I cannot remember an Iowa Wrestling recruit who had his stock go up after committing to the Hawks more than Kale Petersen. When the commitment to be an Iowa Hawkeye was made by Petersen last November 15, he was a two-time state champion without any national rankings. A lot has changed since then.
Petersen, from Rockwell, Iowa, won his third state title while competing for Greene County this past season at 132 with a 42-0 record. Petersen defeated Gable Porter of Underwood in the finals of the Rollin Dyer Invitational in Atlantic in January by a 7-6 decision. At the time Porter was ranked #13 in the country by MatScouts and is now a true freshman at Virginia. I also need to add that Petersen has been in the Sebolt Wrestling Academy for years.
Petersen made a really big move this spring and summer. In April Petersen placed second at Folkstyle Nationals in Cedar Falls. At Junior Duals in Tulsa Petersen was 8-0 with five tech falls and three decisions at 132.
It was at U20 Nationals in Las Vegas where Petersen really put his name up there on a national level. As I mentioned in my blog Petersen may have been the biggest story of the entire tournament. After winning his first four matches at 61 kg/134 lbs. by tech fall Petersen defeated #1 nationally ranked Nasir Bailey, 10-1.
In the finals Petersen came storming back to drop an 11-8 decision to Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State. Bouzakis had just finished his true freshman season at Ohio State as a huge recruit and just won a Silver at the U20 World Championships. Some scale of where Petersen is at.
At Junior Nationals in Fargo Petersen placed second at 132 with a 7-1 record with three tech falls. A real good showing.
Folks, that is having one heck of a great season.
Petersen was ranked #64 overall for the Class of 2023 but did not crack the rankings at 132 by MatScouts in their final rankings. I sure disagree with that.
The recently released Iowa Wrestling roster has Petersen listed at 133/141. You have to like the potential this guy has after his performance this year. To add to the results is the grind and attacking style of Petersen that Iowa is known for.
It will be interesting to see how Petersen’s career works out in the Black and Gold. Even with all of his accomplishments he is not getting the recognition he deserves. Maybe that will add to his desire to make a name for himself in Iowa Wrestling.
As with the other true freshman I look forward to seeing Petersen at Open tournaments and making his way into the lineup this season several times without using a year of eligibility to see what he has.
Yet another real good addition with a lot of potential to the Iowa Wrestling program for the Recruiting Class of 2023.
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
