The Iowa Women’s Wrestling team won their second straight NWCA National Duals title at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Iowa was 4-0 in dual meets and dominated the competition.

In the first round Iowa defeated Aurora 35-10 with four pins and four tech falls.

For the Quarterfinals Iowa defeated Wartburg 42-1 with four tech falls, two pins, two forfeits and two decisions.

The Hawks faced McKendree who are ranked #5 in the country in the semifinals. Iowa won 33-11 with four pins and a tech fall. 

The finals was a showdown between #1 Iowa and #2 North Central. The Hawks won the meet 28-13. Kennedy Blades had a tech fall and Kiley Welker recorded a pin as Iowa won 8 of 10 matches.

This was a great showing for Iowa who was 33-7 in total matches with 11 pins and 10 tech falls against the best competition in the country. 

Congratulations to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Iowa will compete next at home with Iowa Duals II on Saturday, January 18. The Hawks will face Augustana and Grand Valley State starting at 6 PM. This will be the final home meet of the season for Iowa.

From HawkeyeSports.com:

Single dual ticket sales are now available. Please call 1-800-IAHAWKS and select option 2 to be connected to a ticket sales representative or visit https://hawkeyesports.com/tickets/ to learn more.

NWCA National Duals

Champ. Round 1

Iowa defeated Aurora 35-10

103 – Sterling Dias (Iowa) over Genesis Ramirez (Aurora) Dec 3-2

110 – Emilie Gonzalez (Iowa) over Mia Moore (Aurora) TF 10-0

117 – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) over Sharon Moreno (Aurora) Fall 1:17

124 – Bethany Regione (Aurora) over Ava Rose (Iowa) Fall 1:32

131 – Emily Frost (Iowa) over Natasha Markoutsis (Aurora) Fall 2:22

138 – Alexis Janiak (Aurora) over Cadence Diduch (Iowa) TF 10-0

145 – Reese Larramendy (Iowa) over Olga Turiy (Aurora) TF 11-0

160 – Kennedy Blades (Iowa) over Antonia Phillips (Aurora) TF 12-0

180 – Naomi Simon (Iowa) over Mackenzie Konanz (Aurora) Fall 2:39

207 – Samantha Calkins (Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

Quarterfinal

Iowa defeated Wartburg 42-1

103 – Sterling Dias (Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

110 – Ava Bayless (Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

117 – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) over Danielle Silva (Wartburg) Fall 1:17

124 – Cali Leng (Iowa) over Liannette Ortiz (Wartburg) Dec 6-6

131 – Emmily Patneaud (Iowa) over Khylie Wainwright (Wartburg) Fall 1:41

138 – Nanea Estrella (Iowa) over Ali Russler (Wartburg) TF 12-0

145 – Macey Kilty (Iowa) over dana Cleveland (Wartburg) TF 10-0

160 – Kennedy Blades (Iowa) over Rachel Schauer (Wartburg) TF 11-0

180 – Kylie Welker (Iowa) over Kami Senlycki (Wartburg) TF 10-0

207 – Alivia White (Iowa) over Rewa Chababo (Wartburg) Dec 4-0

Semifinal

Iowa defeated McKendree University 33-11

103 – Gabriele Tedesco (McKendree University) over Sterling Dias (Iowa) Dec 6-3

110 – Emilie Gonzalez (Iowa) over Samantha Miller (McKendree University) Fall 5:53

117 – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) over Norah Swaim (McKendree University) Dec 9-2

124 – Shelby Moore (McKendree University) over Cali Leng (Iowa) Dec 6-2

131 – Alexandra Szkotnicki (McKendree University) over Emmily Patneaud (Iowa) Dec 3-2

138 – Nanea Estrella (Iowa) over Viktorya Torres (McKendree University) Fall 5:05

145 – Reese Larramendy (Iowa) over Savannah Gomez (McKendree University) Dec 6-2

160 – Kennedy Blades (Iowa) over Kaylynn Albrecht (McKendree University) TF 12-0

180 – Kylie Welker (Iowa) over Tristan Kelly (McKendree University) Fall 1:11

207 – Alivia White (Iowa) over Manusiu Muti (McKendree University) Fall 2:32

1st Place Match

Iowa defeated North Central College 28-13

103 – Sterling Dias (Iowa) over Madison Avila (North Central College) Dec 3-2

110 – Ava Bayless (Iowa) over Kendra Ryan (North Central College) Dec 5-2

117 – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) over Sydney Petzinger (North Central College) Dec 10-7

124 – Cali Leng (Iowa) over Janessa George (North Central College) Dec 3-0

131 – Amani Jones (North Central College) over Emily Frost (Iowa) TF 15-3

138 – Nanea Estrella (Iowa) over Sara Sterner (North Central College) Dec 13-8

145 – Macey Kilty (Iowa) over Bella Mir (North Central College) Dec 11-6

160 – Kennedy Blades (Iowa) over Tiera Jimerson (North Central College) TF 11-0

180 – Kylie Welker (Iowa) over Shenita Lawson (North Central College) Fall 0:41

207 – Traeh Haynes (North Central College) over Alivia White (Iowa) TF 10-0

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Spencer Lee will compete at the 51st annual Henri Deglane Grand Prix in Nice, France on Saturday, January 18. 

This will be the first International competition for Lee since capturing the 57kg silver medal at the Olympics last summer.

This is a three day tournament for men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. The men’s freestyle will be on Saturday only.

Members of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club have been competing at this tournament for years.

At the 2023 Henri Deglane Grand Prix Austin DeSanto and Pat Lugo won gold and Alex Marinelli won silver

HWC coach Dan Dennis is a member of the coaching staff for Team USA.

I will have a follow up blog with results.

2024 Henri Deglane Grand Prix in Nice, France

Saturday, January 18

3:30 AM CST – Qualification Rounds through Finals

1:30 PM CST – Awards

From USA Wrestling:

A live stream of the Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France is available online through France Lutte. Brackets and updated results will post to Smoothcomp.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kyle Parco has been named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week. Parco was 4-0 with two tech falls in winning the 149 lbs. title at Soldier Salute.

In the semifinals Parco defeated #22 Gabe Willochell(Wyoming) and #6 Lachlan McNeil(North Carolina) in the finals.

For the season Parco is 10-0 with five tech falls and one major decision and ranked #4 in the country at 149.

Parco, from Danville(De La Salle HS), California, is a four-time All American that began his career at Fresno State. He placed sixth as a redshirt freshman 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 at 149. He was named the 2022 Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year. 

Soldier Salute

Champ. Round 1 – Kyle Parco (Iowa) 8-0 received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Kyle Parco (Iowa) won by tech fall over Garrett Funk (Northern Iowa) (TF-1.5 4:42 (18-1))

Quarterfinal – Kyle Parco (Iowa) 8-0 won by tech fall over Kaemen Smith (Navy) (TF-1.5 5:29 (18-3))

Semifinal – Kyle Parco (Iowa) 8-0 won by decision over #22 Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) (Dec 12-6)

1st Place Match – Kyle Parco (Iowa) won by decision over #6 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) (Dec 8-5)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

All of our incoming recruits are scheduled to compete this weekend.

Leo DeLuca(Blair) and Ty and Jarrel Miller(St. Ed’s) will be at Tri Duals hosted by Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, Florida on Saturday.

Harvey Ludington will be at Toms River East for a dual meet on Friday and home for a double dual on Saturday against St. Thomas Aquinas and Cranford.

Paolo Ciatto will be at Eastern States in Clifton Park on Friday and Saturday.

On Saturday Leister Bowling will be at the Pueblo Centennial Invitational.

Isabella Gonzales and Samantha Sachs will be at the 25 Annual Napa Valley Girls Classic in Napa on Friday and Saturday. This is a huge tournament that had 140 teams compete last year.

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.

Recruiting Class of 2025

Leo DeLuca – Blair Academy(Morristown, New Jersey) 120 lbs. 

at Jan 11 – at Tri Duals vs. St. Ed’s and Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, FL)

Paolo Ciatto – Iona Preparatory(New Rochelle, New York)  170 lbs.

Fri/Sat Jan 10-11 – at Eastern States(Clifton Park)

Leister Bowling – Longmont(Mead HS), Colorado  175 lbs.

Sat Jan 11 – at Pueblo Centennial Invitational

Ty Miller – North Olmsted(St. Ed’s HS), Ohio 175 lbs. 

at Jan 11 – at Tri Duals vs. Blair and Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, FL)

Jarrel Miller – North Olmsted(St. Ed’s HS), Ohio  190 lbs. 

at Jan 11 – at Tri Duals vs. Blair and Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, FL)

Harvey Ludington – Brick, New Jersey(Brick Memorial HS)  190 lbs. 

Fri Jan 10 – at Toms River East

Sat Jan 11 – St. Thomas Aquinas and Cranford

Recruiting Class of 2026

Owen McMullen – Johnstown(Bishop McCort HS), Pennsylvania  

Fri/Sat Jan 10-11 – at Mid-Winter Mayhem(Indiana, PA)

Women’s Recruiting Class of 2025

Isabella Gonzales – Fresno(Clovis East HS), California  120 lbs. 

Fri/Sat Jan 10-11 – at Napa Valley Girls Classic(Napa)

Samantha Sachs – Glendora, California  130 lbs.  

Fri/Sat Jan 10-11 – at Napa Valley Girls Classic(Napa)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling team will be competing at NWCA Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Friday and Saturday, January 10-11. 

Iowa won the 2024 NWCA Duals in dramatic fashion last year and are seeded #1 in the NCAA Women’s division.

Iowa will have eighteen wrestlers on the roster with eleven wrestlers ranked in the top seven in the country.

Competition will begin for Iowa at 10 AM on Friday with the first round followed by the Quarterfinals at 11:30. On Saturday the Semifinals will be at 10:30 AM and the Finals at 1:30.

National Duals will be live on the premium service for FloWrestling.

I will have a follow-up blog with results.

Probable Lineup

103 – Sterling Dias #2

110 – Ava Bayless #2

110 – Emilie Gonzalez #5

110 – Valarie Solorio

117 – Brianna Gonzalez #1

117 – Ava Rose

124 – Cali Leng

131 – Emily Frost

131 – Emmily Patneaud

138 – Nanea Estrella #3

138 – Cadence Diduch

145 – Reese Larramendy #1

145 – Macey Kilty #3

160 – Kennedy Blades #2

180 – Kylie Welker #1

180 – Naomi Simon #7

207 – Jaycee Foeller #1

207 – Alivia White

NWCA National Duals

UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa

Friday, January 10

Round 1 – 10 AM

Quarterfinals – 11:30 AM

Saturday, January 11

Semifinals – 10:30 AM

Finals – 1:30 PM

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kylie Welker has been named as the December Student-Athlete of the Month. The award was announced by the University of Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  

Welker is 15-0 this season with twelve tech falls and three falls and ranked #1 in the country at 180. 

Welker, a redshirt sophomore from Franksville, Wisconsin, won an NCWWC national title at 170 lbs. last season for the Hawks.

Welker was named as the 2024 NCAA Women’s Wrestler of the Year by The Open Mat and was named to the 2024 Academic All-Big Ten Team.

This past summer Welker won a U23 World Freestyle title and bronze medal at the 2024 Senior World Championships in Tirana, Albania.

Kylie Welker was the first recruit to commit to the University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling program in February of 2022.

Congratulations to Kylie Welker for being named as the December Student-Athlete of the Month for the University of Iowa.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa Wrestling team announced that three wrestlers were named to the 2024 Fall Dean’s List.

Angelo Ferrari, Easton Fleshman and Anthony Lavezzola were named for the honor.

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

University of Iowa Fall 2024 Dean’s List

Angelo Ferrari (Fr) Melissa, Texas – Sports and Recreation Management

Easton Fleshman (So) Inwood, Iowa – History and Social Studies Education

Anthony Lavezzola (Fr) Westwood, New Jersey – Sports and Recreation Management

Fleshman was in the Recruiting Class of 2022. Ferrari and Lavezzola are both true freshmen from the Class of 2024.

Ferrari was just the second recruit in the history of Iowa Wrestling to be the #1 overall recruit in the country. Ferrari is currently 10-0 for the season with a title at Soldier Salute and a win over the #15 ranked wrestler in the country.

Congratulations to the wrestlers making the Dean’s List.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Hawkeyes will be on the road at Wisconsin to start the Big Ten season on Sunday, January 12 at 2 PM.

This will be the first dual meet for Iowa since they defeated Princeton and Army on December 6.

There are still several weights that have not been decided at this time so I take an interest when the Probable Lineups are released. 

Iowa has two wrestlers listed at three weights. Joey Cruz and Kale Petersen at 125 to face #18 Nicolar Rivera. At 141 Jace Rhodes and Cullan Schriever are listed and at 184 we have Gabe Arnold and Angelo Ferrari.

True freshman Miguel Estrada is at 157. I am looking forward to his match with Luke Mechler. 

Patrick Kennedy is listed at 174 to face #31 Luke Condon at 174.

I am ready to see the Hawks back on the mat in a dual meet. I am expecting a good showing from Iowa. 

#2 Iowa vs. Wisconsin

Sunday, January 12 at 2 PM CST

At UW Field House in Madison, Wisconsin

Streamed live on BIG+

Steven Grace and Mark Ironside call the action on AM 800 KXIC and audio streamed online at HawkeySports.com via YouTube.

Probable Lineups

125 Joey Cruz So. Fresno, California/Bullard 12-6 -or- Kale Petersen R-Fr. Rockwell, Iowa/Greene County 5-2 vs.  –/18/27/14 Nicolar Rivera R-Fr Stoughton, Wisconsin/Stoughton 11-0

133 3/4/4/3 Drake Ayala Jr. Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge 9-1 vs. –/24/29/– Zan Fugitt R-Fr. Nixa, Missouri/Nixa 10-2

141 Jace Rhodes So. Mason City, Iowa/Mason City 4-2 -or- Cullan Schriever Sr. Mason City, Iowa/Mason City 3-5 vs. Brock Bobzien R-Fr. Poway, California/Poway 4-7

149 3/4/4/4 Kyle Parco Sr. Danville, California/De La Salle 10-0 vs. Royce Nilo R-Fr. Milton, Wisconsin/Milton 1-6 -or- Elliot Biba Fr. Highland, Wisconsin/Highland 1-3

157 Miguel Estrada Fr. Bakersfield, California/ Frontier 11-0/1-2* vs. Luke Mechler R-Jr. Stoughton, Wisconsin/Stoughton 7-7

165 2/2/2/2 Michael Caliendo Jr. Geneva, Illinois/Batavia 10-0 vs. Cale Anderson R-Jr. Viroqua, Wisconsin/Viroqua 4-4 -or- Gavin Model R-Sr. Stoughton, Wisconsin/Stoughton 1-2

174 6/5/6/– Patrick Kennedy Sr. Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota 6-0 vs.  –/31/–/– Luke Condon R-Fr. Poway, California/Poway 9-5

184 9/5/5/8 Gabe Arnold R-Fr. Albany, Georgia/Iowa City 8-1 -or- Angelo Ferrari Fr. Melissa, Texas/Melissa 10-0 vs. Dylan Russo R-Fr. Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty 3-5

197 1/2/1/1 Stephen Buchanan Grad. Loyal, Wisconsin/Loyal 10-0 vs. Niccolo Colucci Grad. Summit, New Jersey/St. Peter’s Prep 1-7

Hwt 16/12/13/18 Ben Kueter R-Fr. Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City 8-1 vs. Gannon Rosenfeld R-So. North Mankato, Minnesota/Mankato West 6-2

* Unattached 

^WIN/InterMat/Flo/AWN (Rankings based on weight class listed at) 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

I have received a lot of positive feedback in recent years for blogs highlighting upcoming matchups. I have decided to start with January matchups this year.

InterMat just released the updated rankings. Iowa remains #2 in the Tournament and Dual Meet Rankings.

Patrick Kennedy(#5-174) and Gabe Arnold(#5-184) both went up in the rankings this week. Joey Cruz dropped out out of the rankings after being #32 at 125.

Iowa will begin Big Ten competition on Sunday at Wisconsin. As we all know the Big Ten is by far the toughest conference in the country. 

Every single match is important for seedings at Big Ten’s on March 8-9 and Nationals on March 20-22.

We are in for a great month of wrestling.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

Upcoming schedule:

Sunday, January 12 – at Wisconsin  2PM  BIG+

Friday, January 17 – #12 Illinois  6PM  BTN

Saturday, January 25 – #8 Ohio State  1 PM  BTN

Friday, January 31 – at #1 Penn State  6 PM  BTN

*Times listed are CST

*InterMat Rankings from January 7, 2025

125 – Kale Petersen/Joey Cruz – Not ranked

Wisconsin – #18 Nicolar Rivera

Illinois – Not ranked

Ohio State – #10 Brendan McCrone

Penn State – #12 Luke Lilledahl

133 – Drake Ayala #4

Wisconsin – #24 Zan Fugitt

Illinois – #2 Lucas Byrd

Ohio State – #9 Nic Bouzakis

Penn State – #5 Braeden Davis

141 – Ryder Block #28

Wisconsin – Not ranked

Illinois – #13 Danny Pucino

Ohio State – #1 Jesse Mendez

Penn State – #3 Beau Bartlett

149 – Kyle Parco #4

Wisconsin – Not ranked

Illinois – #11 Kannon Webster

Ohio State – #12 Dylan D’Emilio

Penn State – #2 Shayne Van Ness

157 – Jacori Teemer #1

Wisconsin – Not ranked

Illinois – #27 Jason Kraisser

Ohio State – #9 Paddy Gallagher

Penn State – #3 Tyler Kasak

165 – Michael Caliendo #2

Wisconsin – Not ranked

Illinois – #10 Braeden Scoles

Ohio State – #11 Sammy Sasso

Penn State – #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink

174 – Patrick Kennedy  #5

Wisconsin – #31 Lucas Condon

Illinois – #21 Danny Braunagel

Ohio State – #9 Carson Kharchla

Penn State – #2 Levi Haines

184 – Gabe Arnold #5

Wisconsin – Not ranked

Illinois – #10 Edmond Ruth

Ohio State – #14 Ryder Rogotzke

Penn State – #1 Carter Starocci

197 – Stephen Buchanan #2

Wisconsin – Not ranked

Illinois – #11 Zac Braunagel

Ohio State – #17 Luke Geog

Penn State – #4 Josh Barr

Hwt – Ben Kueter #12

Wisconsin – Not ranked

Illinois – #11 Luke Luffman

Ohio State – #7 Nick Feldman

Penn State – #2 Greg Kerkvliet

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling program announced that ten wrestlers were named to the Fall 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 Fall 2024 Dean’s List

Cadence Diduch (Fr) Freeport, Illinois – Secondary Education and Environmental Sciences

Kiara Djoumessi (Fr) Waverly, Iowa – Marketing

Riann Murphy (Fr) Crown Point, Indiana – Business

Mia Goodwin (Fr) Virginia Beach, Virginia – Biology

Naomi Simon (Fr) Decorah, Iowa – Human Physiology

Cali Leng (So) Marysville, Ohio – Business

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

Ava Rose (So) Princeton, New Jersey – Civil Engineering

Katja Osteen (Jr) Simi Valley, California – Psychology

Nanea Estrella (Sr.) Makawao, Hawaii – Marketing

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling program started in the fall of 2022 and last year was the first year of official competition. The Recruiting Class of 2024 has five members on the Dean’s List and the Class of 2023 has three. That is impressive. 

Congratulations to the wrestlers making the Dean’s List.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!