The IWWC(Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club) will host All In For Her on Friday, April 18 at Xtreme Arena in Coralville.

This is the largest fundraiser of the year for the IWWC.

Social Hour begins at 6 PM and will include hors d’oeuvres and drinks followed by Coach Chun with a recap of the 2025 championship season of Iowa Women’s Wrestling.

The party and games begin at 7.

The party will include casino games, bingo, a silent auction, DJ, and “For Her” merchandise.

All In For Her

Friday, April 18

Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa

Social Hour – 6 PM

Party and games – 7 PM

To reserve your tickets to All In For Her:

https://www.classy.org/event/2025-all-in-for-her/e658592/register/new/select-tickets

To be a sponsor for All In For Her you can contact IWWC Board Member Kylee Walker at: [email protected]

To make a general donation to the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club:

https://www.classy.org/give/658592/#!/donation/checkout

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The IWWC(Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club) will host All In For Her on Friday, April 18 at Xtreme Arena in Coralville.

This is the largest fundraiser of the year for the IWWC.

Social Hour begins at 6 PM and will include hors d’oeuvres and drinks followed by Coach Chun with a recap of the 2025 championship season of Iowa Women’s Wrestling.

The party and games begin at 7.

The party will include casino games, bingo, a silent auction, DJ, and “For Her” merchandise.

All In For Her

Friday, April 18

Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa

Social Hour – 6 PM

Party and games – 7 PM

To reserve your tickets to All In For Her:

https://www.classy.org/event/2025-all-in-for-her/e658592/register/new/select-tickets

To be a sponsor for All In For Her you can contact IWWC Board Member Kylee Walker at: [email protected]

To make a general donation to the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club:

https://www.classy.org/give/658592/#!/donation/checkout

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa will be well represented at the U20 and U23 Women’s Nationals in Spokane,Washington on April 4-6.

Nine Hawks will compete in U20 Nationals and seven in U23 Nationals.

Incoming recruits Isabella Marie Gonzales and Samantha Sachs will be competing at U20 Nationals.

The winner of each weight will represent Team USA at the World Championships.

The U20 World Championships will be in Sophia, Bulgaria on August 20-22.

The U23 World Championships will be in Novi Sad, Serbia on October 22-24. 

Last year at U20 Nationals Brianna Gonzalez(53kg) and Reese Larramendy(65kg) won titles as well as at the time incoming recruits and now current Hawkeyes Cadence Diduch(62kg) and Naomi Simon(76kg) won titles.

FloWrestling will have full coverage on their premium service.

I will have a follow up blog with results.

U20 Nationals

50 kg – Rianne Murphy

55 kg – Ava Rose

57 kg – Mia Goodwin

57 kg – Cali Leng

59 kg – Karlee Brooks

59 kg – Emily Frost

62 kg – Lilly Luft

65 kg – Cadence Diduch

72 kg – Naomi Simon

Isabella Marie Gonzales(Incoming recruit)

Samantha Sachs(Incoming recruit)

U23 Nationals

50 kg – Sterling Dias

50 kg – Emilie Gonzalez

50 kg – Ava Bayless

53 kg – Brianna Gonzalez

65 kg – Reese Larramendy

65 kg – Ella Schmit

72 kg – Rose Cassioppi

Friday, April 4

Noon – U23 Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, and Consolation

5:30 PM – U23 Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Consolation

Saturday, April 5

Noon – U23 Best 2 out of 3 Championship Finals and 3rd, 5th, 7th place matches 

4 PM – U20 Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Consolations

Sunday, April 6

Noon – U20 Consolation, Consolation-Semi, Best 2 out of 3 Finals and Placements

***All times listed are CST

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Stephen Buchanan and Kyle Parco have been named as NWCA Scholar All American.

The criteria to achieve this honor:

1. An All American and at least a 3.0 Cumulative GPA.

2. An NCAA Qualifier with at least a 3.5 Cumulative GPA.

3. A 3.5 GPA and represent their team at the conference tournament or win 60 percent of their matches.

Buchanan won the 197 lbs. title at the NCAA Championships.

For the season Buchanan was 26-1 with four pins, nine tech falls and five major decisions.

He was named for the Mike Howard Award as Most Valuable, John and Dorothy Sill Award (Most Dedicated) and for the Most Pins award on the team.

Parco was 21-5 for the year at 149 with seven tech falls and three major decisions. Parco was injured and had to withdraw from the National Championships.

Iowa has received 64 NWCA academic honors since Tom Brands was named head coach in 2006.

Congratulations to Stephen Buchanan and Kyle Parco for being named NWCA Scholar all American.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kiley Welker, Kennedy Blades and Macey Kilty of the University of Iowa have been named as three of the eight finalists for the USA Wrestling 2025 Women’s College Wrestler of the Year.

Welker, Blades and Kilty were a combined 80 this season in leading Iowa to their second straight NCWWC National 

The award will be selected by a vote from three major groups: wrestling journalists, women’s college head coaches and the fans. 

Each of these groups will account for one-third of the vote. 

Fan voting opens today and runs through Sunday April 6 at https://usawrestlingevents.com/wcwoty. 

The winner of 2025 USA Wrestling’s Women’s College Wrestler of the Year will be announced on FloWrestling on Thursday, April 8.

Welker, a redshirt sophomore from Franksville, Wisconsin, was 27-0 with 21 tech falls and six pins while not surrendering a single point all season for the NCWWC title at 180.

Last season Welker won the title at 170 and is on track to be a four-time national champion.

This past summer Welker won a U23 World Freestyle title and bronze medal at the 2024 Senior World Championships.

Welker was also a 2021 Junior World champion, 2021 U23 World Bronze medalist, and placed 10th at the 2021 Senior World Championships.

Kylie Welker was the first recruit to commit to the University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling program in February of 2022.

In her first year of college wrestling Blades won a national title at 160 by going 25-0 with all 25 wins coming by fall or technical fall. She was also named the 2025 NCWWC Most Outstanding Wrestler.

This past summer Blades won a silver medal at the Olympics.

Blades, originally from Chicago, Illinois, was a 2021 U20 world champion,  2023 U20 bronze medalist and a 2023 U23 silver medalist.

Kilty, from Stratford, Wisconsin, transferred into the program this summer with one year of eligibility remaining and won a national title at 145. 

Kilty went 28-0 with 20 tech. falls, three pins and four decisions for the season. 

She won silver at 65kg at the 2023 Senior World Championships and was a 2018 Cadet World champion. She has won six age-level World medals for Team USA.

Best of luck to Kiley Welker, Kennedy Blades and Macey Kilty in the voting for Women’s College Wrestler of the Year..

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Jeff McGinness has been named as the 2025 U20 Women’s World Team Coach. The U20 World Championships will be in Sophia, Bulgaria on August 20-22.

McGinness will coach the U20 World Team in a series of U20 World Team Camps this summer at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

The U20 World Team will be decided at the U20 Women’s National Championships in Spokane, Washington this weekend.

McGinness has been the head coach since the beginning of the program and just finished up his third year as head coach of the Simpson Women’s Wrestling program. Simpson tied for 24th place at the 2025 NCWWC National Tournament.

McGinness is one of the most successful wrestlers in Iowa High School wrestling when he was a four-time undefeated state champion at City High in Iowa City. McGinness won a Junior World Freestyle title in 1992 at 58 kg/127 lbs. and was named as the tournament O.W.

At the University of Iowa McGinness was a three-time All American and two-time NCAA National champion for Dan Gable. 

McGinness won a national title at 126 lbs. in 1995 and at 142 lbs. in 1998 and was a member of four NCAA National Champion Iowa Hawkeye teams. 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa Wrestling team had their postseason awards banquet on Friday, March 28 in the Feller Room in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Stephen Buchanan was named for the Mike Howard Award as Most Valuable. Buchanan won the 197 lbs. title at the NCAA Championships. Buchanan was also recognized for the Most Pins award on the team with four.

For the season Buchanan was 26-1 with four pins, nine tech falls and five major decisions.

Patrick Kennedy and Joey Cruz were named as Most Improved.

Kennedy placed fourth at 174 lbs. at the National Championships and Cruz was an NCAA Qualifier at 125.

Easton Fleshman was named for Coaches Appreciation.

Cullan Schriever was awarded the Donald McPike, Sr. Award for the highest senior GPA(4.11 GPA).

Nelson Brands was named for the Mike J. McGivern Award (Most Courageous).

Five wrestlers were recognized for the John and Dorothy Sill Award (Most Dedicated): Drake Ayala, Michael Caliendo, Patrick Kennedy, Stephan Buchanan and Angelo Ferrari.

2025 Iowa Wrestling Awards

Mike Howard Most Valuable – Stephan Buchanan

Mike J. McGivern Award (Most Courageous) – Nelson Brands

John and Dorothy Sill Award (Most Dedicated) 

Drake Ayala

Michael Caliendo

Patrick Kennedy

Stephen Buchanan

Angelo Ferrari

Most Improved – Patrick Kennedy and Joey Cruz

Donald McPike, Sr. Award (Highest Senior GPA) – Cullan Schriever(4.11 GPA)

Coaches Appreciation – Easton Fleshman

Most Pins Award – Stephan Buchanan(4)

All-American Award

Drake Ayala

Michael Caliendo

Patrick Kennedy

Stephen Buchanan

Ben Kueter

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Nasir Bailey and Jordan Williams of Little Rock announced on Instagram that they will transfer to the University of Iowa.

Bailey placed fourth in 2024 and did not place at Nationals this season at 133. Williams finished in the Round of 12 this year and the Round of 16 in 2024 at 149.

I can only speculate that Bailey will move up to 141 next season and Williams will compete at 149.

Originally from Park Forest, Illinois Bailey was a four-time state champion at Rich Township High School. Bailey was ranked #17 overall in the Recruiting Class of 2023.

As a true freshman in 2024 Bailey was 29-4 with two falls, 10 tech falls and four major decisions. He was the #7 seed at 133 at the 2024 NCAA Tournament where he went 5-2 to place fourth at a very tough weight. 

His only two losses were to Ryan Crookham of Lehigh in the Quarterfinals(4-2) and third place match(4-3).

In 2025 Bailey was 23-4 as the #3 seed at Nationals where he went 2-2 and did not place.

Bailey has two years of eligibility and a redshirt season remaining.

Williams was ranked #12 overall for the Recruiting Class of 2022 from Tulsa, Oklahoma and originally committed to Oklahoma State. 

In 2024 Williams made the Round of 16. This past season as the #8 seed at Nationals Williams was 2-2 and made the Blood Round of 12. 

In the Quarterfinals Williams dropped a 8-5 SV1 match to Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech, the defending national champion who placed second at 149 this year.

Williams will have two years of eligibility remaining.

I expect Iowa to continue to make additions to the roster from the Transfer Portal before classes begin in August.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Former Iowa Hawkeye All American John Oostendorp has been elected to the NWCA Division III Hall of Fame.

Oostendorp will be inducted at the Honors Banquet on Friday, August 1, at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

Oostendorp has been the head coach at Coe College for twenty-four years where he was named the 2009 NWCA Division III National Coach of the Year. He is a three-time American Rivers Conference Coach of the Year

For dual meets Oostendorp has a 295-124 record since the 2001-2002 season.

Oostendorp has coached 94 All Americans and seven National Champions at Coe.

Oostendorp led the Kohawks to back-to-back fourth place finishes at the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Championships, the two highest finishes in school history.

At the 2025 DIII Wrestling Championships Coe placed 6th with four All Amercians.

Originally from Nichols, Iowa Oostendorp was the first state champion in West Liberty High School history in 1988.

At the University of Iowa Oostendorp was a four-year starter at Hwt for Dan Gable with a career record of 108-26 with 40 pins. He was a member of the 1991, 1992 and 1993 NCAA national championship teams.

Oostendorp became a two-time All American at Hwt by placing fifth in 1992 and third in 1993.

In International wrestling Oostendorp placed fifth at 100 kg at the 1989 Greco-Roman U20 World Championships.

In 1995 Oostendorp represented Team USA at the Greco-Roman World Championships. In 1996 he won a U.S. Open title and placed second at the Olympic Trials to become an Olympic Alternate.

In 2023 Oostendorp was inducted into the Glen Brand Hall of Fame of Iowa.

Congratulations to John Oostendorp for being inducted into the D-III Hall of Fame.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

It is time to take a look at the upcoming freestyle season. We get one weekend off after Nationals for college wrestling and we will be in the freestyle season.

On April 4-6 we will have members of the Iowa Women’s Wrestling team and incoming recruits competing at U20 and U23 Women’s National Championships in Spokane, Washington.

A spot on the U20 and U23 World Team will be on the line and you can expect great competition.

Las Vegas will once again host a huge weekend of wrestling on April 24-27. Men’s Senior and U20 along with Senior Women’s Nationals will be contested.

USA Wrestling is once again stringing out the process to make the Senior World Team. Nationals in Vegas will set up the World Team Trials in Louisville, Kentucky on May 16-17. The winner of that will qualify for Final X in Newark, New Jersey on June 14. The winner of Final X will represent Team USA in men’s and women’s freestyle at the 2025 World Championships.

Junior Duals will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin after being in Tulsa, Oklahoma for years. This is always an opportunity to follow incoming recruits.

Cadet and Junior FS/GR will be in Fargo, North Dakota on July 12-19. This was the largest tournament in the world before they added the girls division. It is amazing how many matches take place in this tournament.

Wrestling is truly a year around sport now. With the addition of the Iowa Women’s program we have someone to follow nearly every month of the year.

We had Hawks competing in the Olympics, Senior Worlds, U20 and U23 World Championships last year.

I will keep you up to date right here on my Iowa Wrestling Fan Blog every step of the way as Iowa Hawkeyes compete to represent Team USA in the World Championships.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

April 4-6  U20 and U23 Women’s National Championships in Spokane, Washington

April 24-27  Men’s Senior and U20, Women’s Senior Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada

May 16-17  Men’s and Women’s Senior Challenge Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky

May 31-June1  U20 and U23 World Team Trials in Geneva, Ohio

June 14  Final X for men’s and women’s freestyle Senior World Team in Newark, New Jersey

June 19-21  GR and FS Junior Duals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

July 12-19  Cadet and Junior FS/GR Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!