True freshman Gabe Arnold of the University of Iowa has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.

Arnold bumped up to 184 lbs. in the heated Iowa-Iowa State dual on Sunday and defeated #6 nationally ranked Will Feldcamp, 3-2. This match helped the Hawks win the dual, 18-14.

Originally from Albany, Georgia, Arnold was named as the NCAA Wrestler of the Week last week for his win over 11th-ranked Travis Wittlake from Oregon State, 4-2, in his dual debut on Nov. 19.  

Arnold is now ranked in two national polls: No. 10 at 174 pounds by FloWrestling and No. 10 at 184 pounds by Amateur Wrestling News.  

No. 4 Iowa will be on the road Friday (Dec 1) with a dual meet with Penn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 6 PM CST.

Congratulations to Gabe Arnold for receiving this honor.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Hawkeyes will take to the road for a dual meet against Penn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Friday, December 1 at 6 PM CST. The meet will be held at the Palestra, an iconic sports venue for decades.

The Hawks are coming off of a big 18-14 win over Iowa State on Sunday. Iowa defeated Penn in Iowa City last year, 26-11.

The probable lineup will stay the same or Iowa at 125, 133, 141, 157, 165, 197, and Hwt. Victor Voinovich and Caleb Rathjen are both listed at 149. At 174 Patrick Kennedy and Drake Rhodes are listed and we have Aiden Riggins listed at 184.

Penn has a ranked wrestler listed in the probable lineup at every weight except 165, 197 and Hwt. With that we can expect solid competition from Penn and entertaining matches.

The Iowa-Penn dual meet will be streamed on ESPNt on their premium service.

Steven Grace will be calling the meet on AM 800 KXIC.

4 IOWA HAWKEYES (3-0) 2023-24 Overall

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

125 10/15/14/15 Drake Ayala So. Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge 7-1

133 15/9/12/11 Brody Teske Sr. Duncombe, Iowa/Fort Dodge 4-2

141 1/1/1/1 Real Woods R-Sr. Albuquerque, New Mexico/Montini Catholic (Ill.) 3-0

149 15/15/10/13 Victor Voinovich III So. Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville 6-2

-or- Caleb Rathjen So. Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny 5-1

157 2/2/2/2 Jared Franek Grad. Harwood, North Dakota/West Fargo 8-0

165 7/6/6/5 Michael Caliendo So. Geneva, Illinois/Batavia 7-1

174 9/14/–/– Patrick Kennedy Jr. Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota/Kasson-Mantorville 1-0

-or- Drake Rhodes R-Fr. Billings, Montana/Billings West 8-2

184 Aiden Riggins R-Fr. Janesville, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock 6-1

197 –/22/24/18 Zach Glazier Sr. Albert Lea, Minnesota/Albert Lea 7-0

285 Bradley Hill R-Fr. Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf 5-3

^WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA QUAKERS (0-0) 2023-24 Overall

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

125 Ryan Miller Jr. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania/Blair Academy 5-2

-or- –/19/22/– Max Gallagher Fr. Blue Point, New York/Bayport-Blue Point 5-1

133 9/13/8/17 Michael Colaiocco Sr. Sparta, New Jersey/Blair Academy 5-3

-or- Alex Almeyda Fr. New Milford, New Jersey/Saint Joseph Regional 7-0

141 19/11/13/10 CJ Composto Jr. Westfield, New Jersey/Westfield 8-0

149 –/24/–/– Kelly Dunnigan So. Waldwick, New Jersey/Don Bosco Prep 7-1

-or- Jackson Polo So. Lloyd Harbor, New York/Cold Spring Harbor 5-2

157 Lucas Revano Sr. Belmar, New Jersey/Camden Catholic 4-4

-or- –/26/33/– Jude Swisher Fr. State College, Pennsylvania/Bellefonte Area 6-2

165 Kaya Sement So. Chester, New Jersey/Pope John XXIII 4-3

174 13/10/17/12 Nick Incontrera Jr. Felmington, New Jersey/Blair Academy 6-1

184 –/38/32/– Maximus Hale Jr. West Chester, Pennsylvania/Downingtown West 6-2

197 Cole Urbas Sr. Port Matilda, Pennsylvania/State College Area 4-3

-or- –/26/–/– Martin Cosgrove Fr. Gibbstown, New Jersey/Camden Catholic 7-2

285 John Stout Sr. Waretown, New Jersey/Southern Regional 5-2

^WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The new National Girls High School Rankings have been released. The rankings are a product of USA Wrestling, FloWrestling, and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

All five members of the 2024 Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 are ranked. In the Pound For Pound (P4P) rankings Karlee Brooks is listed at #11 and Naomi Simon is #23.

In individual rankings: Val Solorio is #5 at 100, Karlee Brooks #2 at 120, Cadence Diduch #4 at 135, Kiara Djoumessi #12 at 140, and Naomi Simon #2 at 170.

In their first year of competition the Iowa Women’s team is ranked #1 in the country and are off to a great start. They have a talented roster that will only get better with these incoming recruits.

Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 in the National Girls High School Rankings (11/28/23)

Val Solorio (Canon-McMillan HS, Pennsylvania) – #5 at 100 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) –  #12 at 140 lbs.

Naomi Simon (Decorah, Iowa) – #2 at 170 lbs., #23 P4P

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Keyan Hernandez was the first member of the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 when he committed to the Hawks on October 1, 2022. Entering his senior year at Billings West High School in Billings, Montana, Hernandez is a three-time state champion.

In October Hernandez placed third at 126 lbs. at the National High School Recruiting Showcase. This marked the fifth time that Hernandez became an All American at this tournament.

Hernandez is projected to compete at 125/133 for the Hawks.

As I have done for years I will post a blog on Friday with a schedule of where our recruits will be competing for the upcoming weekend and a follow up blog with results throughout the season.

Billings West 2023-24 Schedule

Sat Dec 2  Butte/Capitol Duals

Fri/Sat Dec 8-9 – at Mining City Duals (Butte)

Thur Dec 14 – at CMR

Fri/Sat Dec 15-16 – at CMR Holiday Tournament

Wed Dec 20 – Senior

Tues Jan 2 – at Skyview

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

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

Tues Jan 16 – Skyview

Thurs Jan 18 – at Huntley/Sidney

Sat Jan 20 – at AA Duals (Great Falls)

Tues Jan 23 – at Senior

Sat Jan 27 – at Hardin Invite

Fri/Sat Feb 2-3 – at Divisionals (Great Falls)

Fri/Sat Feb 9-10 – at State (Metra)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

If you have been reading my blog over the last two years you know that I have been high on Gabe Arnold, originally from Albany, Georgia. I stated several times that I thought Arnold had the physicality, technique, and skill set to compete right away as a true freshman and at an elite level.

We are still in November and just in the beginning of the season, but I sure like what I see out of Arnold so far.

Arnold started the season by winning the 174 lbs. title at the Luther Open. He had three tech falls, a major decision and a decision. His decision was 14-7 over teammate Will Carano.

In the home opener Arnold competed against #11 Travis Wittlake of Oregon State. Wittlake was an All American at Oklahoma State before transferring this past off season. Arnold won by a 4-2 decision over a senior to announce his arrival in college wrestling.

What happened in Ames for the Iowa-iowa State dual was even more impressive. Arnold went up a weight to 184 to wrestle returning All American Will Feldcamp. If the rest of the country did not know about this kid they certainly do now.

In an interview with ESPN following the match Arnold stated that he did not know that he was going to be wrestling in the Iowa State meet until the day before. Gotta love his mentality to step up and want to compete.

Against Feldcamp Arnold controlled the ties and the center of the mat throughout the match against another experienced All American senior. When Arnold got in on a single leg at the edge of the mat he showed a lot of explosive pop, strength, and technique to get the takedown. That was the best move of the entire dual meet.

Feldcamp was at least 5” taller yet Arnold showed a lot of discipline in controlling and maintaining superior positioning on their feet. Arnold used his strong hips, hand fighting, and his head to take away one entire side of Feldcamp. It is tough to score when you cannot use one side of your body because it is being controlled. That was some high level technique, discipline, and positioning. Especially impressive for an 18 year old true freshman.

The rest of the country now has videos of how Arnold wrestles. You always see the rest of the country make adjustments by mid-season when the Big Ten schedule kicks in and definitely by the time of Big Tens and Nationals. What works for a freshman right out of the gates early in their first season may be limited as the rest of the country makes technical adjustments.

What makes me confident about Arnold is that we have only seen a glimpse of what he can do. Being tough to score on, stingy is the Iowa Wrestling term, travels well. In other words it is always a great thing to have going for you regardless of the level of competition. I also like his conditioning and confidence. Arnold can light up the scoreboard with a takedown, let them up, takedown, and so on that Iowa fans love to see.

We have four months to go in the season. We do not even know for sure if Arnold is going to compete or redshirt this year. As a selfish fan I sure hope we see Arnold out there for the Hawks for the rest of the season.

The Arnold family moved from Albany, Georgia to Iowa City last year and Gabe won a state title for (Iowa City) City High. I can see this being a blueprint for future out of state recruits to do the same when they see the success that Arnold has in the Iowa program.

Jim Gibbons made the comparison of Arnold to Hawkeye legend Chris Cambell during the broadcast of the meet. That is not the first time I have heard someone from that era make the comparison. Campbell was a World Champion and two-time Olympian. More than a few Iowa legends a generation older than me believe Chris Campbell is the best Iowa wrestler ever. High praise for Gabe Arnold.

The sky’s the limit for Gabe Arnold.

174 Luther Open – 1st Place 

Tyler Haydon (Wisconsin-Whitewater) W-TF 19-3 

Luis Cruces (Luther) W-TF 21-5 

Will Carano (Iowa) W-D 14-7

Stefan Major (Stevens Tech) W-TF 19-4

Seth Goetzinger (Augsburg) W-MD 11-3

#11 Travis Wittlake (Oregon State) W-D 4-2

184 #6 Will Feldcamp (Iowa State) W-D 3-2

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Another chapter of the Iowa-Iowa State wrestling meet is in the books and one to remember. I predicted that Iowa would win a close intense meet and they did just that.

#4 Iowa came out on top 18-14 for the nineteenth straight year over #8 Iowa State. The Hawkeyes now lead the all-time series over the Cyclones, 69-16-2.  The Hawkeyes have won 19 straight, 34 of the last 35 and 58 of the last 62 meetings.

Tom Brands as a wrestler and head coach at Iowa is still undefeated against Iowa State.

Iowa retained the Dan Gable Traveling Trophy and are a perfect 13-0 competing for this award since it began in 2010.

This was the first sellout (14,267) at Hilton Coliseum in over 40 years. This was also the first dual meet ever on ESPN. As I mentioned in my preview as a fan you really could not ask for more.

“It’s good, credit our guys” said head coach Tom Brands. “Onward. Competitors focus on what they can control. We’ve got guys that have tremendous scoring ability and I’m not sure that showed out there. We got beat up in the stall call department, so we have a lot of work to do. That’s where I am at. We are moving forward.”

Let’s take a look.

125 – #17 Drake Ayala looked good in a 7-2 win over #8 Kysen Terukina. I will keep saying that Ayala has all of the tools to be in the elite at 125 nationally this year. I believe Drake Ayala needs more confidence and that will open up his offense. There is nothing better for confidence than a big win in a hostile environment like Ayala just did.

133 – #8 Brody Teske dropped an 8-1 decision to #19 Evan Frost. This is the one match that I did not see happening. Not sure what happened. I am confident that Teske will respond.

141 – #1 Real Woods defeated a talented #19 Anthony Echemendia, 4-1 SV1. After the match Woods said that he gave Echemendia too much respect and did not open up. I would agree with that. Woods made the takedown in overtime look methodical and routine. I do believe Echemendia has the potential to make it far at the NCAA’s and Woods to win the national title.

149 – #14 Casey Swiderski defeated #9 Victor Voinovich III, 6-3 behind two takedowns. Voinovich is going to have to find a takedown in his arsenal and soon. Could be a confidence issue. I do not know. It is early in the season so let’s give him some time to figure it out because he definitely has the skills.

157 – #2 Jared Franek held on to defeat #18 Cody Chittum, 4-2. I was impressed by the low single and finish early in the match by Franek. I did not know that he had that. As with Echemendia, Chittum is way underrated at this time. I am looking forward to seeing Franek compete for the Hawks the rest of the season.

165 – #2 David Carr won by a major dec. over #5 Michael Caliendo, 16-4. Carr is that good and Caliendo is a legit #5 at the toughest weight in the country. Not much to say except regroup and get back after at the next meet at Penn.

174 – #14 Patrick Kennedy held on to defeat #21 MJ Gaitan, 14-13. I tip my hat to Patrick Kennedy. This guy just got back on the mat after knee surgery, went up a weight with the heated dual meet on the line, and won. That is answering the bell. It was only an extreme situation that would have found Kennedy in competition. I doubt we will see him much if at all in competition until Soldier Salute in Coralville on December 29-30.

184 – Gabe Arnold defeated #6 Will Feldkamp, 3-2. Arnold started his Hawkeye career with a big win last week over a ranked senior. This week he goes up a weight and takes out a defending All American for the 3-2 win. Impressive is not a strong enough word to use. This Arnold guy…the sky’s the limit.

197 – #22 Zach Glazier won by a decision over #24 Julian Broderson, 7-3. As a fan I really appreciate guys like Zach Glazier. One of those hard working quiet guys that puts in the time and always at his highest effort. That was a solid match in an intense, pressure filled situation. Glazier came through to ice the meet for the Hawks. Good for him. Good for the Hawks.

Hwt. – #7 Yonger Bastida won by a major decision over Bradley Hill, 17-6. There is more to this match than the final score. Bastida is a talented wrestler that is really mobile and quick for a Hwt. Another Cyclone that I feel is underrated. I did not see anything but fight out of Hill. He did not take a single step back and fought for the escape immediately after every takedown. As a fan I appreciated the fight that Brad Hill put up. Give this Hill some time. The potential is there. 

You couldn’t have scripted a better scenario for Iowa State to beat Iowa in wrestling than what just happened. Advantages that nobody knew were even possible. The Cyclones had every advantage and were favored by a majority including quite a few hard core Iowa fans to win. Iowa still won.

It is still November and the 2024 NCAA National Wrestling Championships are four months away. A lot can happen. I am looking forward to yet another season of Iowa Wrestling.

Iowa competes next on the road in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a dual meet against Penn on Friday, December 1 at 6 PM CST. I will have my usual preview later in the week.

#4 Iowa 18, #8 Iowa State 14 

125 — #17 Drake Ayala dec. #8 Kysen Terukina, 7-2 

133 – #19 Evan Frost dec. #8 Brody Teske, 8-1 

141 — #1 Real Woods dec. #19 Anthony Echemendia, 4-1 SV1 

149 — #14 Casey Swiderski dec. #9 Victor Voinovich III, 6-3 

157 — #2 Jared Franek dec. #18 Cody Chittum, 4-2 

165 — #2 David Carr major dec. #5 Michael Caliendo, 16-4 

174 — #14 Patrick Kennedy dec. #21 MJ Gaitan, 14-13 

184 — Gabe Arnold dec. #6 Will Feldkamp, 3-2 

197 — #22 Zach Glazier dec. #24 Julian Broderson, 7-3 

285 — #7 Yonger Bastida major dec. Bradley Hill, 17-6 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

FloWrestling and American Women’s Wrestling released a new Women’s College Wrestling P4P (Pound for Pound) Rankings today.

The Top 25 P4P Rankings include all of women’s college wrestling with both NAIA and NCAA. 

#1 ranked Iowa is well represented. The Hawks have three in the top five and eight in the top twenty-two overall ranked wrestlers in the country. That is impressive.

Of the top twenty-five wrestlers in all of college wrestling, Iowa has three freshmen ranked that are all at 101 lbs. with #14 Sterling Dias, #15 Emilie Gonzalez, and #17 Briana Gonzalez.

Women’s College Wrestling P4P Rankings 

2. Kylie Welker (Freshman) 170 lbs.

4. Felicity Taylor (Senior) 123 lbs.

5. Marlynn Deede (Senior) 155 lbs.

9. Reese Larramendy (Freshman) 143 lbs.

14. Sterling Dias (Freshman) 101 lbs.

15. Emilie Gonzalez (Freshman) 101 lbs.

17. Briana Gonzalez (Freshman) 101 lbs.

22. Esther Han (Freshman) 136 lbs.

#1 ranked Iowa will be back in action at the North Central College Invitational in Naperville, Illinois on Sunday, December 10.

Complete P4P Rankings:Adaugo Nwachukwu Retains Top Spot In Pound-For-Pound College Rankings – FloWrestling

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The wrestling world will be tuned into Ames, Iowa at 2 PM CST on Sunday. The Iowa-Iowa State dual meet will be center stage. ESPN will cover the meet live and that alone is big news. This is the first dual meet in ESPN history.

I would say this is the most hyped Iowa-Iowa State dual meet in years. Definitely in the Brands-Dresser era. This looks to be the best Iowa State team that Kevin Dresser has had in Ames.

The Hawks are 2-0 with dual meet wins over Cal Baptist and Oregon State. The Cyclones were very impressive in a 42-0 shutout of Wisconsin last Sunday. 

As a wrestling fan I do not know what more you could really ask for. 

For me the biggest matches are at 125, 149, 157, and 197. The team that scored the majority of points in those four matches will win the dual. This could also be a dual meet that comes down to bonus points. 

From what I have read online a clear majority including Hawkeye fans are expecting a Cyclone victory. I am taking the Hawks to find a way to win in a close and intense dual meet.

The hype is done. Let’s enjoy some great wrestling on Sunday here in the great state of Iowa.

4 IOWA HAWKEYES (2-0) 2023-24 Overall

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

125 13/17/21/17 Drake Ayala So. Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge 6-0

133 8/8/8/9 Brody Teske Sr. Duncombe, Iowa/Fort Dodge 3-1

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

149 15/9/9/9 Victor Voinovich III So. Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville 5-1

157 2/2/2/2 Jared Franek Grad. Harwood, North Dakota/West Fargo 6-0

165 5/5/5/5 Michael Caliendo So. Geneva, Illinois/Batavia 6-0

174 17/–/18/18 Gabe Arnold Fr. Albany, Georgia/Iowa City 5-0

-or- Aiden Riggins R-Fr. Janesville, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock 6-1

184 –/30/–/– Brennan Swafford Grad. Mediapolis, Iowa/Mediapolis 6-0

197 –/22/26/18 Zach Glazier Sr. Albert Lea, Minnesota/Albert Lea 5-0

285 Bradley Hill R-Fr. Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf 5-1

^WIN/InterMat/Flo/AWN

8 IOWA STATE CYCLONES (3-0) 2023-24 Overall

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

125 18/8/10/12 Kysen Terukina Sr. Ewa Beach, Hawaii/Kamehameha 3-0

133 –/19/20/18 Evan Frost R-FR Metaire, Louisiana/Dowling Catholic 3-0

141 18/19/30/15 Anthony Echemendia R-Jr Cabaiguan, Cuba/Sunnyside (AZ) 3-0

149 14/14/13/13 Casey Swiderski So. Dundee, Michigan/Dundee 6-0

157 12/18/–/– Cody Chittum Fr. Cleveland, Tennesee/Cleveland 2-0

165 2/2/2/2 David Carr Sr. Canton, Ohio/Perry 3-0

174 –/21/29/– MJ Gaitan R-Fr. Temecula, California/Temecula Valley 3-0

184 6/6/6/5 Will Feldkamp Sr. Dexter Township, Michigan/Dexter 1-0

197 –/24/24/19 Julien Broderson Sr. Davenport, Iowa/Davenport Assumption 2-0

285 6/7/6/7 Yonger Bastida Sr. Trinidad, Cuba 3-0

^WIN/InterMat/Flo/AWN

#4 Iowa at #8 Iowa State – 2 PM CST Sunday, November 26.

Live on ESPN.

On the radio at 800 KXIC.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Marylynne Deede of the University of Iowa defeated Latifah McBride of Life 8-3 at the NWCA All Star Classic at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State.

Deede was down 3-2 at break. At the beginning of the second period Deede scored a four-point toss to take the 6-3 lead. Deede added a takedown with :15 left for the 8-3 win at 155 lbs.

This was the first competition of the year for Deede.

Deede was ranked #1 at 155 lbs. in the recent NWCA/NCAA Women’s Wrestling Coaches Poll.

Deede is a graduate transfer from Augsburg where she was a national champion and four-time All American.

#1 ranked Iowa will be back in action at the North Central College Invitational in Naperville, Illinois on Sunday, December 10.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Gabe Arnold of the University of Iowa has been named as the NCAA Wrestler of the Week. At 174 lbs. Arnold defeated #11 ranked Travis Wittlake of Oregon State on Sunday, 4-2.

This was the first match for Arnold in legendary Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Arnold is 6-0 with three tech falls and a major decision.

Arnold is a true freshman from Albany Georgia. I have been talking quite a bit about this guy on my blog since he committed to the Hawks. I predicted he would be a crowd favorite and he certainly is.

What a future Gabe Arnold has for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Iowa will compete next in Ames Sunday, November 26 at 2 PM for a big dual meet with Iowa State. The meet will be televised by ESPN.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!