Spencer Lee will be competing at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday and Sunday, May 11-12.

Lee will be competing to qualify Team USA at 57kg for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France on August 5-11. The top three at each weight will qualify for the Olympics.

Team USA will also be competing to qualify 65kg in Freestyle and 60, 67, and 77 kg in Greco-Roman for the Olympics. All of the weights for the Women’s Freestyle team have already qualified for the Olympics.

Lee looked great in winning the 57kg title at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials recently. In the finals he defeated former Iowa Hawkeye World champion and Olympic bronze medalist Thomas Gilman in the best of three finals matches, 2-0.

The competition from the Olympic Team Trials especially against Gilman should have Lee ready to go. Lee will not compete against a stronger or tougher wrestler than Thomas Gilman at this tournament.

As I stated in my blog after Lee won the Olympic Trials I believe this competition will help get Lee even more prepared for the Olympics and actually help him. I am confident that Lee will win this qualifier and be ready to go for a run at the Olympic gold.

FloWrestling will have live coverage of the World Olympic Games Qualifier on their premium service.

World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey

*****All times listed are CST

Saturday, May 11

Preliminary Rounds – 2 AM

Semifinals – 10 AM

Sunday, May 12

Repechage – 8 AM

Bronze Medal matches – 9 AM

Finals – 10 AM

Registered at 57kg

Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)

Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)

Zhipeng JIANG (CHN)

Roland TAMBI (CMR)

Peter HAMMER CUDE (CRC)

Guesseppe REA VILLARROEL (ECU)

Levan METREVELI VARTANOV (ESP)

Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)

Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)

Horst LEHR (GER)

Tsz Shing LEUNG (HKG)

AMAN (IND)

Alireza SARLAK (IRI)

Simone PIRODDU (ITA)

Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ)

Sunggwon KIM (KOR)

Ben TARIK (MAR)

Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)

Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)

Ali ABURUMAILA (PLE)

Chong HAN (PRK)

Razvan KOVACS (ROU)

Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE)

Thomas EPP (SUI)

Kabe MATJANOV (TKM)

Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)

Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)

Spencer LEE (USA)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling Team received a commitment from Rianne Murphy from Crown Point, Indiana. Murphy competed for national powerhouse Wyoming Seminary where she won the National Prep title at 107 this season. She signed with the Hawks today to add to an already impressive Recruiting Class of 2024.

Murphy was a Cadet national champion in 2021 and 2022. Ranked #6 at 105 lbs. in the final National Girls High School Rankings, Murphy will add to a powerful lightweight roster for Iowa.

Murphy has had an impressive spring that includes winning the National Girls High School Recruiting Showcase title at 105 lbs. and placing fifth at U20 Nationals. 

In International competition Murphy is a U15 and U17 Pan Am gold medalist. After winning the U17 World Team Trials Murphy represented Team USA at 46kg/101 lbs. and placed 10th at the 2023 U17 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 in the final National Girls High School Rankings

Val Solorio (Canon-McMillan HS, Pennsylvania) – #3 at 100 lbs.

Rianne Murphy (Crown Point, IN – Wyoming Seminary) – #6 at 105 lbs.

Karlee Brooks  (Valiant College Prep, Phoenix, AZ) – #2 at 120 lbs., #11 P4P

Cadence Diduch (Freeport, Illinois) – #4 at 135 lbs.

Kiara Djoumessi (Waverly-Shell Rock HS, Iowa) –  #10 at 140 lbs.

Naomi Simon (Decorah, Iowa) – #3 at 170 lbs., #20 P4P

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Former Iowa Wrestler Jake Kadel has been named as the 2024 NAIA Women’s Coach of the Year by The Open Mat. Kadel just finished his first year as head coach at William Penn in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Kadel coached at Iowa Wesleyan for the men’s and women’s programs from 2021-23. He was the head coach at Iowa Wesleyan Women’s team in 2023 that had a national champion, five All Americans, and placed seventh in the country in NAIA.

Iowa Wesleyan closed last year and Kadel became the new head coach at the William Penn Women’s program. 

Kadel took over a William Penn program that placed 33rd out of 35 teams at the 2023 NAIA Women’s Wrestling Championships.

In his first season as head coach William Penn broke school records with three national champions, five All Americans and placed fourth at the 2024 NAIA Women’s Wrestling Championships. 

Adaugo Nwachukwu, a junior at William Penn University, was named as the 2024 USA Wrestling Women’s College Wrestler of the Year. Nwachukwu recently placed third at 61kg at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials and earned a spot as a member of the U.S. National Team.

Originally from New London, Iowa Kadel graduated from Iowa in 2015. He was a four-time letterwinner and competed at 141, 149, and 157 lbs. Kadel was a member of the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2011.

Former Iowa Hawkeye Cash Wilcke is an Assistant Coach for Kadel at William Penn. Wilcke, originally from Battle Creek, Iowa (OA-BCIG HS) was a three-time NCAA Qualifier for Iowa at 184 lbs and 197 in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Congratulations to Jake Kadel for being named as the 2024 NAIA Women’s Coach of the Year

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Real Woods was named as the 2024 Male Athlete of the Year at the University of Iowa Golden Herkys awards ceremony.

The University of Iowa Athletic Department recognizes student-athletes for their athletic and academic accomplishments in a ceremony at Hancher Auditorium.

Organized by the Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (ISAAC) the student-athletes are recognized by their peers.

Woods placed fourth at 141 lbs. at the 2024 NCAA National Wrestling Championships. He finished the season with a 23-5 record with one pin, seven tech falls, and two major decisions.

Woods finished his career as a four-time All American with an 85-14 record.

Woods was a two-time NWCA Scholar All American and was named as the 2023 Mike Howard Most Valuable Wrestler for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Congratulations to Real Woods on being named as the 2024 Male Athlete of the Year 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kylie Welker of the University of Iowa has been named as the 2024 NCAA Women’s Wrestler of the Year by The Open Mat.

Welker led Iowa to the NCWWC and National Duals titles in the first year of competition for the program. 

Welker defeated three-time national champion and 2023 USA Wrestling Women’s College Wrestler of the Year Yelena Makoyed of North Central College 11-3 in the last match at National Duals to win the team title. 

The team title was also decided in the last match of the NCWWC finals when Welker defeated Makoyed by an 11-0 tech fall at 170 to give the Hawks the national team title.. 

Welker scored the most points for the Hawks at NCWWC with 28.5 points.

Welker, originally from Franksville, Wisconsin (Waterford Union HS), was the first recruit to commit to the Iowa Women’s Wrestling program. She was a 2021 Junior World champion, 2021 U23 World Bronze medalist, and placed 10th at the 2021 Senior World Championships.

Welker placed fourth at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials at 76kg to become a member of the United State National Senior Team for the third time in her career.

Kylie Welker

2024 NCWWC champion at 170 pounds

23-1 record (only loss to a post-collegian)

6 pins and 16 technical falls

NCWWC Region V champion

Congratulations Kylie Welker for being named as The Open Mat 2024 NCAA Women’s Wrestler of the Year 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruit Karlee Brooks won the 120 lbs. title at the Girls National High School Recruiting Showcase on Sunday. Brooks pinned three-time defending Recruiting Showcase champion Zao Estrada in 5:51 in the finals. 

Brooks-Estrada was the biggest match of the tournament. With the pin Brooks was named as Outstanding Wrestler.

In the semifinals Brooks defeated Milana Borreli of Florida, 7-0.

The Recruiting Showcase is a part of the U.S. Open weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Brooks, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, is in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the U.S. Olympic Training Center as a member of the EAP (Elite Accelerator Program). 

In the National Girls High School Rankings Brooks is ranked #2 at 120 lbs. and #11 in the P4P rankings. She was a 53 KG/117 lbs. U17 National champion and placed fifth at the 2023 U17 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Brooks is a member of the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024.

Girls National High School Recruiting Showcase

120 LBS

Finals: 1st Karlee Brooks AZ (Titan Mercury Wrestling Club) pin Zao Estrada SC (Daughters Of Zion Wrestling), 5:51

Semifinals: Karlee Brooks AZ (Titan Mercury Wrestling Club) dec. Milana Borrelli FL (Florida), 7-0.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruits Keyan Hernandez(Montana) and Angelo Ferrari(Texas) were named as state winners of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award (DSHSEA).

The National Wrestling Hall Of Fame announced the state winners who are now eligible for the Regional selection. 

Hernandez will be in the West Region with Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Ferrari will be in the Central Region with Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

From Themat.com of USA Wrestling:

The DSHSEA was established in 1996 to honor Olympic and World champion Dave Schultz, whose career was cut short when he was murdered in January 1996. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1997 and as a member of the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016.

The DSHSEA recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior male wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service.

DSHSEA winners are evaluated and selected on the basis of three criteria: success and standout performances and sportsmanship in wrestling; review of GPA and class rank, academic honors and distinctions; and participation in activities that demonstrate commitment to character and community.

Hernandez and Ferrari are in the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024.

Hernandez recently won his fourth Montana state title for Billings West High School in Billing, Montana with a 40-0 record and had a 131-1 career record.

Earlier this month Hernandez won the Senior division 126 lbs. title at the NHSCA High School Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Hernandez was the first member of the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 when he committed to the Hawks on October 1, 2022.

Ferrari has been the #1 P4P (pound for pound) ranked wrestler in the country by both FloWrestling and MatScouts.

Ferrari was the #1 overall ranked recruit in the Class of 2024 by Flo last season. He committed to the University of Iowa on May 31, 2023.

The last two years Ferrari won a state title at 175 lbs. for Melissa High School in Melissa, Texas. 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Executive Committee of the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championship (NCWWC) made two big announcements.

The 2025 NCWWC will take place at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa on March 7-8. This will put the national tournament about a mile from the home of the University Iowa Women’s Wrestling team who won the 2024 title in their first year of competition.

Xtream Arena has become a popular host for elite wrestling competition over the last three years and this will certainly add to their reputation. 

This tournament will also be a good boost to the local Iowa City economy that supports Iowa Wrestling.

The Executive Committee also announced that there will be a move from six to eight regions to qualify for NCWWC. The top 4 at each region will qualify for NCWWC. With that the NCWWC will grow from 240 wrestlers this season to 320 wrestlers in 2025.

2025 Regionals will be on February 21-23. The process will begin in the upcoming weeks in choosing the eight regional sites.

This past season Iowa competed at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa at the Region V Tournament.

I would like to see Cedar Rapids host a regional this year. 

The increase in regionals is due to the explosive growth of women’s wrestling. There will be a total of 96 teams competing in Division I, II, and III women’s wrestling for the 2024-25 season. 23 of those programs will be competing for the first time next season.

Iowa Wrestling won the NCWWC and National Duals title this past season in their first year of competition. I have no doubt that the success of Iowa Wrestling has been a force in the growth of women’s wrestling.

My blog yesterday was about the funding being approved by the NCAA to create an NCAA national championship for Division I, II, and III for women’s wrestling.

https://iowawrestlingblog.com/2024/04/ncaa-approves-funding-for-national-collegiate-womens-wrestling-championship/

I look for a continued increase in women’s college wrestling programs to grow each year. Iowa is the only Power 5 conference member with women’s wrestling. I would like to see that increase as soon as possible.

My one concern is that the NCWWC will once again be on the weekend of Big Tens and all the NCAA qualifying conference tournaments for men’s wrestling. I believe that is a mistake. Find a weekend that the women’s national tournament is the only big event in college wrestling going on.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The NCAA Board of Governors on Thursday approved funding for women’s wrestling. The board approved $1.7 million in Association funding with $200,000 in 2025 and $1.5 million in 2026 to establish a National Collegiate women’s wrestling championship.

The first championship will be in the 2025-26 season.

In February the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics approved to recommend legislation for Division I, II, and II sponsorship. The divisions are expected to vote on the proposals during the 2025 NCAA Convention planned for Jan. 15-18 in Nashville, Tennessee. 

The growth of women’s wrestling has been amazing across the country. 45 states now have sanctioned high school girls wrestling and women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sport in American.

The University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling team has brought a lot of great attention to women’s wrestling. Iowa shattered the attendance record with 8,207 fans in Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the Trailblazer Duals on November 12, 2023. This was the home debut for the new women’s program. 

Iowa won the 2024 NCWWC national title and NCWA Duals in the first year for the program.

I look for more Division I programs to add women’s wrestling in the next two years as the sport continues to grow. 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruits competed at the Greco-Roman U20 Nationals in Las Vegas. Otto Black won the 63kg/138 lbs. title in dominating fashion. Black had three tech falls before defeating Jandon Drury 10-5 in the finals.

Black was a Junior Greco-Roman national champion at 126 in 2022 and 132 in 2023. 

Black, from Park, Colorado, committed to the Hawks on April 16. He won a 138 lbs. 4A Colorado state title this season with a 52-0 record and will be a member of the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024.

Leister Bowling placed second at 77kg/169 lbs. After two tech falls, Bowling won 7-0 in the quarterfinals and 9-7 in the semifinals. He dropped the finals match 8-0 to Aydin Rix McElhinney.

Bowling, from Longmont, Colorado, won a 175 lbs state title for Mead High School. Bowling and Black were teammates and led Mead to the 4A Colorado state title this season.

Bowling is in the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2025.

Black and Bowling have now qualified for U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials on May 31-June 1 in Geneva, Ohio.

On Friday and Saturday Kael Voinovich and Isaiah Fenton will be competing at the Freestyle U20 Nationals  in Las Vegas.

Voinovich is in the Recruiting Class of 2024 and Fenton is a true freshman at Iowa.

FloWrestling will have full coverage on their premium service.

Freestyle 

Kael Voinovich – 70kg

Isaiah Fenton – 74kg 

U20 Freestyle Nationals Schedule

*****All times listed are CST

Friday, April 26

U20 Freestyle 

Preliminaries and Consolations

6:00PM – 10:30PM

Saturday, April 27

U20 Freestyle 

Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolations and Consolation Semifinals

Noon – 3PM

U20 Freestyle 

All Medal Matches

6:00PM – 7:30PM

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!