The University of Iowa Wrestling team will host an open practice on Saturday, October 26 at 10 AM. 

The practice will be open for fans inside the Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center and Bob and Kathy Nicolls Wrestling Room –  “The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world.” Home of Iowa Wrestling in Wrestle Town USA – Iowa City, Iowa, USA.

If you have not experienced the new facility I suggest that you do. Words do not do it justice. Especially the tunnel that leads to the main floor of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Unreal.

Iowa Football will face Northwestern for Homecoming with a 2:30 PM kickoff. Homecoming, perfect weather and an Iowa Wrestling practice will provide a great day in Iowa City on Saturday. 

Attending a practice in the Iowa Wrestling room before a football game has been a game day tradition for Hawk fans for decades.

To add to the excitement Iowa Wrestling will be hosting recruits for the biggest recruiting weekend of the year. Recruits will be in town Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

An Iowa practice before a home football game will attract more fans than some D-I wrestling programs get for a home dual meet.

Hawkeye fans let’s impress the recruits.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Spencer Lee, Kylie Welker, and Naomi Simon have been named as a 2024 Iowa/USA Wrestling Award winner.

Spencer Lee was named as the UWW Open Men’s Wrestler of the Year. Lee captured silver at the Paris Olympics at 57kg. Lee was the highest placing American wrestler at the Olympics.

Lee won the Olympic Team Trials and also qualified Team USA at 57kg by winning the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey.

Lee was a three-time NCAA national champion at Iowa and a two-time Hodge Trophy winner.

Kylie Welker was named as the UWW Open Women’s Wrestler of the Year. Welker shared the award with Adaugo Nwachukwu.

Welker led Iowa to the NCWWC team title in the first year of the program by winning the national title at 170 lbs. and was named as the 2024 NCAA Women’s Wrestler of the Year by The Open Mat. 

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

Welker will represent Team USA at 72kg at the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania on October 23-27 and also at the Senior World Championships in Tirana, Albania on October 29-30.

Naomi Simon was named as the Jr Women’s Wrestler of the Year.

Simon was an undefeated four-time state champion for Decorah, Iowa with a career record of 150-0 and is a freshman at Iowa.

In international competition Simon placed fifth at the Grand Prix of Spain in July. This was an Open international event with wrestlers from around the world.

Simon won the Bronze medal at 76kg at the 2024 U20 World Freestyle Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.

Congratulations to these three Hawkeyes for being named as Wrestler of the Year.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

We have a huge week of Iowa Wrestling in front of us in…the end of October. To me this may be the best time of the year to be an Iowa Wrestling fan. The anticipation of the upcoming season and recruiting are always a high priority this time of year.

To add to that we have several Hawks competing at the U23 and Senior World Championships in Tirana, Albania.

We will have a lot going on and I will keep you up to date right here on my Iowa Wrestling Fan Blog.

This will be the biggest weekend of the year for recruiting for Iowa Wrestling. Iowa will host recruits on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Usually we get a commit over the weekend and several more over the next week after in-home visits.

This Saturday, October 26 is Homecoming at Iowa. Iowa Football will host Northwestern in Kinnick Stadium at 2:30 PM. Homecoming always add to the excitement of a football Saturday for recruiting.

I will have more information on a blog later this week.

Kylie Welker, Skye Realin, Macey Kilty, and Patrick Kennedy will compete at the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania on October 23-27. 

Realin(59kg) will compete on Wednesday-Thursday (Oct 23-24) and Welker(72kg) and Kilty(62kg)  on Thursday-Friday (Oct 24-25). Kennedy(79kg) will compete on Saturday-Sunday (Oct 26-27).

Welker and Kilty will also be competing at the Senior World Championships in Tirana, Albania on Tuesday-Wednesday (October 29-30).

That is a lot of Iowa Wrestling for the end of October and I love it.

The Men’s program will begin the season at Oregon State on Saturday, November 2. The Women’s program has not released their schedule at this time.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

It was huge news when Kennedy Blades announced on July 23 that she had committed to Iowa. At that time Blades was preparing for the Olympics where she would win silver at 76kg/167 lbs. 

Blades defeated six-time World champion Adeline Gray to make the Olympic team.

On the new Iowa Wrestling roster Blades is listed as a junior at 160 lbs.

Blades is a 2021 U20 world champion and 2023 U20 bronze medalist. She was also a 2023 U23 silver medalist.

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Blades was the first girl to win an Illinois state title and also competed for Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania.

Blades had Iowa in her final three choices coming out of high school in 2022. Blades chose Arizona State that does not offer women’s wrestling and has competed for Sunkist Kids that has been discontinued.

With her commitment to Iowa Kennedy Blades was immediately the biggest name in all of women’s college wrestling. Her sights are now set on being a gold medalist at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

What an amazing addition to the already strong Iowa program. 

Best of luck to Kennedy Blades as an Iowa Hawkeye.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Big Ten Conference released the schedule for wrestling meets to be televised on BTN this season.

Iowa will be on BTN in five home and two away dual meets. All times listed are CST.

The Iowa Hawkeyes will be televised live on BTN for home duals against Stanford, Illinois, Ohio State, Nebraska and Oklahoma State and road duals at Penn State and Minnesota.

The entire Big Ten Championships, which will be held March 8-9 in Evanston, Illinois, will be televised on BTN.

Iowa dual meets against Iowa State, Wisconsin, Maryland and Northwestern will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required). 

The Journeymen Wrestling “Uncivil War” against Princeton and Army will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass (subscription required).

2024-25 Iowa Wrestling Schedule

***Times listed are CST

Saturday, November 2 – at Oregon State 9 PM

Saturday, November 9 – Stanford   6 PM  (BTN)

Friday, November 15 – at Bellarmine (Louisville, KY)

Saturday, November 23 – Iowa State  Streamed on B1G+ (subscription required)

Friday, December 6 – Journeymen Wrestling’s “Uncivil War” in St. Charles, MO

Princeton  6 PM  UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)

Army  8 PM  UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)

Sunday/Monday Dec 29-30- at Soldier Salute (Coralville, Iowa)

Sunday, January 12 – at Wisconsin  2 PM  Streamed on B1G+ (subscription required)

Friday, January 17 – Illinois  6 PM  (BTN)

Saturday, January 25 – Ohio State  1 PM (BTN)

Friday, January 31 – at Penn State  6 PM  (BTN)

Sunday, February 2 – at Maryland  1 PM  Streamed on B1G+ (subscription required)

Friday, February 7 – Nebraska  7 PM  (BTN)

Friday, February 14 – at Minnesota  8 PM  (BTN)

Sunday, February 16 – Northwestern  Streamed on B1G+ (subscription required)

Sunday, February 23 – Oklahoma State  7:30 PM (BTN)

*Sat/Sun, March 8-9 – at Big Ten Championships (Evanston, IL)  (BTN)

*Thurs/Sat, March 20-22 – at NCAA Championships (Philadelphia, PA)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

On May 21 Kyle Parco announced that he was transferring to Iowa from Arizona State.

Parco, from Danville(De La Salle HS), California, is a four-time All American that began his career at Fresno State. He placed sixth as a redshirt freshman in 2021 when his head coach was former Hawkeye national champion Troy Steiner. He was named as the 2021 Pac 12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year.

At Arizona State Parco placed eighth in 2002, fourth in 2023, and fifth this past season at the NCAA national tournament and won three Pac-12 titles at 149. He was named the 2022 Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year. 

Parco has competed at 149 for his career and is listed at 149 on the new Iowa Wrestling roster. He has a 95-18 career record.

With the Covid year of 2020 Parco will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Parco has been named as a 2022, 2023, and 2024 NWCA Scholar All American.

149 is a deep weight class with a lot of returning All Americans. Parco is already in good shape and looks to be ready to challenge for the title.

2020 – Redshirt

2021 – 6th at 149 (Fresno State)

2022 – 8th at 149 (Arizona State)

2023 – 4th at 149 (Arizona State)

2024 – 5th at 149 (Arizona State)

Preseason Rankings at 149 for Parco:

Intermat – 4th

FloWrestling – 4th

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Hawkeye Wrestling Club has released their schedule for Pre-Match Socials for the upcoming season. The Socials provide a great opportunity for Iowa Wrestling fans to get together before a home Iowa dual meet and meet members of the HWC.

I will post a blog the week of a social as a reminder throughout the season.

I will also post blogs about HAWK Klub Parties after home dual meets if I am able to get their schedule this season.

Iowa starts the season on the road at Oregon State on November 2 and hosts Stanford in the home opener on Saturday, November 9.

From HawkeyeWrestlingClub.com:

For the past two years we have been partnering with local bars and restaurants to provide our fans with Pre-Match Socials! Our goal is to create an atmosphere where our community can grow and enjoy Hawkeye Wrestling together. Our social events are open to the public and free of charge! Guests can win raffle prizes, meet Hawkeye legends, and enjoy drink specials Before the Whistle!

Hawkeye Wrestling Club Pre-Match Socials

Saturday, November 9th  – Tavern Blue (vs. Stanford) 

Saturday, November 23rd – Vine Tavern & Eatery (vs. Iowa State)

Monday, December 30th – 30hop (Soldier Salute)

Friday, January 17th – Donnelly’s Pub (vs. Univ of Illinois)

Saturday, January 25th – Sports Column (vs. Ohio State)

Friday, February 7th – Joe’s Place (vs. Nebraska)

Sunday, February 16th – Iowa Athletic Club (vs. Northwestern)

Sunday, February 23rd – Big Grove Brewery (vs. Oklahoma State )

Sunday, March 9th – NCAA’s Between Sessions Social (B1G Championship)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Brody Sampson committed to the Hawks on June 25 as a member of the Recruiting Class of 2024.

Sampson was a four-time placewinner for Ballard High School in Huxley, Iowa. He placed eighth as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and second as a junior at 182. This past season as a senior Sampson placed third at 190.

Sampson competed for Collins-Maxwell as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to Ballard before the beginning of his junior year.

On the new Iowa Wrestling roster Sampson is listed at 184.

At Junior Nationals in Fargo this summer Sampson did not place with a 3-2 record at 190. In the Round of 32 he defeated #1 seed Aiden Cooley of Texas, 6-4.

Sampson was 4-1 for Team Iowa at Junior Duals with two tech falls and he won an Iowa state freestyle title last summer at 190.

Sampson was 2-2 at 195 for Team Iowa at the 2023 Junior Nationals.

In football Sampson was named as the District defensive lineman of the year as a senior and had the most sacks in the state in 4A. He lettered in football and wrestling all four years of high school and two years in track and baseball.

Sampson was named Academic All-Conference as a junior and senior and Academic All-State as a junior.

Sampson is a good all around athlete and scholar.

Best of luck to Brody Sampson as an Iowa Hawkeye.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kyle Klingman of FloWrestling reported that the Iowa Women’s Wrestling team had wrestle-offs over the weekend.

At 131 Skye Realin defeated Allie Baudhuin(12-7), Emily Frost(Fall 4:28) and Emmily Patneaud(2-1). Realin transferred in from Central Methodist and will represent Team USA at 59kg/130 lbs. at the 2024 U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania on October 24-25.

At 145 Macey Kilty pinned Kiara Djoumessi in 2:12 and Ella Schmit in 2:31. Schmit placed 7th at 143 at the 2024 NCWWC National Tournament

Kilty is a five-time World Team member and won silver at the 2023 Senior World Freestyle Championships. Kilty(65kg/143 lbs.) will represent Team USA at the 2024 Senior World Championships and U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania on October 24-30.

At 207 Jaycee Foeller defeated Katja Osteen, 8-4. Osteen transferred in from Simon Fraser where she was a 2022 and 2023 NCWWC All American. This is the first year for the new weight class of 207.

Nanea Estrella defeated Lilly Luft by a 2-0 decision at 138. Luft placed 5th at 136 at the 2024 NCWWC National Championships.

At 124 Karlee Brooks won a 12-11 decision over Cali Leng. Brooks is a true freshman and elite recruit for the Class of 2024.

Iowa is the defending NCWWC national champions and look to have a considerably better team this season.

I will post as soon as the Iowa Women’s Wrestling program announces their 2024-25 schedule.

Wrestle-offs for the University of Iowa Women’s team

131: Skye Realin (Iowa 2) over Allie Baudhuin (Iowa) Dec 12-7

131: Emmily Patneaud (Iowa) over Emily Frost (Iowa 2) Dec 3-0

138: Nanea Estrella (Iowa) over Danni Swihart (Iowa 2) TF 10-0

145: Macey Kilty (Iowa) over Kiara Djoumessi (Iowa 2) Fall 2:12

103: Sterling Dias (Iowa) over Rianne Murphy (Iowa 2) Dec 10-6

110: Val Solorio (Iowa) over Ava Bayless (Iowa 2) Dec 10-1

117: Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) over Ava Rose (Iowa 2) TF 10-0

131: Emmily Patneaud (Iowa 2) over Allie Baudhuin (Iowa) TF 10-0

131: Skye Realin (Iowa) over Emily Frost (Iowa 2) Fall 4:28

124: Karlee Brooks (Iowa 2) over Cali Leng (Iowa) Dec 12-11

207: Jaycee Foeller (Iowa 2) over Katja Osteen (Iowa) Dec 8-4

138: Nanea Estrella (Iowa 2) over Lilly Luft (Iowa) Dec 2-0

145: Macey Kilty (Iowa 2) over Ella Schmit (Iowa) Fall 2:31

131: Emily Frost (Iowa) over Allie Baudhuin (Iowa 2) Fall 1:46

131: Skye Realin (Iowa) over Emmily Patneaud (Iowa 2) Dec 2-1

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

I had to go to Google to get an exact date. I have been going to Iowa Wrestling practices before a home football game since October 8, 1983. Royce Alger was a true freshman at Iowa and I was a junior at Lisbon High School.

The practice that I saw on Saturday, October 12th ranks right up there with the best of them. Simply put, it took me back in time.

I made myself sleep on it so that I would not overreact. I was that impressed with what I saw.

For starters the new facility is unbelievable. This was the first practice that I have made it to and it was one to remember.

Iowa certified on Thursday for the first day of official practice so everyone was at competition weight or close to it.

I’ll cut right to the chase. I was really impressed with true freshman, transfers, redshirt freshman, Hawks at their new weight, the whole works.

The main attraction was on the front and center mat. Stephan Buchanan, a senior transfer from Oklahoma that placed third at the NCAA National Tournament the last two years vs. elite recruit true freshman Angelo Ferrari. I would have paid admission for the entertainment of watching these two guys go at it.

I released a blog about how Ferrari is only the second recruit in the history of Iowa Wrestling to come in as the #1 overall recruit in the country. He looks the part and then some.

The flurries that these two had was impressive. Ferrari has the big legs and looks to be full sized at 184 from what I could tell. Buchanan is bigger and a good sized 197.

What I liked is that both wrestlers were tired but kept going at it hard and attacking. Great to see in mid October and in their first year in the room. Both of these guys are only going to get better as the season goes.

Do not take a close go as a knock on Buchanan. Take it as great news about Ferrari. I know I am.

I was trying to watch other matches but the center mats had my attention. I would go from Buchanan-Ferrari to Gabe Arnold(174) and a guy I did not know. They were really going at it with some great flurries. I had to ask to find out it was transfer Kyle Parco(149). Both are listed at 5’7” and of courses Arnold is much thicker. I am here to tell you Parco has some goin in him. What great wrestling to watch.

As with Buchanan-Ferrari do not take this as a knock on Arnold but great news about Parco. I am. Damn, was I impressed with Parco. He will be  handful and then some for anyone at 149 this season.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog having Ben Kueter ranked #11 at Hwt is a little…low. After what I saw in practice I believe it is way low. Kueter has definitely put on size and is still ripped. He has to be pushing all of 240 right now and I say again he is ripped. 

Kueter was wrestling Jacob Warner and looked great. I have never seen a Hwt as athletic and smooth as Kueter in the Iowa room over the years. This kid is at another level.  

Ranked 11th in the country for Ben Kueter at Hwt? I don’t think so.

Spencer Lee and Austin DeSanto were wrestling. Lee is a lot bigger than when I last saw him probably two years ago.  A lot bigger. Lee now looks the part of being an elite International wrestler challenging for World and Olympic titles.

Nelson Brands is huge. 184 has to be a cut and he looks big enough to go 197. He definitely put on muscle over the last year.

Kale Petersen is already at 125. Should he hold his weight well I look for big things out of him. Petersen is a small town Iowa tough guy. My favorite kind. Add in an ornery streak and getting coached up by Terry Brands and you have a recipe for a great year. 

Iowa does not have a wrestler ranked at 125 right now between Petersen and Joey Cruz and they should not be ranked. I like Kael Petersen a lot and I see him scoring good points at Nationals in Philadelphia to keep the tradition at 125 for the Hawks alive and well.

Drake Ayala looks bigger and I can only assume he is certified at 133. He is cut up and lean and if it was at 133 then it shows how much weight he was cutting last year. He looks real good and I feel a lot better about him going 133 now that I have seen how physical he looks. 

I have always been high on Ryder Block. He is listed at 5’11” on the roster and will be tall for his weight. As a redshirt freshman he has the background and skill set to step in and take 141 by the horns and have a solid season. 

Iowa does not have anyone ranked at 141 but I see Block scoring points at Nationals. This young fella will age for the good over the next five months leading into Nationals. It’s time for Block.

I had to also ask who Michael Caliendo was wrestling with. The guy was a lighter weight than Caliendo but was stacked. I found out it was true freshman Miguel Estrada. In my recent blog about Estrada I mentioned that due to an injury he did not compete much last season and dropped in the rankings. That set him up to be a potential darkhorse for the Recruiting Class of 2024.

Estrada showed up in June and has worked himself into shape. As a true freshman Estrada looks to be D-I ready for build and strength right now. Working out with Caliendo is only going to make him better. 

I have had four people contact me through my blog about how much Iowa fans were going to like Estrada. They were very high on Estrada and his potential for the next level. I see what they are talking about. I always welcome input from fans/coaches  

Estrada is listed at 149/157 on the roster and I expect him to redshirt this season. I see him being in the mix for the starting spot at 149 next season. This guy is impressing a lot of the right people and has a great future in the Black and Gold of Iowa Wrestling.

Patrick Kennedy looked real good going at it with Alex Marinelli. Kennedy is peaking to represent Team USA at U23 Worlds later this month. To many people have counted Kennedy out for the starting lineup. Whoever wins between Kennedy-Arnold will earn the right to take the mats at Big Tens next March. 

A quick rundown in a more organized format:

125 – Petersen is down to weight and I expect him to have a great season and to be the next hammer at 125.

133 – Ayala looks good at his new weight. He must have been cutting a lot last year.

141 – Block is down to weight. He has five months to develop before Big Tens.

149 – Parco looked light out t-o-u-g-h! I am also excited about true freshman Miguel Estrada.

157 – Teemer is ranked #1 in the country for a reason.

165 – Caliendo always looks good and I see him improving quite a bit in his second season in the program. 

174 – We may not know who the man is at 174 until Big Tens. Iron sharpens iron. Either way we will have a real good wrestler at 174 between Kennedy/Arnold.

184 – Nelson Brands is a beast and I believe he will have an extra grind to him this season. Going to be fun to watch.

197 – I was impressed with Buchanan. Real good athlete and good conditioning for this time of the year.

Hwt. – No football this year, just wrestling. Kueter is a freak. His mindset should be that anything less than being a national champ this year will be a disappointment.

Iowa will have one huge weekend for recruits and it will be for Homecoming in two weeks.

I look for Iowa to have an impressive group of recruits in Wrestle Town, USA – Iowa City, Iowa for the weekend of October 25-27.

Iowa got their #1 recruit in 2023 with Kueter, 2024 with Ferrari, and already have a verbal from Leo DeLuca ranked #1 at 120 for the Class of 2025. Who’s next?

If you are not excited as an Iowa Wrestling fan – you should be.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!