Austin DeSanto and Otto Black both won Gold medals at the Arvo Haavisto Cup in Ilmajoki, FInland in Greco-Roman.
DeSanto was 4-0 with four tech falls to win the title at 60kg. DeSanto is new to international Greco-Roman and it looks like he is improving quickly.
Black bumped up to 67kg and was 5-0 with four tech falls.
DeSanto and Black outscored their opponents by a combined match score of 80-5.
Last weekend DeSanto won bronze and Black silver at the Haparanda Cup in Haparanda, Sweden where both competed at 63kg/138 lbs.
DeSanto and Black were coached by 2006 Greco-Roman world champion Joe Warren.
DeSanto was a four-time All American for Iowa. He recently began training in Greco-Roman and this was his first international Greco-Roman tour.
Black captured silver at 63kg/138 lbs. at the 2024 U20 Greco-Roman World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain and also won Gold at 63kg/138 lbs. at the U20 Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru.
Black, from Park, Colorado, won a 138 lbs. 4A Colorado state title last season with a 52-0 record. He was a Junior Greco-Roman national champion at 126 in 2022 and 132 in 2023.
Black is a member of the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 and is expected to join the team in January for the second semester.
Arvo Haavisto Cup in Ilmajoki, FInland
60 kg – Austin DeSanto, Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye WC), gold medal
WIN Martin Aak (Norway), tech fall 9-0
WIN Adam Silverin (Sweden), tech fall 11-1
WIN Lauri Perkka (Finland), tech fall 9-0
WIN Mark Loitto (Sweden), tech fall 8-0
67 kg – Otto Black, Parker, Colo. (Colorado Top Team), gold medal
WIN Ruslan Stamat (Sweden), tech fall 9-0
WIN Nazar Biakin (Ukraine), 7-2
WIN Hugo Riehunkangas (Finland), 5-0
WIN Algot Gamelius (Sweden) tech fall 11-0
WIN Niko Tervonen (Finland), tech fall 11-2
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
