Current and future Iowa Hawkeyes will be competing in three tournaments in Geneva, Ohio this weekend. The Spire Institute will host the 2024 U20 Greco-Roman and Freestyle World Team Trials and U23 Nationals.

Incoming recruits Otto Black (Class of 2024) and Leister Bowling (Class of 2025) will be competing in the U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials on Friday.

Black (63kg/138 lbs.) won U20 Greco-Roman Nationals and Bowling (77kg/169 lbs.) placed second in Las Vegas in April. Black earned an automatic birth in the Best of Three Finals and Bowling will be in the Challenge Tournament.

In the U20 World Team Trials incoming recruit Leo DeLuca (Class of 2025) will join current Hawks Gabe Arnold, Brad Hill, and Ben Kueter. Arnold won U20 Nationals and placed second at U20 World Team Trials last year also at 79kg.

There are nine Hawks registered for U23 Nationals that will determine the U23 World Team. NCAA Runner-Up Drake Ayala is at 61kg/134 lbs. Also NCAA Qualifiers Caleb Rathjen, Patrick Kennedy, and Zach Glazier are set to compete. 

The 2024 U20 World Championships are in Pontevedra, Spain on September 2-8 .

The champions from U23 Nationals will be eligible to compete at the U23 Pan American Championships in Rionegro, Colombia, on June 21-22. The 2024 U23 World Championships are in Tirana, Albania, on October 21-27.

FloWrestling will have coverage of the tournaments on their premium service.

I will have follow-up blogs with results.

U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials

Otto Black – (63kg/138 lbs.)

Leister Bowling (77kg/169 lbs.)

U20 World Team Trials

Leo DeLuca – 57kg/125 lbs.

Gabe Arnold – 79kg/174 lbs.

Brad Hill – 125kg/275 lbs.

Ben Kueter – 125kg/275 lbs.

U23 Nationals:

Joey Cruz – 57kg/125 lbs.

Drake Ayala – 61kg/134 lbs.

Jesse Ybarra – 61kg/134 lbs.

Caleb Rathjen – 70kg/154 lbs.

Isaiah Fenton – 74kg/163 lbs.

Drake Rhodes – 74kg/163 lbs.

Patrick Kennedy – 79kg/174 lbs.

Sebastian Robles – 79kg/174 lbs.

Zach Glazier – 92kg/202 lbs.

All wrestlers registered as of May 27:

https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/12570808-2024-u20-u23-world-team-trials-entries

*All times listed are CST.

Friday, May 31st

U20 Greco-Roman

Session 1:

U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials – Challenge Tournament – Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Challenge Finals & Consolations

9:00 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Session 2:

U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials – All Medal Matches, and Best 2 out of 3 Finals

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 1st

U23 Freestyle & U20 Freestyle

Session 1:

U20 Freestyle World Team Trials – Challenge Tournament – Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Challenge Finals & Consolations

8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

U23 Freestyle – Preliminaries and Consolations

8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Session 2:

U20 Freestyle World Team Trials – All Medal Matches, and Best 2 out of 3 Finals

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

U23 Freestyle – Preliminaries and Consolations

3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 2nd

U23 Freestyle

Session 3:

U23 Freestyle – Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolations, All Medal Matches, and Best 2 out of 3 Finals

9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

With summer officially here I wanted to take a look at upcoming competitions. Iowa Wrestling fans will be kept busy following our wrestlers.

This weekend we will have U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals in Geneva, Ohio. We have several Hawks registered for both events. I will have a blog later this week with a full list of wrestlers and the schedule.

Junior Duals in Tulsa on June 21-22 is always fun to watch for recruiting. The largest wrestling tournament in the world will once again be Cadet/Junior Nationals in Fargo in July. We will have a lot to follow with all of our recruits in the men’s and women’s programs.

Current Hawks Brianna Gonzalez(53kg), Reese Larramendy(65kg) and incoming recruits Cadence Diduch(62kg) and Naomi Simon(76kg) will represent Team USA at the U20 World Freestyle Championships in Pontevedra, Spain in September.

The ultimate for our sport of wrestling is the Olympics. Spencer Lee will represent Team USA at the Olympics in Paris on August 8-9. The entire world will be watching.

2024 Summer Olympics

57kg

Thursday, August 8 – Round of 16/Quarterfinals, Semifinals

Friday August 9 – Repechage/Bronze and Gold Medal Round

I will keep you up to date right here on my blog following all of the action for Iowa Wrestling.

May 31 – U20 World Team Trials (Geneva, Ohio)

May 31-June 1 – U23 Nationals (Geneva, Ohio)

June 21-22 – Junior Duals (Tulsa, Oklahoma)

July 13-17 – Cadet and Junior Nationals   Girls July 13-14/Boys July 15-17 (Fargo, ND)

August 5-11 – Olympics (Paris, France)

September 2-8 – U20 World Freestyle Championships (Pontevedra, Spain)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling program announced that five wrestlers were named to the Spring 2024 Dean’s List.

To qualify a student must have a minimum 3.5 GPA on 12 semester hours or more of graded coursework.

With the commitment to wrestling it is impressive that we had wrestlers achieve this academic honor.

University of Iowa Spring 2024 Dean’s List

Nanea Estrella (Sr.) Makawao, Hawaii – Marketing

Cali Leng (Fr.) Marysville, Ohio – Business

Lilly Luft (Fr.) Charles City, Iowa – Pre-Physical Therapy

Emmily Patneaud (Sr.) Newark, California – Elementary Education 

Danni Swihart (Fr.) Jackson, Michigan – Pre-professional Veterinary Medicine

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling program had great success in the first year of the program. Iowa won NWCA National Duals and the NCWWC national title.

Congratulations to the wrestlers making the Dean’s List.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling program announced that five wrestlers were named to the Spring 2024 Dean’s List.

To qualify a student must have a minimum 3.5 GPA on 12 semester hours or more of graded coursework.

With the commitment to wrestling it is impressive that we had wrestlers achieve this academic honor.

University of Iowa Spring 2024 Dean’s List

Nanea Estrella (Sr.) Makawao, Hawaii – Marketing

Cali Leng (Fr.) Marysville, Ohio – Business

Lilly Luft (Fr.) Charles City, Iowa – Pre-Physical Therapy

Emmily Patneaud (Sr.) Newark, California – Elementary Education 

Danni Swihart (Fr.) Jackson, Michigan – Pre-professional Veterinary Medicine

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling program had great success in the first year of the program. Iowa won NWCA National Duals and the NCWWC national title.

Congratulations to the wrestlers making the Dean’s List.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa will have a dedication for the opening of the new wrestling facility on Thursday, May 30 at 3:30 PM. 

The Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center will be the new home of Iowa Wrestling. The $31-million, 38,500-square-foot building was funded entirely by private gifts

On April 12, 2017 I had a blog entitled: The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world

https://iowawrestlingblog.com/2017/04/the-greatest-wrestling-training-facility-in-the-world/

I have no doubt that the Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center is The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world.

An amazing amount of vision, work, and funding by fans has made this facility a reality.

Congratulations to the University of Iowa and the Iowa Wrestling Nation. This is a great accomplishment.

From the University of Iowa:

“Iowa City is the mecca of wrestling and Carver-Hawkeye Arena is a destination for wrestlers and wrestling fans from around the world. This new facility is at that level. It is state of the art, and with the people we have in this room, it will only get better with time,” says Iowa men’s wrestling head coach Tom Brands. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The dedication ceremony will take place outside the Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center and will be followed by self-guided tours of the facility. Refreshments will be available.

Construction of the $31-million, 38,500-square-foot building was funded entirely by private gifts through the Carver Circle campaign.

The main entrance at street level opens up into the Hall of Champions, which showcases the Hawkeye program’s proud history of All-American wrestlers and national championship. The trophy room is open to the public.

The facility’s largest space, the Bob and Kathy Nicolls Wrestling Room, features 30-foot-tall ceilings with nearly twice as much practice space as the former wrestling room. An adjacent strength and conditioning room on the lower-level flows seamlessly into the wrestling room.

The lower level includes locker rooms for the men’s and women’s teams, while the upper-level houses student-athlete lounges and coaches’ offices that overlook the wrestling room.

A new underground tunnel system connects the training center to the court level of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The bronze statue of Dan Gable, which currently stands outside Carver, has been relocated to the entrance of the Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center.

Dedication and ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of the Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center

WHEN:

Thursday, May 30 at 3:30 p.m.

WHERE:

Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center

Outdoor space immediately south of Carver-Hawkeye Arena

(If inclement weather is in the area the dedication ceremony will relocate to Carver-Hawkeye Arena)

DIRECTIONS AND PARKING: Map

Parking is available in Lots 40, 43, 52, 65, and 75. Please note: parking lot restrictions will be lifted starting at 3 p.m.

Guest Speakers:

Kevin Collins (emcee), Associate Vice President, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletics Development

Barbara Wilson, President, University of Iowa

Beth Goetz, Henry B. and Patricia B. Tippie Director of Athletics Chair

Tom Brands, Head Coach, men’s wrestling

Nyla Valencia, women’s wrestling student-athlete

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Iowa Wrestling has great news for next year’s lineup. Kyle Parco announced that he is transferring to Iowa and Nelson Brands will be back next season.

Parco, from Danville, California, is a four-time All American that began his career at Fresno State where he placed sixth in 2021. He was named as the 2021 Pac 12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year.

At Arizona State Parco placed eighth in 2002, fourth in 2023, and fifth this past season at the NCAA national tournament and won three Pac-12 titles. He has competed at 149 for his career.

Parco has been named as a 2022, 2023, and 2024 NWCA Scholar All American.

Brands announced that he received a medical hardship waiver from the 2022 season and will be competing for the Hawks this year.

Brands placed fifth in the country at 174 in 2023 and was an NCAA Qualifier in 2021. He was suspended and did not compete last season.

The addition of Parco and Brands to the 2024-25 Iowa lineup is huge news that should excite Hawkeye fans.

As a transfer Parco adds to the Recruiting Class of 2024 that will be competing for a spot in the lineup next season.

Recruiting Class of 2024

Dru Ayala – Fort Dodge, Iowa  120 lbs.

Season completed – 3rd place

Keyan Hernandez – Billings (West), Montana 126 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion

Otto Black – Park (Mead HS), Colorado  138 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion

Miguel Estrada – Bakersfield (Frontier HS), California  152 lbs.

Season completed – 4th place

Angelo Ferrari – Melissa, Texas  175 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion

Jake Howell –  Glenwood Village (Cherry Creek HS), Colorado  215 lbs.

Season completed – 2nd place

Kael Voinovich – City High HS, Iowa City, Iowa  157 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion

Joe Kennedy – Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota  152 lbs.

Season completed – 3rd place

Brady Benham – Sperry, Oklahoma  165 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion

*Transfer: Kyle Parco – Danville, California/Fresno State/Arizona State  149 lbs.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling program announced that Katja Osteen has signed to compete for the Hawks.

Osteen is originally from Simi Valley, California where she was a state champion in 2018 and a state finalist in 2020. She did not compete due to injury in 2019 and in 2021 because of the pandemic.

Osteen competed for Chaminade College Preparatory High School as a freshman and sophomore and for Royal High School as a junior and senior.

Coming out of high school in 2021 Osteen was ranked #3 at 180 by the National Girls High School Rankings.

Osteen competed for Simon Frasier University where she placed sixth in 2022 and 2023 at 191 lbs. at the NCWWC national championships.

This past season Osteen lived in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training Center and competed for the USA Wrestling Elite Accelerator Program (EAP).

She is projected to compete at the new 207 lbs. weight class for Iowa.

Osteen is the first transfer of the year for Iowa to add on to a great Recruiting Class of 2024.

Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 in the National Girls High School Rankings

Val Solorio (Canon-McMillan HS, Pennsylvania) – #3 at 100 lbs.

Rianne Murphy (Crown Point, IN – Wyoming Seminary) – #6 at 105 lbs.

Mia Goodwin (Virginia Beach, VA – Kellam HS) – #29 at 110 lbs.

Karlee Brooks  (Valiant College Prep, Phoenix, AZ) – #2 at 120 lbs., #11 P4P

Cadence Diduch (Freeport, Illinois) – #4 at 135 lbs.

Kiara Djoumessi (Waverly-Shell Rock HS, Iowa) –  #10 at 140 lbs.

Naomi Simon (Decorah, Iowa) – #3 at 170 lbs., #20 P4P

*Transfer: Katja Osteen (Simi Valley, CA/Simon Fraser/EAP) – 207 lbs.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming recruit Keyan Hernandez was named as the 2024 Midland Roundtable Athlete of the Year. The Athlete of the Year award is for the top male and female athlete in Billings chosen by the Midland Roundtable since 1989.

In February Hernandez won his fourth Montana state title for Billings West High School in Billing, Montana with a 43-0 record. He had a 131-1 career record and won state titles at 103, 113, 120, and 126.

Hernandez won the Senior division 126 lbs. title at the NHSCA High School Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia in April.

Last month Hernandez was named as the Montana state winner of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award (DSHSEA).

Hernandez was the first member of the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 when he committed to the Hawks on October 1, 2022 and is projected to compete at 125/133 for the Hawks.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The new National Girls High School Rankings for May have been released. The rankings are a product of USA Wrestling, FloWrestling, and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

All seven members of the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 are ranked.

Cadence Diduch and Naomi Simon moved up in the P4P (pound for pound) rankings. Diduch was ranked #4 at 135 and not listed in the P4P in the April rankings. Now she is #2 at 135 and #11 in the P4P. Simon went from #20 to #12 in the P4P and from #3 to #2 at 170 since the last rankings.

Karlee Brooks went from #2 to #1 at 125 and is ranked #15 in the P4P. 

Rianne Murphy (#4 at 105) and Mia Goodwin (#29 at 110) recently committed to the Hawks.

Incoming recruits had great results in April against national caliber competition.

Cadence Diduch(62kg) and Naomi Simon(76kg) won U20 Nationals. They will represent Team USA at the 2024 U20 World Freestyle Championships in Pontevedra, Spain on September 2-8. 

Karlee Brooks won the 120 lbs. title at the Girls National High School Recruiting Showcase and was named O.W.

I will continue to report on our incoming recruits as they compete throughout the summer.

Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 in the National Girls High School Rankings

Val Solorio (Canon-McMillan HS, Pennsylvania) – #5 at 100 lbs.

Rianne Murphy (Crown Point, IN – Wyoming Seminary) – #4 at 105 lbs.

Mia Goodwin (Virginia Beach, VA – Kellam HS) – #29 at 110 lbs.

Karlee Brooks  (Valiant College Prep, Phoenix, AZ) – #1 at 120 lbs., #15 P4P

Cadence Diduch (Freeport, Illinois) – #2 at 135 lbs. #11 P4P

Kiara Djoumessi (Waverly-Shell Rock HS, Iowa) –  #13 at 140 lbs.

Naomi Simon (Decorah, Iowa) – #2 at 170 lbs., #12 P4P

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa recruit Otto Black won the 138 lbs. Greco-Roman title at the USA Wrestling Regional Championships series in Herriman, Utah. The top six place winners at each weight qualified for Junior Nationals in Fargo, ND in July.

Black was 6-0 with six tech falls. In the six matches Black outscored his opponents 72-4 and he held five opponents to 0 points.

Leister Bowling placed second in Greco-Roman at 175 lbs. Bowling was 4-1 with four tech falls.

In Freestyle Bowling placed third at 175 with a 7-1 record with six tech falls. 

Black, from Park, Colorado, won a 138 lbs. 4A Colorado state title this season with a 52-0 record and is a member of the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024.

He was a Junior Greco-Roman national champion at 126 in 2022 and 132 in 2023.

Bowling, from Longmont, Colorado, won a 175 lbs. state title for Mead High School. Bowling and Black were teammates and led Mead to the 4A Colorado state title this season.

Bowling is in the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2025.

Black (63kg/138 lbs.) won U20 Greco-Roman Nationals and Bowling (77kg/169 lbs.) placed second in Las Vegas last month . They are now both qualified for U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials on May 31-June 1 in Geneva, Ohio.

USA Wrestling Regional Championships in Herriman, Utah

Greco-Roman – 138 lbs. 

Champ. Round 1 – Otto Black (CO) won by tech fall over Gavin Mitchell (CA) (TF 10-0)

Champ. Round 2 – Otto Black (CO) won by tech fall over Kolby Hamilton (WY) (TF 8-0)

Champ. Round 3 – Otto Black (CO) won by tech fall over Mason Townsend (WA) (TF 11-0)

Quarterfinal – Otto Black (CO) won by tech fall over Drake Hooiman (NV) (TF 15-4)

Semifinal – Otto Black (CO) won by tech fall over Jaxon Mackey (NV) (TF 8-0)

1st Place Match – Otto Black (CO) won by tech fall over Layne Kleimann (UT) (TF 10-0)

Greco-Roman – 175 lbs.

Champ. Round 1 – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by tech fall over Logan Royer (OR) (TF 8-0)

Champ. Round 2 – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by tech fall over Landon Visser (UT) (TF 9-0)

Quarterfinal – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by tech fall over Luke Sarich (ID) (TF 13-2)

Semifinal – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by tech fall over Ronald Robinson (AZ) (TF 12-1)

1st Place Match – Ben Smith (UT) won by tech fall over Leister Bowling Iv (CO) (TF 10-0)

Freestyle – 175 lbs.

Champ. Round 1 – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by decision over Ben Smith (UT) (Dec 7-2)

Champ. Round 2 – Caleb Farrar (NV) won by tech fall over Leister Bowling Iv (CO) (TF 14-3)

Cons. Round 2 – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by tech fall over Kaden Moore (UT) (TF 14-1)

Cons. Round 3 – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by tech fall over Benedict Holthaus (UT) (TF 11-0)

Cons. Round 4 – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by tech fall over Quayde Beck (UT) (TF 11-0)

Cons. Round 5 – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by tech fall over Noah Daniels (CA) (TF 14-3)

Cons. Semi – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by tech fall over Caleb Farrar (NV) (TF 15-4)

3rd Place Match – Leister Bowling Iv (CO) won by tech fall over Banks Love (UT) (TF 10-0)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!