I had to go to Google to get an exact date. I have been going to Iowa Wrestling practices before a home football game since October 8, 1983. Royce Alger was a true freshman at Iowa and I was a junior at Lisbon High School.
The practice that I saw on Saturday, October 12th ranks right up there with the best of them. Simply put, it took me back in time.
I made myself sleep on it so that I would not overreact. I was that impressed with what I saw.
For starters the new facility is unbelievable. This was the first practice that I have made it to and it was one to remember.
Iowa certified on Thursday for the first day of official practice so everyone was at competition weight or close to it.
I’ll cut right to the chase. I was really impressed with true freshman, transfers, redshirt freshman, Hawks at their new weight, the whole works.
The main attraction was on the front and center mat. Stephan Buchanan, a senior transfer from Oklahoma that placed third at the NCAA National Tournament the last two years vs. elite recruit true freshman Angelo Ferrari. I would have paid admission for the entertainment of watching these two guys go at it.
I released a blog about how Ferrari is only the second recruit in the history of Iowa Wrestling to come in as the #1 overall recruit in the country. He looks the part and then some.
The flurries that these two had was impressive. Ferrari has the big legs and looks to be full sized at 184 from what I could tell. Buchanan is bigger and a good sized 197.
What I liked is that both wrestlers were tired but kept going at it hard and attacking. Great to see in mid October and in their first year in the room. Both of these guys are only going to get better as the season goes.
Do not take a close go as a knock on Buchanan. Take it as great news about Ferrari. I know I am.
I was trying to watch other matches but the center mats had my attention. I would go from Buchanan-Ferrari to Gabe Arnold(174) and a guy I did not know. They were really going at it with some great flurries. I had to ask to find out it was transfer Kyle Parco(149). Both are listed at 5’7” and of courses Arnold is much thicker. I am here to tell you Parco has some goin in him. What great wrestling to watch.
As with Buchanan-Ferrari do not take this as a knock on Arnold but great news about Parco. I am. Damn, was I impressed with Parco. He will be handful and then some for anyone at 149 this season.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog having Ben Kueter ranked #11 at Hwt is a little…low. After what I saw in practice I believe it is way low. Kueter has definitely put on size and is still ripped. He has to be pushing all of 240 right now and I say again he is ripped.
Kueter was wrestling Jacob Warner and looked great. I have never seen a Hwt as athletic and smooth as Kueter in the Iowa room over the years. This kid is at another level.
Ranked 11th in the country for Ben Kueter at Hwt? I don’t think so.
Spencer Lee and Austin DeSanto were wrestling. Lee is a lot bigger than when I last saw him probably two years ago. A lot bigger. Lee now looks the part of being an elite International wrestler challenging for World and Olympic titles.
Nelson Brands is huge. 184 has to be a cut and he looks big enough to go 197. He definitely put on muscle over the last year.
Kale Petersen is already at 125. Should he hold his weight well I look for big things out of him. Petersen is a small town Iowa tough guy. My favorite kind. Add in an ornery streak and getting coached up by Terry Brands and you have a recipe for a great year.
Iowa does not have a wrestler ranked at 125 right now between Petersen and Joey Cruz and they should not be ranked. I like Kael Petersen a lot and I see him scoring good points at Nationals in Philadelphia to keep the tradition at 125 for the Hawks alive and well.
Drake Ayala looks bigger and I can only assume he is certified at 133. He is cut up and lean and if it was at 133 then it shows how much weight he was cutting last year. He looks real good and I feel a lot better about him going 133 now that I have seen how physical he looks.
I have always been high on Ryder Block. He is listed at 5’11” on the roster and will be tall for his weight. As a redshirt freshman he has the background and skill set to step in and take 141 by the horns and have a solid season.
Iowa does not have anyone ranked at 141 but I see Block scoring points at Nationals. This young fella will age for the good over the next five months leading into Nationals. It’s time for Block.
I had to also ask who Michael Caliendo was wrestling with. The guy was a lighter weight than Caliendo but was stacked. I found out it was true freshman Miguel Estrada. In my recent blog about Estrada I mentioned that due to an injury he did not compete much last season and dropped in the rankings. That set him up to be a potential darkhorse for the Recruiting Class of 2024.
Estrada showed up in June and has worked himself into shape. As a true freshman Estrada looks to be D-I ready for build and strength right now. Working out with Caliendo is only going to make him better.
I have had four people contact me through my blog about how much Iowa fans were going to like Estrada. They were very high on Estrada and his potential for the next level. I see what they are talking about. I always welcome input from fans/coaches
Estrada is listed at 149/157 on the roster and I expect him to redshirt this season. I see him being in the mix for the starting spot at 149 next season. This guy is impressing a lot of the right people and has a great future in the Black and Gold of Iowa Wrestling.
Patrick Kennedy looked real good going at it with Alex Marinelli. Kennedy is peaking to represent Team USA at U23 Worlds later this month. To many people have counted Kennedy out for the starting lineup. Whoever wins between Kennedy-Arnold will earn the right to take the mats at Big Tens next March.
A quick rundown in a more organized format:
125 – Petersen is down to weight and I expect him to have a great season and to be the next hammer at 125.
133 – Ayala looks good at his new weight. He must have been cutting a lot last year.
141 – Block is down to weight. He has five months to develop before Big Tens.
149 – Parco looked light out t-o-u-g-h! I am also excited about true freshman Miguel Estrada.
157 – Teemer is ranked #1 in the country for a reason.
165 – Caliendo always looks good and I see him improving quite a bit in his second season in the program.
174 – We may not know who the man is at 174 until Big Tens. Iron sharpens iron. Either way we will have a real good wrestler at 174 between Kennedy/Arnold.
184 – Nelson Brands is a beast and I believe he will have an extra grind to him this season. Going to be fun to watch.
197 – I was impressed with Buchanan. Real good athlete and good conditioning for this time of the year.
Hwt. – No football this year, just wrestling. Kueter is a freak. His mindset should be that anything less than being a national champ this year will be a disappointment.
Iowa will have one huge weekend for recruits and it will be for Homecoming in two weeks.
I look for Iowa to have an impressive group of recruits in Wrestle Town, USA – Iowa City, Iowa for the weekend of October 25-27.
Iowa got their #1 recruit in 2023 with Kueter, 2024 with Ferrari, and already have a verbal from Leo DeLuca ranked #1 at 120 for the Class of 2025. Who’s next?
If you are not excited as an Iowa Wrestling fan – you should be.
Let’s get ‘em in the middle.
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
