It was announced Saturday that Who’s #1 by FloWrestling will be in Carver Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, October 5 at 5 PM. That is great news in a lot of ways. For area fans, this provides a great opportunity to see the best high school wrestlers in the country in a matchup of #1 vs. #2.
Iowa Wrestling fans will especially be excited to watch incoming recruits Patrick Kennedy, Jesse Ybarra, and Ryan Sokol compete. Those three wrestlers should put quite a few fans in the seats. Iowa fans will also want to be seen and heard from to influence uncommitted recruits like Paddy Gallagher, #1 on my Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Wish List.
There is also talk of an international Freestyle match in the works. FloWrestling stated they would be releasing information about that match in the next couple of weeks. Should Spencer Lee or Thomas Gilman get a match against a highly ranked international wrestler, that will add thousands of fans to the bleachers. Your guess is as good as mine on who it will be. I will keep you informed when Flo releases any more information on this.
I have watched Who’s #1 online for the last two years and I assure you the wrestling is great to watch and very entertaining. Who’s #1 started in 2013. This will be the first time Who’s #1 will be held in Carver Hawkeye Arena and I hope it becomes a yearly tradition. Lehigh hosted Who’s #1 last year with a capacity of around 1,700 in their facility. I am confident a lot more than 1,700 fans will be at Carver to make this the biggest Who’s #1 of all time and by quite a margin.
You really could not script a better event to happen for Iowa Wrestling when it comes to recruiting. With all weights providing a matchup of #1 vs. #2 except for 132 lbs. that has the top four nationally ranked wrestlers, I would say all of the uncommitted wrestlers would be a recruit that every college program would want.
Iowa Wrestling fans wanted the season to start months ago. Who’s #1 will be a great way to get the much anticipated Iowa Wrestling season off to an early start. Iowa Wrestling fans are ready to go.
What a great opportunity to watch the best high school wrestlers in the country including several future Hawks. I feel downright lucky as a fan to have Who’s #1 at home. This event is well worth the $20 for a ticket and the trip to Carver Hawkeye Arena. You will not be dissapointed. Hope to see you there.
To order tickets:
Who’s #1 – October 5th at 5 PM in Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa
Match #1
132lbs – #1-Jesse Mendez (IN) vs. #4-Ryan Jack (CT) – Freestyle
Colleges: Mendez (Uncommitted); Jack (NCST)
Match #2
132lbs – #3-Shayne Van Ness (NJ) vs. #2-Dom Serrano (CO) – Freestyle
Colleges: Van Ness (Uncommitted); Serrano (Nebraska)
Match #3
120lbs. – #1-Jesse Ybarra (AZ) vs. #2-Jakason Burks (NE) – Folkstyle
Colleges: Ybarra (Iowa); Burks (Oklahoma St.)
Match #4
113lbs – #1-Richard Figueroa II (CA) vs. #2-Stevo Poulin (NY) – Folkstyle
Colleges: Figueroa (Arizona St.); Poulin (Uncommitted)
Match #5
145lbs – #1-Victor Voinovich (OH) vs. #2-Jesse Vasquez (CA) – Folkstyle
Colleges: Voinovich (Uncommitted); Vasquez (Uncommitted)
Match #6
65kg – Joshua Saunders (MO) vs. Anthony Echemendia (AZ)
Colleges: Saunders (Cornell); Echemendia (RTC to be decided
Match #7
152lbs. – #1-Sonny Santiago (CA) vs. #2-Travis Mastrogiovanni (NJ) – Folkstyle
Colleges: Santiago (Arizona St.); Mastrogiovanni (Uncommitted)
Match #8
160lbs – #1-Paddy Gallagher (OH) vs. #2-Keegan Daniel O’Toole (WI) – Freestyle
Colleges: Gallagher (Uncommitted); O’Toole (Missouri)
Match #9
182lbs. – #1-Dustin Plott (OK) vs. #2-Rocky Elam (MO) – Folkstyle
Colleges: Plott (Oklahoma St.); Elam (Missouri)
Match #10
126lbs. – #1-Robert Howard (NJ) vs. #2-Trevor Mastrogiovanni (NJ) – Freestyle
Colleges: Howard (Penn St.); Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma St.)
Match #11
138lbs. – #1-Beau Bartlett (PA) vs. #2-Ryan Sokol (MN) – Folkstyle
Colleges: Bartlett (Penn St.); Sokol (Iowa)
Match #12
170lbs. – #1-Alex Facundo (MI) vs. #2-Patrick Kennedy (MN) – Folkstyle
Colleges: Facundo (Uncommitted); Kennedy (Iowa)
Match #13
132lbs. – Winner Match #1 vs. Winner Match #2 – Style to be determined by highest ranked opponent.
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
