We just completed a full weekend of Iowa Wrestling from Thursday through Sunday.
A rundown is needed before we move forward to a new week.
The Iowa Hawkeyes placed third with eight automatic NCAA qualifiers at the Big Ten Championships. 125 and 141 did not qualify for Nationals but I believe Joey Cruz has a decent chance at getting an at-large bid at 125.
Ben Kueter placing third at a stacked Hwt bracket was a great performance. Also the closing of the score at 165 for Michael Caliendo in the finals stood out as well.
I will keep you up to date when Pre-Seeds come out for the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships that will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 20-22.
Tom Brands:
“We are heading to Philadelphia,” said head coach Tom Brands. “I think you have to be looking forward. You evaluate, you look forward, you get better. You have to really look forward to the competition, not just because the date is on the calendar, but because you are excited to compete at the National Championships.”
2025 Big Ten Championships
- Penn State – 181.5
- Nebraska – 137
- Iowa – 112
- Minnesota – 108.5
- Illinois – 105.5
125 – Joey Cruz – 10th
133 – Drake Ayala – 2nd
141 – Cullan Schriever – DNP
149 – Kyle Parco – 4th
157 – Jacori Teemer – 7th
165 – Michael Caliendo – 2nd
174 – Patrick Kennedy – 5th
184 – Gabe Arnold – 5th
197 – Stephen Buchanan – 2nd
Hwt – Ben Kueter – 3rd
The Iowa Women’s Wrestling team is two-for-two. In the second year of the program Iowa won their second straight NCWWC national title at Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa.
Iowa won the team title with 201.5 points followed by North Central at 181 and McKendree in third at 158.5 points.
All fifteen Iowa wrestlers that qualified for nationals became an All American including three national champions. That is impressive.
Winning individual national titles for the Hawks: Macey Kilty(145), Kennedy Blades(160) and Kylie Welker(180).
For the tournament Blades was 5-0 with five tech falls and outscored her opponents 53-0. This was the first national title for Olympic silver medalist Kennedy in her first year of college wrestling. Blades was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
Welker was 5-0 with four tech falls and a pin and also did not surrender a single point in the tournament. This was the second title for Welker who is on track to be a four-time national champion.
Macey Kilty was 5-0 with four tech falls to win a national title in her first year of college wrestling.
Iowa had 29 tech falls in the tournament.
Congratulations to the Iowa Women’s Wrestling team for winning another national title.
NCWWC National Championships
- Iowa – 201.5
- North Central – 181
- McKendree – 158.5
103 – Rianne Murphy 3rd
103 – Sterling Dias 4th
110 – Ava Bayless 4th
110 – Emilie Gonzalez 5th
117 – Brianna Gonzalez 5th
124 – Cali Leng 7th
131 – Emmily Patneaud 6th
138 – Nanea Estrella 3rd
145 – Macey Kilty 1st
145 – Reese Larramendy 3rd
160 – Kennedy Blades 1st
180 – Kylie Welker 1st
180 – Naomi Simon 3rd
207 – Jaycee Foeller 2nd
207 – Alivia White 4th
All four of our recruits competing this weekend won a state title in the final weekend of high school competition for the year..
Bo Bassett won a Pennsylvania state title at 145 lbs. Bo was 4-0 with three tech falls and a pin in the finals.
Harvey Ludington won a New Jersey state title at 190 with a 5-0 record with three tech falls and a major decision.
Ty Miller won an Ohio state title at 175 by going 4-0 with a fall and a tech fall.
Jarrel Miller won an Ohio state title at 190 with a 4-0 record with two tech falls and a major decision.
Now that the regular season has been completed I will continue to follow all of our incoming recruits on the freestyle circuit.
As I have done for years I will post a blog on Friday for upcoming weekend competitions and a follow up blog with results on my “Recruits in action” series.
Ty Miller – North Olmsted(St. Ed’s HS), Ohio 175 lbs.
Fri/Sun Mar 7-Mar 9 – at Ohio State Tournament(Columbus)
Champ. Round 1 – Tyrel Miller (St. Edward) won by fall over Frank Aquila (Brecksville) (Fall 1:44)
Quarterfinal – Tyrel Miller (St. Edward) 21-6 won by tech fall over Matt Palmer (Grove City) 39-6 (TF-1.5 2:59 (18-0))
Semifinal – Tyrel Miller (St. Edward) 21-6 won in sudden victory – 1 over Caige Horak (Mass. Perry) 34-7 (SV-1 4-1)
1st Place Match – Tyrel Miller (St. Edward) 21-6 won by decision over Colin Wooldridge (La Salle) 38-7 (Dec 7-1)
Jarrel Miller – North Olmsted(St. Ed’s HS), Ohio 190 lbs.
Fri/Sun Mar 7-Mar 9 – at Ohio State Tournament(Columbus)
Champ. Round 1 – Jarrel Miller (St. Edward) won by tech fall over Peter Graham (Teays Valley) (TF-1.5 2:21 (16-1))
Quarterfinal – Jarrel Miller (St. Edward) 24-3 won by tech fall over Edwin Rios (Brecksville) 29-22 (TF-1.5 3:06 (16-0))
Semifinal – Jarrel Miller (St. Edward) 24-3 won by major decision over Xander Horak (Mass. Perry) 32-7 (MD 14-0)
1st Place Match – Jarrel Miller (St. Edward) 24-3 won by decision over Matt Kowalski (Springboro) 44-4 (Dec 1-0)
Harvey Ludington – Brick, New Jersey(Brick Memorial HS) 190 lbs.
Thur/Sat Mar 6-Mar 8 – at New Jersey State Tournament(Atlantic City)
Champ. Round 1 – Harvey Ludington (Brick Memorial) won by tech fall over Thomas Foley (Saint John Vianney) 13-16 (TF-1.5 0:59 (20-3))
Champ. Round 2 – Harvey Ludington (Brick Memorial) won by tech fall over Nick Doktor (Clifton) (TF-1.5 1:04 (20-3))
Quarterfinal – Harvey Ludington (Brick Memorial) won by tech fall over Jake Zemsky (Westfield) (TF-1.5 1:03 (21-6))
Semifinal – Harvey Ludington (Brick Memorial) won by major decision over Carl Betz (Delbarton School) (MD 11-3)
1st Place Match – Harvey Ludington (Brick Memorial) 41-0 won by decision over Vincenzo LaValle (Hanover Park Hs) 42-4 (Dec 7-3)
Recruiting Class of 2026
Bo Bassett – Johnstown(Bishop McCort HS), Pennsylvania 145 lbs.
Thur/Sat Mar 6-Mar 8 – at PIAA AA State Championships(Hershey)
Rd of 16: Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) TF Andrew Messner (Berks Catholic), 21-6 1:55
Quarterfinals: Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) TF Cole Householder(Brookville), 19-4 2:23
Semifinals: Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) TF Mason Wagner(Faith Christian) 18-3 2:07
Finals: Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) Fall Hudson Hohman(Grove City) 1:52
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
