A standing room only crowd was on hand in the Iowa Wrestling room for wrestle-off finals on Saturday morning before the Iowa football game. Prized recruit Jacob Warner really stood out in the Iowa Wrestling wrestle offs. In the finals, Warner upended twelfth ranked Cash Wilcke 4-3 at 197 lbs. Wilcke was in the Round of 12 last year at nationals as a freshman and looks to be much better this year. In the semifinals, Warner had a comfortable lead before pinning Steven Holloway in 3:37. Holloway did a very respectable job filling in at Hwt last season when Sam Stoll went down with an injury. In the first round of wrestle-offs, Warner defeated Connor Corbin by a 21-6 technical fall.
Warner, a true freshman from Washington, Illinois, will still more than likely redshirt this season and I look for Wilcke to have a great year at 197 or 184. I am really hoping that Warner does redshirt this season. I talked Warner up more than anyone as an incoming recruit and even I was left shaking my head at what he did this weekend. What a great future Jacob Warner has in front of him.
At 125, Justin Stickley looked very good in defeating Perez Perez 15-0 in the finals and 13-3 in the semifinals. Stickley is a freshman from powerhouse St. Paris Graham in Ohio. At 133, Paul Glynn dropped down from 141 and defeated Phillip Laux, 4-3. Glynn is a redshirt sophomore from Bettendorf, Iowa that is showing some serious dedication by dropping down a weight. Vince Turk downed Carter Happel 6-2 at 141. I need to mention that Turk defeated true freshman Max Murin 5-4, OT in the semifinals. Turk is a sophomore from Montini Catholic High School in Chicago.
The finals at 149 was a rematch of National Duals last year but the results were reversed. Senior Brandon Sorensen defeated Patricio Lugo, 3-2. Lugo transferred in from Edinboro where he was a two-time NCAA Qualifier. Lugo will have two full years of eligibility remaining after taking his redshirt season this year. Michael Kemerer scored a 21-5 tech fall over Keegan Shaw at 157. Those on hand were able to see how much bigger Kemerer has got since last year. I am looking for a monster year out of Michael Kemerer at 157.
At 165, Logan McQuillen defeated Jeremiah Moody, 9-8. McQuillen is a senior from Monticello, Iowa. I look for elite recruit freshman Alex Marinelli to be in the starting lineup soon. One of the biggest matchups was at 174 between Joey Gunther, an NCAA Qualifier at 165 as a freshman last season, and redshirt freshman Kaleb Young. I think a lot of people had Young penciled in here for this varsity spot, but Gunther won a tight match in overtime, 4-2 SV2.
Mitch Bowman pinned true freshman Myles Wilson at 184 in 6:30 to take the varsity sport. Bowman is a junior from Donahue, Iowa (North Scott HS). Sam Stoll made his return to action at Hwt with a 2-0 decision over true freshman Aaron Costello. Stoll had had season ending surgery in each of the last two seasons. I am looking for a big year out of Sam Stoll.
True freshman Spencer Lee at 125, the biggest recruit in the history of Iowa Wrestling, is working his way into shape from knee surgery he had last spring. I am really hoping that we see a healthy Spencer Lee compete for Iowa this season at 125 as the first true freshman in the Tom Brands era.
Another wrestler to mention is Pat Downey who is trying to transfer into the Iowa Wrestling program. Downey was an All American at Iowa State at 197 in 2016. Downey defeated two-time NCAA champ Gable Dean of Cornell in freestyle last spring and has a ton of potential. Keep you fingers crossed Iowa Wrestling fans that Downey is eligible for the second semester because he is a beast. I would guess that 184 and 197 would be manned by a combination of Downey and Wilcke.
I look for several versions of a starting lineup as the season progresses. Midlands at the end of December will go a long ways in determining the starting lineup but I look for Iowa to try two wrestlers out at several weights as they decide what the best lineup will be to represent the team for the Big Tens on March 3, 2018.
Iowa kicks off their season on Friday, November 17 home at Carver Hawkeye Arena. Iowa will face Iowa Central CC, the University of Buffalo, and North Dakota State in dual meets beginning at 10 AM. To order tickets for any of the home Iowa Wrestling meets, go to:
