Incoming recruit Isabella Marie Gonzales has been named as the 2025 Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award State Winner for California.

Gonzales is a senior at Clovis East in Fresno, California where she is an incoming member of the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2025.

In the final National Girls High School Rankings Gonzales was #3 overall in the P4P rankings and #1 at 120 lbs.

Gonzales will now advance to the Regional voting for the West with Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

The regional TSHSEA winners will be announced on April 24 and the national winner will be announced on April 30.

TSHSEA winners are evaluated and selected on the basis of three criteria: success and standout performances and sportsmanship in wrestling; review of GPA and class rank, academic honors and distinctions; and participation in activities that demonstrate commitment to character and community.

The award is named for four-time World champion Tricia Saunders who was the first woman from the United States to win a World title and to be inducted as a Distinguished Member into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. She was also inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Gonzales placed fifth at 53kg/116 lbs. at the 2024 U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan.

Gonzales was a U17 Pan-Am champion in 2023 and a U15 Pan-Am champion in 2022. She is a three-time California state champion and won a Super 32 title.

Congratulations to Isabella for being named for this honor.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Brad Smith was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in Cresco, Iowa on Monday. Smith has excelled at all levels in wrestling as a wrestler, coach, and mentor. 

Brad Smith is the greatest coach in the history of Iowa High School wrestling.

Smith was a successful three-sport standout (wrestling, football, and baseball) at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights(Chicago), Illinois. As a two-time state champion Smith was listed as first team All American as a Junior Olympic champion. He was recruited by powerhouse programs across the country in 1972.

Smith became a member of the first ever recruiting class for Gary Kurdelmeier at the University of Iowa. 

Smith was coached by three Hall of Fame coaches at Iowa that would leave their mark on the sport: Gary Kurdelmeier and his assistant coaches Dan Gable and J Robinson.

In 1976 Smith won an NCAA National title at 142 lbs. for the Hawks. Coach Smith was on the first two NCAA titles ever won by Iowa Wrestling in 1975 and 1976 that was the beginning of the Iowa Wrestling dynasty.

Coach Smith began his coaching career at Lisbon in 1978 replacing another legend, Al Baxter when I was in sixth grade. Lisbon won seven traditional state titles in 13 seasons. Among his wrestlers was Royce Alger (Class of 1983) who went on to be a two-time NCAA National champion for Dan Gable at the University of Iowa and a 1990 World Silver medalist.

Coach Smith was the only wrestling coach at Lisbon until 1987. He alone coached the high school, junior high, and kids club. We will not see that happen again with those types of results.

Smith became head coach at City High School in Iowa City in 1991 and led his teams to three traditional state championships in 21 seasons. 

Coach Smith returned to Lisbon in 2012. Lisbon won the state title in 2018 that was the 12th state title in Smith’s career. A record in Iowa high school wrestling history.

Coach Smith became the all-time winningest coach in Iowa high school wrestling history by winning over 700 duals in his career. 

Coach Smith was named as the National Wrestling Coach of the Year two times in his career.

I also want to add the style influence that Coach Smith had on Iowa High School wrestling. Smith was a wide open wrestler that would trade takedowns as a Hawkeye as opposed to mat wrestling. That was rare in the 70’s.

Smith brought that same style to Lisbon and was the first in Iowa history that I know of that had his wrestlers get a takedown and let their opponent up to go for another takedown. The freestyle influence that changed Iowa high school wrestling in the 1980’s was started by Brad Smith at Lisbon.

In April of 1978 Al Baxter called his friend J Robinson, an assistant coach for the University of Iowa. Baxter told Robinson that he was leaving Lisbon and wanted to know if he had any recommendations at Iowa. Lisbon had won five of the last six state titles and Coach Baxter wanted to leave the program in good hands.

Brad Smith was sitting in Robinson’s office at the exact time of that call. Without that timing of being in that office I highly doubt Smith would have ended up at Lisbon. Timing as they say is everything.

Coach Baxter was in charge of finding his replacement. He only interviewed one person. Brad Smith.

I am grateful that fate was on our side and Coach Smith was in J Robinson’s office that day in April of 1978. The influence, legacy, and history of that one event is beyond description.

Coach Smith is the State of Iowa wrestling coach record holder for:

Most dual meet wins

Most traditional state titles 

Most individual state champions

Most four-time state champions

I see no doubt that Brad Smith is the greatest coach in Iowa High School wrestling history. 

Congratulations to Coach Smith for being named for this honor.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa announced today that the Hawks will be competing at National Duals.

The 2025 National Duals will be held at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on November 15-16.

From HawkeyeSports.com:

The 16-team event will feature a total purse of more than $1 million. The top eight teams will each earn payouts, with the winning squad receiving $200,000. The second- and third-place teams will earn $150,000, while fourth place earns $75,000. Fifth through eighth place payouts will be: $50,000, $40,000, $25,000, and $20,000, respectively. All participating teams will receive $20,000 for attending.

Automatic entry is awarded to the top 12 teams in the final 2025 NCAA Division I standings (Penn State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, Cornell, NC State, Northern Iowa, Illinois, Virginia Tech and Michigan). To secure their spots, these 12 must complete their participation agreements by April 15.

The remaining spots will be filled through a random drawing on April 24 from teams that finished 13-24 in the NCAA standings (Purdue, Missouri, Lehigh, Pennsylvania, Little Rock, Arizona State, Stanford, West Virginia, Navy, Wyoming, South Dakota State, Indiana, Maryland and Oregon State).

Teams and the bracket will be listed at nationaldualsinvitational.com  as they are confirmed.

Great move by Iowa to get back into National Duals. I have great memories of the past when the Hawks competed.

I always enjoyed seeing all of the college wrestling divisions.

I am looking forward to National Duals in November.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Michael Mocco announced on Instagram that he has committed to the University of Iowa.

I’m excited to announce my commitment to the University of Iowa. I feel blessed to have these opportunities and I’m excited for what the future holds. Go hawks!🐤🐤

I’d like to thank my family, friends, teammates, and coaches for everything they have done for me. They have helped me in so many ways. All glory to god✝️

Michael is the son of Steve Mocco who was an NCAA national champion for Iowa in 2003 and a 2008 Olympian.

Mocco is a Hwt and will be a member of an already impressive Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2026.

Mocco won a U17 World title at 110 kg/242 lbs. in Amman, Jordan last summer including an :18 tech fall in the finals. Mocco was 4-0 with four tech falls while outscoring his opponents 47-6.

In addition to being a world champion Mocco is a three-time state champion and has won two national titles in Fargo and an Ironman title.

Mocco joins the #1 2026 recruit in the country Bo Bassett as well as Owen McMullen of Pennsylvania in the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2026.  

As I have done for years I post a blog on Friday for upcoming weekend competitions and a follow up blog with results on my “Recruits in action” series.

I am looking forward to adding Michael Mocco to my blogs as I will follow all of his matches along with all of our other incoming recruits.

This is a huge get for the Hawks and exactly who we as fans wanted to see Iowa sign for our future Hwt.

Iowa Wrestling is on a roll for recruits and transfers and they are not done. I will keep you up to date.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

Recruiting Class of 2026

Bo Bassett – Johnstown(Bishop McCort HS), Pennsylvania  145 lbs.

Owen McMullen – Johnstown(Bishop McCort HS), Pennsylvania  

Michael Mocco – Coconut Creek (Cardinal Gibbons HS) Florida  Hwt.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Nanea Estrella of the University of Iowa has been named as the inaugural Big Ten Conference Jackie Robinson Community and Impact Award winner.

This is the first year for this prestigious award for the Big Ten that will be presented to a male and female athlete each year.

Estrella was presented with the award by Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti at a team meeting earlier today.

“We are always really excited to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our student athletes,” said Commissioner Petitti. “We see them do it athletically on the biggest stages, but also there’s a quiet thing they do, which is impact their communities and to recognize Nanea for what she does, there’s nothing better than being on campus, being able to do this in person.”

From HawkeyeSports.com:

The Makawao, Hawaii, native spearheaded an online donation drive in to help support the people of Lahaina after one the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history leveled the town in August of 2023. Though Estrella was not born in Lahaina, it was her second home as she went to high school at Lahainaluna.

“They always accepted me as one of their own,” Estrella says. “I’ve done so many fundraisers in Lahaina that made it possible for me to compete nationally in wrestling.”

The senior organized a toy/sports equipment drive and a virtual food drive for the Maui Food Bank to help the residents of Lahaina. Her efforts raised over $5,000 for the Maui Food Bank and sent countless toys and sports equipment to families who lost everything.

“It meant the world to me to come back to Iowa City and feel the support from Iowa and feel that Hawkeyes really want to help,” said Estrella. “The Hawkeye community gave me the same support that Lahaina gave me when I was younger. It gave me a little reminder of home and makes me feel so confident in my decision to be here. I’m just so grateful.”

It has been 20 months since the fires and the community of Lahaina is still far from being repaired. Estrella makes an effort that every time she returns home to help run wrestling practices as her way of giving back to the community while also continuing to grow the sport.

Estrella placed third at 138 this past season as a redshirt senior as Iowa won their second straight NCWWC national title.

Congratulations to Nanea Estrella for being named for this prestigious honor.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Ava Bayless of the University of Iowa won bronze at 50 kg at the Pan American Championships in Queretaro, Mexico.

Bayless dropped her first round match to Cuba before winning back to back matches by fall over Panama and Brazil. 

Bayless qualified for the team by placing second at U23 Nationals last weekend in Spokane, Washington.

Bayless has now qualified for the 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay, in August. The top eight finishers qualified their country at the weight for the Junior Pan American Games that will be a U23 age-group tournament.

Iowa Assistant Coach Tonya Verbeek was on the coaching staff.

Bayless is a redshirt sophomore from Greenville, Pennsylvania(Wyoming Seminary HS).

Last season Bayless won an NCWWC national title at 109 lbs. This past season Bayless placed fourth at 110 lbs.

Bayless has been recognized twice for NWCA Academic Scholastic All American, Academic All Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. She has also been named to the President’s List and Dean’s List.

U23 Pan American Championships in Queretaro, Mexico

50 kg – Ava Bayless (Greenville, Pa./Iowa Women’s WC), bronze medal

LOSS Greili Bencosme Carvajal (Cuba), tech. fall, 11-0

WIN Yorlenis Moran Sanchez(Panama), fall, 5:41

WIN Ana Sales Lima (Brazil), tech. fall, 12-2

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

MatScouts released the final Top 10 P4P (Pound For Pound) Rankings for 2025. This ranking is for all high school wrestlers.

Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruit Bo Bassett is #3 and Leo DeLuca is #10.

From Windber, Pennsylvania, Bo wrestles for McCort Bishop and is ranked as the #1 overall recruit in the Class of 2026 and ranked #1 at 145.

Bo won a Pennsylvania state title at 145 lbs. with three tech falls and a pin in the finals.

Bo is the biggest recruit in the country to come out of high school since Spencer Lee in the Class of 2017. He was a 2021 Cadet world champion and won bronze at the 2024 U20 World Championships.

Bo is registered to compete at the Senior U.S. Open in Las Vegas on April 25-26. 

DeLuca is from Morristown, New Jersey and competes for national powerhouse Blair Academy. 

DeLuca is ranked #1 in the rankings by MatScouts and FloWrestling at 120 lbs.

At the National Prep Tournament DeLuca was 5-0 with three tech falls, a pin and a major decision to win the title at 120.

DeLuca won a Junior National title in 2023 at 120 lbs. and a Cadet National title at 113 in 2021.

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.

Recruiting Class of 2025

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

Season Completed – National Prep champion

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

Season completed: State Runner-Up

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

Season completed: State champ

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

Season completed: State champ

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

Season completed: State champ

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

Season completed: State champ

Recruiting Class of 2026

Bo Bassett – Johnstown(Bishop McCort HS), Pennsylvania  145 lbs.

Season completed: State champ

Owen McMullen – Johnstown(Bishop McCort HS), Pennsylvania  

Out with an injury.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Ava Bayless of the University of Iowa will represent Team USA at the U23 Pan American Championships in Queretaro, Mexico on Friday, April 11.

Bayless qualified for the team by placing second at 50 kg at U23 Nationals last weekend in Spokane, Washington.

The U23 Pan American Championships will serve as the qualifying event for the 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay, in August for the Olympic weights in all three styles. The top eight finishers will qualify their country at the weight for the Junior Pan American Games, which will be a U23 age-group tournament.

Iowa Assistant Coach Tonya Verbeek will be on the coaching staff.

The Pan American Championships will be streamed on the FloWrestling premium service.

I will have a follow up blog with results.

Bayless is a redshirt sophomore from Greenville, Pennsylvania(Wyoming Seminary HS).

In 2024 Bayless won an NCWWC national title at 109 lbs. This past season Bayless placed fourth at 110 lbs.

Bayless has been recognized twice for NWCA Academic Scholastic All American, Academic All Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. She has also been named to the President’s List and Dean’s List.

2025 U23 Pan American Championships

Queretaro, Mexico

Friday, April 11

11 AM – Qualification rounds and repechage

6 PM – Finals

*Times listed are CST.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kennedy Blades has been named as the USA Wrestling 2025 Women’s College Wrestler of the Year.

In her first year of college wrestling Blades won a national title at 160 lbs. by going 25-0 with 23 tech falls and two pins. She was also named the 2025 NCWWC Most Outstanding Wrestler in leading Iowa to their second straight national title.

The award was selected by a vote from three major groups: wrestling journalists, women’s college head coaches and the fans. 

Each of these groups accounted for one-third of the vote.

Blades was voted the winner by all three voting groups to secure the award over seven other finalists, all of whom are college national champions.

Blades carried 11-of-18 first place votes in the journalist voting, 23-of-58 first place votes in the coaches voting, and 30% of the fan vote.

This past summer Blades won a silver medal at the Olympics at 76 kg.

Blades, originally from Chicago, Illinois, was a 2021 U20 world champion,  2023 U20 bronze medalist and a 2023 U23 silver medalist.

Blades along with teammates Kiley Welker and Macey Kilty of the University of Iowa were three of the eight finalists for the USA Wrestling 2025 Women’s College Wrestler of the Year.

Welker, a redshirt sophomore from Franksville, Wisconsin, was 27-0 with 21 tech falls and six pins while not surrendering a single point all season for the NCWWC title at 180.

Last season Welker won the title at 170 and is on track to be a four-time national champion.

Kilty, from Stratford, Wisconsin, transferred into the program this summer with one year of eligibility remaining and won a national title at 145. 

Kilty went 28-0 with 20 tech. falls, three pins and four decisions for the season. 

Congratulations to Kennedy Blades for being named for this honor and to Kiley Welker and Macey Kilty for being nominated.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Stephen Buchanan announced that he is joining the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and will be competing at 92 kg/202 lbs.

Buchanan recently won the 197 lbs. title at the NCAA Championships.

For the season Buchanan was 26-1 with four pins, nine tech falls and five major decisions.

At the awards banquet Buchanan was named for the Mike Howard Award as Most Valuable and for the Most Pins.

Last week it was announced that Buchanan had been selected as an NWCA Scholar All American.

Originally from Loyal, Wisconsin, Buchanan competed for Wyoming and Oklahoma before transferring to Iowa for his final season. 

Buchanan was a four-time All American and a five-time NCAA Qualifier.

This is a great addition to the HWC to keep Buchanan in the program and competing in International competition while influencing the next generation of Iowa wrestlers.

197

2020 – NCAA Qualifier (Wyoming)

2021 – 8th (Wyoming)

2022 – 3rd (Wyoming)

2023 – Redshirt (Wyoming)

2024 – 3rd (Oklahoma)

2025 – NCAA National Champion (Iowa)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!