ. Round 1 – Leister Bowling (Mead) received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Leister Bowling (Mead) won by fall over DonIvin Rael (Dolores Huerta Prep) (Fall 2:56)

Semifinal – Leister Bowling (Mead) won by fall over Dylan Moorman (Air Academy) (Fall 1:05)

1st Place Match – Leister Bowling (Mead) won by fall over Logan Thompson (Pueblo West) (Fall 1:45)

Women’s Recruiting Class of 2024

Val Solorio – Canon-McMillan HS, Pennsylvania  100 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Karlee Brooks – Valiant College Prep HS (Phoenix, AZ)  120 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Cadence Diduch – Freeport, Illinois  135 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Kiara Djoumessi – Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa  140 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Naomi Simon – Decorah, Iowa 170 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruits will be on the mat this weekend.

Leo DeLuca will lead #2 nationally ranked Blair in a dual meet at #1 Wyoming Seminary tonight in the biggest high school dual meet of the year. #1 nationally ranked DeLuca will face #3 Nathan Desmond in a big match at 120. Desmond is a Penn State recruit. DeLuca and Desmond are in the Class of 2025.

On Saturday Blair will face Belmont Hill and Northfield Mount Hernon in dual meets at home.

Dru Ayala will be at the JHAWK at Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Saturday. Keyan Hernandez will be at the 65th Annual Cowboy Invitational in Miles City, MT on Friday and Saturday.

In Colorado on Saturday Jake Howell will be at the Jaguar Invitational in Littleton and Leister Bowling will be competing at the Pueblo Centennial Invitational.

I did not see where any of the incoming Iowa Women’s Wrestling recruits are competing this weekend.

As I have done for years I will continue to post a blog on Friday of where our incoming recruits will be competing for the weekend and a follow up blog with results.

Recruiting Class of 2024

Dru Ayala – Fort Dodge, Iowa  120 lbs.

Sat Jan 13 – at JHAWK (Cedar Rapids Jefferson HS) 

Keyan Hernandez – Billings (West), Montana 126 lbs.

Fri/Sat Jan 12-13 – at Cowboy Invitational (Miles City)

Miguel Estrada  Bakersfield (Frontier HS), California  144 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Angelo Ferrari – Melissa, Texas  175 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Jake Howell –  Glenwood Village (Cherry Creek HS), Colorado  215 lbs.

Sat Jan 13 – at Jaguar Invitational (Littleton)

Recruiting Class of 2025

Leo DeLuca  – Blair Academy New Jersey  120 lbs.

Fri Jan 12 – at Wyoming Seminary Dual Meet

Sat Jan 13 – Belmont Hill and Northfield Mount Hermon Dual Meets

Leister Bowling – Mead, Colorado  175 lbs.

Sat Jan 13 – at Pueblo Centennial Invitational

Women’s Recruiting Class of 2024

Val Solorio – Canon-McMillan HS, Pennsylvania  100 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Karlee Brooks – Valiant College Prep HS (Phoenix, AZ)  120 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Cadence Diduch – Freeport, Illinois  135 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Kiara Djoumessi – Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa  140 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Naomi Simon – Decorah, Iowa 170 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Johnson County I-Club will host their annual Iowa Wrestling luncheon on Friday, January 19. Iowa Head Wrestling Coach Tom Brands will be the guest speaker.

The luncheon will take place in the Feller Club Room in Carver-Hawkeye Arena from 11:30-1PM. The Hawks will host Purdue in a Big Ten dual meet later on Friday at 7 PM.

Coach Brands will discuss the new wrestling facility and an update on the Iowa Wrestling program.

This luncheon is usually a sellout so you may want to make your reservations as soon as possible. 

Give to Iowa – 2024 Johnson County I-Club Wrestling Luncheon (AM2420) – Registrant

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kylie Welker of the University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling team has been named as the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week. Welker led the Hawks to the NWCA National Duals title last weekend.

Welker was 3-0 at National Duals. In the semifinals Welker defeated #2 ranked Tiffani Baublitz of King by a 10-0 tech fall. In the finals Welker defeated three-time defending NCWWC National Champion Yelena Makoyed of North Central, 11-3. The meet and National title was on the line when Welker’s win put Iowa ahead for the eventual 21-20 win over North Central.

A redshirt freshman from Franksville, Wisconsin, Welker is ranked #1 at 170 lbs. for the #1 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes

Welker will represent Team USA at the Zagreb Open in Zagreb, Croatia at 76 KG/167 lbs. on Saturday, January 13.

Elite competition from around the world is expected to compete. All of the wrestling for the Zagreb Open will be broadcast live on FloWrestling on their premium service.

Zagreb Open

Saturday, January 13

Women’s Freestyle – 53-57-72-76 kg

Qualification Rounds and Repechages – 3 AM CST

Finals – 11 AM CST

NWCA National Duals Jan 5-6

Kylie Welker (Iowa) by Forfeit over Adrian College

Kylie Welker (Iowa) over #2 Tiffani Baublitz (King University) TF 10-0

Kylie Welker (Iowa) over Yelena Makoyed (North Central College) Dec 11-3

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The #3 Iowa Hawkeyes will be kick off the Big Ten season with a dual meet at #6 Nebraska on Friday at 6:30 PM. This is always one of my favorite dual meets of the year and we should have another competitive and intense Iowa-Nebraska dual meet.

Iowa has only one wrestler listed at every weight for the first time all season.

We will get things off to a fast start at 125 with #5 Drake Ayala vs. #7 Caleb Smith. Should this be the opening match it could set the tone for the entire dual meet.

At 133 #7 Brody Teske will face #30 Jacob Van Dee. Big match at 141 with #1 Real Woods vs. #7 Brock Hardy. At 149 #12 Caleb Rathjen will meet #1 Ridge Lovett. This will be the biggest test to date in Rathjen’s career. 

The biggest match of the dual meet for rankings will be at 157 where it will be #2 Jared Franek vs. #3 Peyton Robb. #7 Michael Caliendo will face #19 Antrell Taylor at 165.

At 174 we will see Patrick Kennedy against #30 Bubba Wilson. It will be Aiden Riggins vs. Elise Brown Ton at 184 where both wrestlers are unranked. This could be a pivotal match in the dual meet. 

If the dual meet is not decided at 184 then it may be at 197 with #16 Zach Glazier vs. #11 Silas Allred. At Hwt we again have two unranked wrestlers when Brad Hill faces Harley Andrews.

On paper this looks to be a real close dual meet. We have a great blend of highly ranked opponents going at it and two weights where neither wrestler is ranked.

If I had to choose, I would say the dual meet will be decided by the outcome at 184 and Hwt. I like Iowa to win both of those matches.

I am most looking forward to 149 and 197. After this dual meet we will know more of what we have at those weights.

I look for both teams to be on top of their game and put on a show.

Iowa-Nebraska, Brands-Manning, Big Ten opener, national TV, end of a bad weather week in the heart of winter. I am looking forward to it.

This should be another entertaining Iowa-Nebraska dual meet.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

The Iowa-Nebraska dual meet will be live on BTN at 6:30 PM Friday, January 12.

Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will call the meet on AM 800 KXIC, iheart.com and YouTube.

#3 IOWA HAWKEYES (5-0)

Wt. Rank^ Name Yr. Hometown/High School Record

125 3/5/9/7 Drake Ayala So. Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge 13-1

133 12/7/9/11 Brody Teske Sr. Duncombe, Iowa/Fort Dodge 8-2

141 1/1/1/1 Real Woods R-Sr. Albuquerque, New Mexico/Montini Catholic (Ill.) 9-0

149 18/12/14/– Caleb Rathjen So. Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny 10-1

157 2/2/2/3 Jared Franek Grad. Harwood, North Dakota/West Fargo 14-0

165 8/7/7/7 Michael Caliendo So. Geneva, Illinois/Batavia 13-1

174 14/–/–/10 Patrick Kennedy Jr. Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota/Kasson-Mantorville 5-2

184 Aiden Riggins R-Fr. Janesville, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock 9-6

197 –/16/25/17 Zach Glazier Sr. Albert Lea, Minnesota/Albert Lea 13-0

285 Bradley Hill R-Fr. Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf 12-4

^ WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN

#6 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (5-0)

Wt. Rank^ Name Yr. Hometown/High School Record

125 5/7/5/2 Caleb Smith Grad. High Point, North Carolina/SW Guilford 14-2

133 –/30/32/– Jacob Van Dee R-Fr. Union City, Pennsylvania/Cathedral Prep 11-5

141 9/7/8/7 Brock Hardy So. Brigham City, Utah/Box Elder 10-4

149 1/1/1/1 Ridge Lovett R-Jr. Post Falls, Idaho/Post Falls 14-0

157 3/3/3/3 Peyton Robb Sr. Owatonna, Minnesota/Owatonna 14-1

165 –/19/16/16 Antrell Taylor R-Fr. Millard, Nebraska/Millard South 11-2

174 18/30/19/– Bubba Wilson Jr. Manhattan, Kansas/Manhattan 9-4

184 Elise Brown Ton So. Allen, Texas/Allen 17-6

197 11/11/13/14 Silas Allred So. Anderson, Indiana/Shenadoah 13-3

285 Harley Andrews R-Fr. Tuttle, Oklahoma/Tuttle 8-9

^ WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Sterling Dias of the University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling team has been named as the NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association) Region 5 Wrestler of the Month. Dias is now eligible for the NWCA National Wrestler of the Month for December that will be announced on Thursday. 

Dias is ranked #2 in the country at 101 lbs. with an 18-1 record. She was 9-0 in December with four pins and three tech falls. Dias led top ranked Iowa to an NWCA National Duals championship last weekend. Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Dias is in her second year in the program as a redshirt freshman.

Dias was a 2016 and 2017 Pan-American Schoolgirl Champion, 2018 Cadet World Bronze Medalist, and 2019 Cadet World Silver Medalist.

Congratulations to Sterling Dias for being named for this honor.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee announced Sterling Dias and Real Woods as the December Student-Athletes of the Month.

Dias is ranked #2 in the country at 101 lbs. with an 18-1 record. Dias led top ranked Iowa to an NWCA National Duals championship last weekend. Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Dias is in her second year in the program as a redshirt freshman.

Woods is ranked #1 in the country at 141 lbs. Last season Woods was a National Runner-Up for the Hawks after transferring from Stanford where he was an All American. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico (Montini Catholic HS-Chicago), Woods is 9-0 on the season with five tech falls.

Congratulations to Sterling Dias and Real Woods for being named for this honor.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The 2024 Hawkeye Wrestling Club Arctic Plunge will be on Saturday, January 20th at the Brown Deer Golf Course in Coralville. This is the biggest fundraiser of the entire year for the HWC. Donations go directly to support the HWC.

There will be a cash bar and complimentary keg beer, pizza, and hot drinks available for guests and jumpers.

The HWC has been a huge part of the success of Iowa Wrestling since 1973.

2024 HWC Arctic Plunge

Saturday, January 20th

Brown Deer Golf Course at 1900 Country Club Drive in Coralville, Iowa

3 PM – Doors Open

4 PM – Jumpers Meeting

4:30 Costume Contest

5 PM – Jumpers lineup

5:15 PM – JUMP!

6 PM – Awards, Raffle, HWC Address

For more information on the 2024 HWC Arctic Plunge:

2024 HWC Arctic Plunge – Campaign (hawkeyewrestlingclub.com)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

We had a limited schedule for our incoming recruits this weekend. Leo DeLuca pinned two national caliber opponents at the RWC New Years Duals in Richmond, Virginia. DeLuca is tearing it up while competing in the toughest schedule in the country week in and week out.

Keyan Hernandez won the title at 126 lbs. at the 43-team Tom LeProwse Tournament in Bozeman. Hernandez was 6-0 for the tournament with four pins.

Leister Bowling had a busy weekend. On Friday he was 2-0 with two pins at the Gunnison Dual Tournament. On Saturday Bowling won the 175 lbs. title with two pins and a tech fall. 

Naomi Simon was 4-0 with four first period pins winning the 170 lbs. title at the Anamosa Invitation.

I will post results for Dru Ayala from the St. Edmond Duals as soon as I have them.

As I have done for years I will continue to post a blog on Friday of where our incoming recruits will be competing for the weekend and a follow up blog with results.

Recruiting Class of 2024

Dru Ayala – Fort Dodge, Iowa  120 lbs.

Sat Jan 6 – St. Edmond Duals (Ft. Dodge)

Results are unavailable at this time.

Keyan Hernandez – Billings (West), Montana 126 lbs.

Fri/Sat Jan 5-6 – at Tom LeProwse Tournament (Bozeman)

Champ. Round 1 – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) won by fall over Hyat Reece (Gallatin (Bozeman)) (Fall 2:18)

Champ. Round 2 – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) won by fall over Sebastian Mogan (Laurel) (Fall 1:55)

Champ. Round 3 – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) won by fall over Zane Gehring (Helena) (Fall 1:50)

Quarterfinal – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) won by tech fall over Cashton Spolar (Helena Capital) (TF-1.5 5:20 (20-3))

Semifinal – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) won by decision over Cole Krutzfeldt (Lockwood (Billings)) (Dec 7-3)

1st Place Match – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) won by decision over Mason Gutenberger (Belgrade) (Dec 8-3)

Miguel Estrada  Bakersfield (Frontier HS), California  144 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Angelo Ferrari – Melissa, Texas  175 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Jake Howell –  Glenwood Village (Cherry Creek HS), Colorado  215 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Recruiting Class of 2025

Leo DeLuca  – Blair Academy New Jersey  120 lbs.

Sat Jan 6 – RWC New Years Duals (Richmond, VA)

Leo DeLuca (Blair) over Jacob Bond (Baylor) Fall :45

Leo DeLuca (Blair) over Christian Castillo (Valliant Prep) Fall 5:13

Leister Bowling – Mead, Colorado  175 lbs.

Fri Jan 5 – at Gunnison Dual Tournament 

Leister Bowling (Mead) over Gavin Smejkal (Gunnison Cowboys) Fall 2:08

Leister Bowling (Mead) over Jayce England (Montrose) Fall 1:52

Sat Jan 6 – at Gunnison Cowboy Invitational

Champ. Round 1 – Leister Bowling (Mead) received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Leister Bowling (Mead) won by fall over Eli Mock (Olathe) (Fall 0:54)

Semifinal – Leister Bowling (Mead) won by tech fall over Alex McKenna (Delta) (TF-1.5 4:18 (21-6))

1st Place Match – Leister Bowling (Mead) won by fall over Jayce England (Montrose) (Fall 2:31)

Women’s Recruiting Class of 2024

Val Solorio – Canon-McMillan HS, Pennsylvania  100 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Karlee Brooks – Valiant College Prep HS (Phoenix, AZ)  120 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Cadence Diduch – Freeport, Illinois  135 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Kiara Djoumessi – Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa  140 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Naomi Simon – Decorah, Iowa 170 lbs.

Sat Jan 6 – at Anamosa Invitational

Champ. Round 1 – Naomi Simon (Decorah) won by fall over Rylee Froh (Bettendorf) (Fall 0:36)

Quarterfinal – Naomi Simon (Decorah) won by fall over Camryn Cothrell (Cedar Rapids Prairie) (Fall 1:33)

Semifinal – Naomi Simon (Decorah) won by fall over Raelene Hawkins (Iowa Valley) 22-9 (Fall 0:42)

1st Place Match – Naomi Simon (Decorah) won by fall over Izzy Strickert (Independence) (Fall 1:40)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling team made a way to win their first NWCA National Duals title with a thrilling 21-20 battle over #1 seed North Central in the finals. The Hawks had a 20-17 lead heading into the last bout at 191 where Jaycee Foeller dropped a 6-1 decision to Traeh Haynes, 6-1. With the Freestyle scoring North Central received three points and Iowa was awarded one point for scoring in the bout giving Iowa the one-point victory and the NWCA National Duals title.

Iowa won four matches and North Central won six in the dual meet.

Iowa got off to a quick start with a tech fall from Sterling Dias at 101 followed by a 5-5 decision on criteria by Ava Bayless at 109 for a 7-1 lead in the dual meet. Iowa then dropped the next five matches to fall behind in the team score, 16-12. 

The key to those five losses by Iowa is that each wrestler scored in the match so one team point was awarded to Iowa in all five bouts. With the point that Foeller was awarded at 191 for scoring in her match that would give Iowa six crucial team points in matches they lost and that would prove to be the difference in the dual meet.

Marlynne Deede came up huge with a pin in 1:38 at 155 to make the team score 17-16 Iowa. Kylie Welker won an 11-3 decision at 170 to give the Hawks a 20-17 lead heading into 191. 

In the semifinals Iowa dominated two-time defending National Champion King, 31-8. Iowa won with two pins, one tech fall, four decisions and one forfeit.

For Iowa to win the NWCA National Duals in the first year of their program and without their full lineup is impressive.

Congratulations to the Iowa Women’s Wrestling team for winning the NWCA National Duals title.

With the success of this tournament I would believe that the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls will host this event for years to come.

Iowa will compete next when they host the Iowa Duals in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday, January 21. A starting time has yet to be announced. I will keep you posted.

Kylie Welker of the University of Iowa will represent Team USA at the Zagreb Open in Zagreb, Croatia. Welker will compete at 76 KG/167 lbs. on Saturday, January 13. 

NWCA National Duals Semifinals

Iowa defeated King University 31-8

101 – Sterling Dias (Iowa) over Mia Zuniga (King University) Fall 4:04

109 – Ava Bayless (Iowa) over Danielle Garcia (King University) Dec 2-0

116 – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) over Melanie Mendoza (King University) Dec 8-0

123 – Felicity Taylor (Iowa) over Montana Delawder (King University) Dec 5-0

130 – Maria Victoria Baez Dilone (King University) over Emily Frost (Iowa) TF 10-0

136 – Claire DiCugno (King University) over Lilly Luft (Iowa) TF 10-0

143 – Reese Larramendy (Iowa) over Yasmine Oliveira (King University) Dec 7-0

155 – Marlynne Deede (Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

170 – Kylie Welker (Iowa) over Tiffani Baublitz (King University) TF 10-0

191 – Jaycee Foeller (Iowa) over Alexa Garcia (King University) Fall 5:49

NWCA National Duals Finals

Iowa defeated North Central College 21-20

101 – Sterling Dias (Iowa) over Madison Avila (North Central College) TF 11-0

109 – Ava Bayless (Iowa) over Jaslynn Gallegos (North Central College) Dec 5-5

116 – Sydney Petzinger (North Central College) over Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) Dec 6-4

123 – Amani Jones (North Central College) over Felicity Taylor (Iowa) Dec 12-3

130 – Salome Walker (North Central College) over Emily Frost (Iowa) Dec 8-2

136 – Yele Aycock (North Central College) over Lilly Luft (Iowa) Dec 6-2

143 – Alara Boyd (North Central College) over Reese Larramendy (Iowa) Dec 9-4

155 – Marlynne Deede (Iowa) over London Houston (North Central College) Fall 1:38

170 – Kylie Welker (Iowa) over Yelena Makoyed (North Central College) Dec 11-3

191 – Traeh Haynes (North Central College) over Jaycee Foeller (Iowa) Dec 6-1

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!