The Big Ten released the conference wrestling schedule.

The Hawkeyes host Illinois (Jan. 17), Ohio State (Jan. 25), Nebraska (Feb. 7) and Northwestern (Feb. 16) in Big Ten duals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa will be on the road at Wisconsin (Jan. 12), Penn State (Jan. 31), Maryland (Feb. 2) and Minnesota (Feb. 14).

The Big Ten Championships will be on March 8-9 in Evanston, Illinois and the 2025 NCAA Championships will be held from March 20-22 in Philadelphia.

Iowa is also due to host rivals Iowa State and Oklahoma State this year as well. Along with the Big Ten schedule Carver-Hawkeye Arena will provide some great dual meets for fans this season.

A rare Saturday night dual meet with Ohio State. For years Iowa competed on Saturday night before the Big Ten went to Friday/Sunday meets.

Last season the Big Ten schedule was released on August 27 and the full schedule was released on October 17. I have read that the schedule comes out later than in the past due to TV scheduling.

I will keep you posted when the full schedule is released.

Big Ten Schedule

Sunday, January 12 – at Wisconsin

Friday, January 17 – Illinois

Saturday, January 25 – Ohio State

Friday, January 31 – at Penn State

Sunday, February 2 – at Maryland

Friday, February 7 – Nebraska

Friday, February 14 – at Minnesota

Sunday, February 16 – Northwestern

*Sat/Sun, March 8-9 – at Big Ten Championships (Evanston, IL)

*Thurs/Sat, March 20-22 – at NCAA Championships (Philadelphia, PA)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kael Voinovich announced on January 29, 2024 that he was going to be a Hawk and be a member of the Recruiting Class of 2024. Voinovich was ranked as high as #14 at 157 in national rankings last season. 

Voinovich is listed at 149 on the new Iowa Wrestling roster and is the younger brother of Victor Voinovich who saw varsity action at 149 last season for the Hawks.

Voinovich began his career in Ohio where he placed third. As a sophomore the family moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma where Victor began his college career at Oklahoma State.

Kael won an Oklahoma state title as a sophomore and placed second as a junior.

When Victor transferred to Iowa Kael then transferred to Iowa City High in Iowa City, Iowa where he won a 3A state title at 157 lbs. Voinovich had a 142-14 career record.

This summer Voinovich was 3-1 for Team Iowa at 157 lbs. at Junior Duals. At Junior Nationals he had a 4-2 record at 157 and did not place. 

Voinovich placed sixth at 70kg at the 2024 U20 U.S. Open.

With a great background of competing in Ohio, Oklahoma, and Iowa combined with the family commitment Kael has a lot of potential for the Hawks.

Best of luck to Kael Voinovich as an Iowa Hawkeye.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruit Leo DeLuca is ranked #1 in the country at 120 lbs. in the new FloWrestling Rankings. DeLuca is ranked #13 in the P4P (pound for pound) rankings.

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

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

He committed to Iowa on December 4, 2023 and is projected to compete at 125 for the Hawks.

Tyrel Miller (St. Eds HS in Cleveland, Ohio) is ranked #6 at 175 and Jarrel Miller (St. Eds HS in Cleveland, Ohio) is #7 at 190.

DeLuca, Miller, and Miller are in the Recruiting Class of 2025.

I will continue to follow all of our incoming recruits in competition on this blog with a preview and follow up with results throughout the high school season.

Iowa is scheduled to be hosting recruits over the remainder of October.

National Letter of Intent Signing Day for the Class of 2025 begins on Wednesday, November 13 and ends on November 20, 2024.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kiara Djoumessi is a member of the Recruiting Class of 2024. Djoumessi was a two-time state champion for Waverly-Shell Rock High School in Waverly,  Iowa. 

Djoumessi was 48-0 as a junior and 47-0 as a senior in winning state titles at 140 lbs.

In the final National Girls High School Rankings for the 2023-24 season Djoumessi was ranked #15 at 140.

At Junior Nationals last summer Djoumessi was 4-2 and did not place at 140 lbs.

At the 2024 Junior Duals Djoumessi was 3-1 for Team Iowa.

Djoumessi is one of four wrestlers on the roster that are from Iowa.

Djoumessi was a three-time Team MVP for Waverly-Shell Rock who won the team state title in 2023.

She holds the school record for most takedowns, reversals, tech falls, and pins.

Kiara’s dad Alain was a two-time All American at Wartburg.

Best of luck to Kiara Djoumessi as an Iowa Hawkeye.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Miguel Estrada announced on May 3, 2023 that he would be an Iowa Hawkeye. Estrada had originally committed to Wisconsin.

Estrada was a three-time state champion and four-time place winner from Bakersfield, California (Frontier HS).

MatScouts had Estrada ranked as high as #2 at 145 lbs. last season.

On the Iowa Wrestling roster Estrada is listed at 149/157.

Estrada represented Team USA in the Pennsylvania vs. USA dual meet in the Pittsburgh Classic in March. Estrada was impressive in defeating Indiana recruit Ryan Garvick, 12-6.

He won a U16 folkstyle national title in 2021 at 140 lbs.

Estrada is definitely the dark horse for this recruiting class. He was ranked high and then placed fourth at state. 

Injuries kept Estrada out of competition during the season but he looked very good at the Pittsburg Classic.

It will be interesting to see Estrada develop this season where I believe he will redshirt. 149 and 157 will be open weights next year that could find Estrada in the starting lineup.

Estrada has the strength and skill set to be a very good college wrestler for the Hawks.

Best of luck to Miguel Estrada as an Iowa Hawkeye.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Dru Ayala committed to the Hawks on October 30, 2023 as a member of the Recruiting Class of 2024.

Ayala was a four-time place winner at Fort Dodge, Iowa. He placed fifth as a freshman, second as a sophomore and junior and placed third last season as a senior at 120 lbs.

Dru is the younger brother of Drake Ayala who was an NCAA Runner-Up at 125 last season for the Hawks.

Ayala placed second at the 2023 Folkstyle Nationals.

Ayala is a four-time All American at Cadet and Junior Nationals. Last summer he placed 7th at Junior Nationals at 120 lbs.

In national rankings Ayala was ranked as high as #14 at 120 lbs. by FloWrestling last season.

I believe Dru Ayala may be under the national recruiting radar. He has a great background and Iowa has had a lot of success with brothers over the years. 

I look for Ayala to improve quite a bit over the next two years and contend for a varsity spot in the Black and Gold.

Best of luck to Dru Ayala as an Iowa Hawkeye.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Karlee Brooks is a great addition to the Iowa Wrestling program as a member of the Recruiting Class of 2024.

In the final National Girls High School Rankings for the 2023-24 season Brooks was ranked #1 at 120 and #16 in the P4P (Pound for Pound). 

Brooks is listed at 124 on the new Iowa Women’s Wrestling roster.

For the last year Brooks, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, trained in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the U.S. Olympic Training Center as a member of the EAP (Elite Accelerator Program).

In international competition Brooks placed fifth at 53kg/117 lbs. at the 2023 U17 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. She was also a National Team member in 2021 and 2022.

In February Brooks placed second at the Lady Klippan Open in Klippan, Sweden at 53 kg/116 lbs. in the Open division.

Brooks won a 2024 Junior National title at 125 lbs. in Fargo, placed second in 2022 and was an All American in 2021. She was also a three time All American at Super 32.

Brooks was a three-time Girls National High School Recruiting Showcase champion and was named O.W. at the 2024 tournament.

In February Brooks won the Grand View Open.

Brooks has a lot of potential in her career for Iowa and Team USA.

Best of luck to Karlee Brooks as an Iowa Hawkeye.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

With the month of October the wrestling season is getting closer and closer. Let’s take a look at the preseason rankings.

Iowa is ranked #2 in both the Tournament and Dual Meet rankings by InterMat and Flo.

Penn State is #1 in both rankings with Nebraska third by InterMat and Oklahoma State third by Flo.

Jacori Teemer is first in both rankings at 157. Stephen Buchanan(197) is #1 for Flo and #2 for InterMat. Michael Caliendo(165) is ranked second by both polls. That would give the Hawks three finalists for an estimated 60 team points. Iowa scored 67 points at Nationals last season.

Iowa has two wrestlers ranked at 174 with Patrick Kennedy #8 by InterMat and Gabe Arnold #6 by Flo. Both polls also have Nelson Brands at 184 and Drake Ayala at 133.

The Hawks have a ranked wrestler at every weight except 125 and 141. Should Iowa develop a solid point scorer at Nationals at 125 and 141, which I am confident that they will, it will make the team race a little more interesting.

I believe Ben Kueter is underrated at Hwt at #11. That is another opportunity for Iowa to add to their point total. The sky is the limit for Kueter.

I will post the 2024-25 Iowa Wrestling schedule as soon as it is released.

This should be another exciting season of Iowa Wrestling. The season opener cannot get here soon enough.

Tournament Rankings

InterMat

1. Penn State  117.5
2. Iowa  86
3. Nebraska  59.5

FloWrestling

1. Penn State  124
2. Iowa  103
3. Oklahoma State  59

Dual Rankings (InterMat)

1. Penn State
2. Iowa 
3. Nebraska

Preseason Rankings

InterMat/FloWrestling

133 – Drake Ayala #19 P4P/ 7/3

149 – Kyle Parco 4/4

157 – Jacori Teemer #15 P4P/1/1

165 – Michael Caliendo 2/2

174 – Patrick Kennedy 8/-

174 – Gabe Arnold -/6

184 – Nelson Brands 7/5

197 – Stephen Buchanan 2/1

Hwt – Ben Kueter 11/11

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Cadence Diduch committed to Iowa on November 7, 2023 as a member of the Recruiting Class of 2024. Originally from Freeport, Illinois Diduch was a three-time state champion.

In the final National Girls High School Rankings for the 2023-24 season Diduch was #2 at 135 lbs. and #12 P4P. 

In Fargo Diduch won a U16 title in 2021, runner-up in 2022 and a Junior title in 2023. She was invited to competed at Who’s #1 three times.

Diduch has represented team USA in international competition. She did not place at 62kg at the 2024 U20 World Freestyle Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. Diduch won U20 Nationals in April to qualify for the U20 World Championships.

Diduch won the 61kg/134 lbs. gold at the 2023 U17 Pan American Championships in Mexico City, Mexico.

At the 2024 Grand Prix of Spain Diduch won the 62kg bronze medal . This was a senior level tournament with competitors from around the world.

Diduch is listed at 136 in the new Iowa Women’s Wrestling roster but the new weight is 138. 

Iowa has a logjam at 145 with two All Americans and a Senior world silver medalist. How much Diduch competes this year will depend on who may drop down to 138.

Best of luck to Cadence Diduch as an Iowa Hawkeye.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Keyan Hernandez was the first member of the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024 when he committed to the Hawks on October 1, 2022. 

Last season 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 is listed at 125 on the Iowa Wrestling roster.

Hernandez won the Senior division 126 lbs. title at the 2024 NHSCA High School Nationals.

He also placed third at the 2024 National High School Recruiting Showcase. This was the fifth time Hernandez became an All American at this tournament.

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.

Hernandez was named as the Montana state winner of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award (DSHSEA). This award recognizes a wrestler for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service.

Best of luck to Keyan Hernandez as an Iowa Hawkeye.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!