Rico Chiapparelli has been named to the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024 by the Iowa Letterwinners Club and the University of Iowa Athletic Department. Chiapparelli is one of eight athletes that will be inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony is open to the public and will begin at 5:30 PM CST on Friday, August 30 in the Feller Club Room at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Chiapparelli, originally from Baltimore, Maryland, had 18 pins in his true freshman season in 1983 and became a three-time All American and three-time Big Ten champion. He ended his career with an NCAA National title at 177 lbs. as a senior in 1987.

Rico was one of the more exciting wrestlers that I can remember for Iowa Wrestling. He had his patented move “The Rico Roll” and is one of the best scramblers that I ever watched in the Black and Gold of Iowa Wrestling.

In International competition Chiapparelli was a USAW national champion at 180.5 lbs. in 1989.

Chiapparelli founded RAW (Real American Wrestling) in 1996 and was a pioneer in Mixed Martial Arts. Fighters competing for RAW included UFC champions Randy Couture and Dan Henderson. RAW was the dominant camp in the early days of the UFC when MMA was a new and upcoming sport.

Rico Chiapparelli, Wrestling (1983, 1985-87)

1987 National Champion at 177 pounds… three-time All-American… also finished fourth at NCAAs at 177 in 1986 and fifth at 177 in 1985… three-time Big Ten champion (1985, 1986, 1987)… held Iowa to three NCAA team titles (1983, 1985, 1986) and four Big Ten titles (1983, 1985-87)… recipient of the Mike Howard Award, presented to Iowa’s Most Valuable Wrestler, in 1987… had 18 pins during the 1983 season, a total that ranks in top 10 in program history… had 49 career falls, which are tied for fourth in the record books.

Congratulations Rico “The Baltimore Butcher” Chiapparelli for being named for this prestigious award.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling head coach Clarissa Chun has been named for the 2024 National Wrestling Coaches Association Trailblazer Award. The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) announced that Chun along with Gary Abbott and Ashley Flavin are members of the inaugural group to be named for this honor.

This award is to recognize those who have championed the sport of women’s wrestling at the collegiate level.

The Leadership Group from the NCAA and NAIA voted for the Trailblazer Award.

The 2024 Trailblazer Awards will be presented at the Celebration of Women in Wrestling on July 27 as a part of the 2024 NWCA Convention in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

From USA Wrestling:

Clarissa Chun, the first women’s wrestling coach at Power 5 institution and head coach of the 2024 NCWWC Champions in the Iowa Hawkeyes, was the first girl’s high school wrestling state champion in Hawaii in 1998. After a collegiate career at Missouri Valley College, she went on to represent the United States at 48 kilograms at both the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics. Chun won the bronze medal in London, and also wrestled at five Senior World Championships, taking the gold medal at the 2008 Worlds in Tokyo.

One of only four females to earn Distinguished Member honors as a National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee, Chun won five U.S. Open titles. She was a 2011 Pan American Games silver medalist and won four gold medals at the Pan American Championships. She was a runner-up at four U.S. World Team Trials and three U.S. Opens, in a career which spanned 18 years competing at the Senior level. After retiring from competition, Chun became an assistant coach for the USA Wrestling women’s national team from 2017-2021, helping lead the US to 17 World medals, including seven gold, four silver and six bronzes, as well as an Olympic gold, Olympic silver and two Olympic bronzes.

The University of Iowa became the first NCAA Division I power five conference college to add women’s wrestling in 2021 and Chun was named the program’s first head coach on November 18, 2021.

In Iowa’s inaugural season, Chun led the Hawkeyes to a 16-0 record in dual competition and broke the world attendance record for women’s wrestling in their first dual inside of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa won NCWC National Duals and the NCWWC national team title. The Hawks had six individual national champions and 12 All-Americans.

Congratulations Coach Chun for being named for this prestigious award.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Ben Kueter announced on Twitter that he would compete in wrestling only for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Kueter was a member of the Iowa Football team as well as Iowa Wrestling last season as a redshirt in his true freshman year.

Kueter will concentrate on wrestling for the next ten months and return for Spring football in April of 2025.

Over the weekend Kueter won the 125kg title at the U20 World Team Trials  in Geneva, Ohio. He will represent Team USA at the 2024 U20 Freestyle World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain on September 2-8.

Kueter was a 2022 U20 World Champion at 97kg/213 lbs. 

Ben Kueter:

“First off, I would like to thank Coach (Seth) Wallace and Coach Ferentz for letting me live out a dream of mine. Coach Wallace is the reason I chose to play football at Iowa. Secondly, I would like to thank my football brothers for making this last year so enjoyable. I’ve made bonds with those guys that will last a lifetime. With that being said, I would like to announce that I will be transitioning to just wrestling for the next 10 months in order to win a World Title, NCAA Title and a NCAA Team Title.”

“To meet those goals will require my full attention for the next 10 months, but this is not the end of my football career. I will start back up in spring ball. Thank you to the best fans in the world and Go Hawks!”

The impact of having Kueter in the room concentrating on wrestling full time will be a big boost to the Iowa lineup and program. Kueter is the best talent to come out of Iowa in years as a four-time undefeated state champion from City High (Iowa City, Iowa). There are no limits to what Kueter can accomplish in his wrestling career.

This is the third new wrestler to add to the Iowa lineup for the 2024-25 season in the last two weeks. Kyle Parco announced that he is transferring to Iowa and Nelson Brands will be back next season.

Parco is a four-time All American at 149 lbs. from Arizona State. Nelson Brands was an NCAA All American at 174 lbs. in 2023 and did not compete last season. He received a medical hardship waiver from the 2022 season and will be competing for the Hawks this year.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Patrick Kennedy won the 79kg/174 lbs. title at U23 Nationals in Geneva, Ohio. Kennedy will now represent Team USA at the U23 Pan American Championships in Rionegro, Colombia on June 21-22. Also at the U23 World Freestyle Championships in Tirana, Albania on October 21-27 if there is not an age-eligible Senior National Team member that chooses to claim the spot.

Kennedy defeated Julian Ramirez (Spartan Combat RTC/ TMWC) in two straight matches by a 10-0 tech fall in the best of three finals. Kennedy dominated the tournament by going 7-0 with seven tech falls and out scoring his opponents 75-4.

Kennedy will be a senior at Iowa this season and was an NCAA Qualifier at 174 last year.

Drake Ayala placed third at 61kg. Caleb Rathjen (70kg) and Zach Glazier (92kg) placed fifth. Joey Cruz was seventh at 57kg.

Jesse Ybarra(61kg), Jace Rhodes (65kg), Drake Rhodes(74kg), Isaiah Fenton(74kg) and Sebastian Robles(79kg) did not place.

U23 Nationals

Joey Cruz (57 kg) – Seventh Place

Joey Cruz (HWC) VSU Braden Hahlen (Lake Erie RTC), 10-0

Joey Cruz (HWC) VPO1 Evan Tallmadge (New Jersey), 10-7

Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado Wrestling Club) VPO1 Joey Cruz (HWC), 3-1

Joey Cruz (HWC) VSU1 Ethan Perryman (Cyclone RTC), 15-4

Joey Cruz (HWC) VIN Jeremiah Reno (Arkansas RTC)

Joey Cruz (HWC) VIN Maximo Renteria (Beaver Dam RTC)

Trever Anderson (Panther Wrestling Club) VFA Joey Cruz (HWC), 1:20

Joey Cruz (HWC) VSU Shane Corrigan (Ranger Wrestling Club), 10-0

Drake Ayala (61 kg) – Third Place

Drake Ayala (HWC) VSU Charlie Bunting (George Mason University), 11-0

Drake Ayala (HWC) VSU1 Jacob Macatangay (Boilermaker RTC), 14-3

Kurtis Phipps (Buffalo Valley RTC) VPO1 Drake Ayala (HWC), 10-8

Drake Ayala (HWC) VSU Isaiah Schaefer (Maurer Coughlin/Mater Dei), 10-0

Drake Ayala (HWC) VSU Gary Steen (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club), 10-0

Drake Ayala (HWC) VSU Anthony Noto (Mat-Town USA), 10-0

Drake Ayala (HWC) VIN Aaron Nagao (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club)

Drake Ayala (HWC) VSU1 Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado Wrestling Club), 12-2

Jesse Ybarra (61 kg)

Jesse Ybarra (HWC) VSU Zein Bazzi (BTS), 11-0

Jesse Ybarra (HWC) VSU1 Marckis Branford (Viking Wrestling Club), 12-2

Jesse Ybarra (HWC) VPO1 Julian Farber (Panther Wrestling Club), 7-6

Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado Wrestling Club) VPO1 Jesse Ybarra (HWC), 7-6

Anthony Noto (Mat-Town USA) VPO Jesse Ybarra (HWC), 4-0

Jace Rhodes (65 kg)

Jace Rhodes (HWC) VSU1 Aldo Hernandez (Boone RTC), 12-2

Jace Rhodes (HWC) VPO1 Ismael Ayoub (Nebraska Wrestling Training Center), 5-3

Haiden Drury (Brunson UVRTC) VPO Jace Rhodes (HWC), 7-0

CJ Composto (Pennsylvania RTC) VSU Jace Rhodes (HWC), 10-0

Caleb Rathjen (70 kg) – Fifth Place

Caleb Rathjen (HWC) VSU Jordan Craft (Ranger Wrestling Club), 10-0

Caleb Rathjen (HWC) VSU Sam Ewing (Bulls Wrestling Club), 11-0

Caleb Rathjen (HWC) VPO1 Ethan Fernandez (Spartan Combat RTC/ TMWC), 7-4

Caleb Rathjen (HWC) VPO1 Jackson Arrington (Wolfpack Wrestling Club), 8-6

Caleb Rathjen (HWC) VSU Jaivon Jones (Arkansas Regional Training Center), 10-0

Paniro Johnson (Cyclone Regional Training Center) VPO1 Caleb Rathjen (HWC), 8-3

Edward Scott (Wolfpack Wrestling Club) VPO1 Caleb Rathjen (HWC), 7-1

Caleb Rathjen (HWC) VPO1 Chance Lamer (Central Coast RTC), 5-4

Drake Rhodes (74 kg)

Drake Rhodes (HWC) VSU1 Luke Ahrberg (Wolfpack Wrestling Club), 15-4

Grant Mackay (Pittsburgh Wrestling Club) VPO1 Drake Rhodes (HWC), 11-3

Drake Rhodes (HWC) VSU Jayden Dobeck (Boone RTC), 10-0

Drake Rhodes (HWC) VSU1 Blake Saito (Brown Regional Training Center), 17-6

Bryce Lowery (Indiana RTC) VSU1 Drake Rhodes (HWC), 12-1

Isaiah Fenton (74 kg)

Chandler Amaker (Chippewa Wrestling Club) VPO1 Isaiah Fenton (HWC), 9-8

Isaiah Fenton (HWC) VSU1 John Altieri (Clarion RTC), 13-3

Dylan Brown (Broncho Wrestling Club) VSU Isaiah Fenton (HWC), 10-0

Patrick Kennedy (79 kg) – First Place

Patrick Kennedy (HWC) VSU1 Aaron Cramer (Southern Illinois RTC), 13-2

Patrick Kennedy (HWC) VSU Nolan O’Boyle (Tar Heel Wrestling Club), 10-0

Patrick Kennedy (HWC) VSU Logan Messer (George Mason University), 10-0

Patrick Kennedy (HWC) VSU1 Lucas Uliano (Boone RTC), 12-2

Patrick Kennedy (HWC) VSU Clayton Whiting (Minnesota Storm), 10-0

Patrick Kennedy (HWC) VSU Julian Ramirez (Spartan Combat RTC/ TMWC), 10-0

Patrick Kennedy (HWC) VSU Julian Ramirez (Spartan Combat RTC/ TMWC), 10-0

Sebastian Robles (79 kg)

Austin Keal (Arkansas RTC) VPO1 Sebastian Robles (HWC), 7-5

Sergio Desiante (RTC South) VPO1 Sebastian Robles (HWC), 12-3

Zack Glazier (92 kg) – Fifth Place

Zach Glazier (HWC) VSU Greyson Gardner (Burg Training Center), 10-0

Zach Glazier (HWC) VPO1 Martin Cosgrove (Pennsylvania RTC), 6-2

Wyatt Voelker (Panther Wrestling Club) VPO1 Zach Glazier (HWC), 2-1

Zach Glazier (HWC) VSU Chase Horne (Wolfpack Wrestling Club), 10-0

Zack Glazier (HWC) VPO1 Trent Munoz (Beaver Dam RTC), 3-2

Seth Shumate (Ohio Regional Training Center) VSU Zack Glazier (HWC), 11-0

Zack Glazier (HWC) VPO1 Levi Hopkins (Buies Creek Wrestling Club), 10-1

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Ben Kueter defeated Jimmy Mullen 2-0 in the Best of Three Finals to win the 125 kg title at the U20 World Team Trials in Geneva, Ohio. Kueter will now represent Team USA at the 2024 U20 Freestyle World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain on September 2-8.

In the Best of Three Finals Kueter defeated Mullen 5-4 and 5-3. Kueter won the Challenge Tournament with a tech fall and 11-2 and 8-7 decision.

This past season Kueter took a redshirt in his first season with the Hawks and was also a member of the Iowa Football team. Kueter was a 2022 U20 World Champion at 97kg/213 lbs. 

Gabe Arnold won the Challenge Tournament at 79kg/174 lbs. with a tech fall and two decisions. In the Best of Three Finals Arnold dropped two matches to Zach Ryder, 5-4 and 4-2. Arnold took a redshirt this year in his first season at Iowa.

Brad Hill went 1-2 at 125 kg and did not place. Hill was an NCAA Qualifier at Hwt for the Hawks this past season as a redshirt freshman.

U20 World Team Trials

Ben Kueter – 125kg

Challenge Tournament

Quarterfinals: Ben Kueter IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) VSU Connor Barket IN (Indiana), 10-0 2:24

Semifinals: Ben Kueter IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) VPO1 Aden Attao ID (Beaver Dam RTC), 8-7 

Finals: Ben Kueter IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) VPO1 Nicholas Sahakian CA (Sunkist Kids Monster Garage), 11-2

Best of Three Finals:

Ben Kueter IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) VPO1 Jimmy Mullan (SERTC/Virginia Tech) 5-4

Ben Kueter IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) VPO1 Jimmy Mullan (SERTC/Virginia Tech) 5-3

Gabe Arnold – 79kg

Challenge Tournament

Quarterfinals: Gabriel Arnold IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) VPO1 Manuel (m.j.) Gaitan CA (Cyclone Regional Training Center C-RTC), 5-2

Semifinals: Gabriel Arnold IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) VSU Nicholas Fox IA (Panther Wrestling Club RTC), 10-0 5:04

Finals: Gabriel Arnold IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) VPO1 William Henckel CT (Blairstown Wrestling Club), 5-2 0:40

Best of Three Finals:

Zach Ryder (M2 Training) VPO1 Gabriel Arnold IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) 5-4

Zach Ryder (M2 Training) VPO1 Gabriel Arnold IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) 4-2

Brad Hill – 125kg

Challenge Tournament

Quarterfinals: Nicholas Sahakian CA (Sunkist Kids Monster Garage) VPO1 Bradley Hill IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club), 7-3

Consi of 4: Bradley Hill IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) VSU Nicholas Pavlechko (M2 TC) 10-0

Consi Semis: Aden Attao (Beaver Dam RTC) VPO Bradley Hill IA (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) 7-0

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa recruit Otto Black captured the 63kg/138 lbs. title at the U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials in Geneva, Ohio. Black will now represent Team USA at the 2024 U20 Greco-Roman World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain on September 2-8 .

In the best of three challenge rounds Black defeated Amryn Nutter by a 9-0 tech fall and 2-0 to sweep the series.

Black qualified for the best of three finals by winning U20 GR Nationals in Las Vegas in April.

Leister Bowling placed third at 77kg/169 lbs. at the WTT. Bowling dropped a 1-1 decision by criteria, won by a tech fall and in the third place match with a 7-5 decision.

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.

U20 Greco Roman World Team Trials

63kg/138 lbs. Best of Three Finals 

Otto Black (Colorado) VSU Amryn Nutter (Wisconsin) 9-0

Otto Black (Colorado) VFA Amryn Nutter (Wisconsin) 2-0

Leister Bowling – 77kg/169 lbs.

Arvin Khosravy (California) VPO1 Leister Bowling (Colorado) 1-1

Leister Bowling (Colorado) VSU Brayden Gautreau (Wisconsin) 11-0

Leister Bowling (Colorado)  VPO1 Sean Coughlin (George Mason University) 7-5

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

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

In that blog I stated:

Simply put, I want “The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world” to be the home of Iowa Wrestling.

Yesterday I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication for the opening of the new wrestling facility. I then took a long tour of the new facility. 

The Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center and Bob and Kathy Nicolls Wrestling Room is the greatest wrestling training facility…in the world. Home of Iowa Wrestling in Wrestle Town USA – Iowa City, Iowa, USA.

I will also state that anything I write in this and future blogs about the new facility will not do it justice. You will have to tour the new facility to get a feel for how incredible it truly is. I am hoping the facility will be open before the first home football game on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. I will keep you posted.

When I was walking around I was seeing a facility, equipment, and layout that I did not know was even an option. It is that impressive.

I started by looking at the offices that have a full length window that overlooks the wrestling room below. 

The sheer size of the wrestling room is massive with brand new mats. The tradition from Carver was carried on when I immediately saw IOWA HAWKS CHAMPS in big bold letters across the far wall from the mats as well as the Olympic Rings..

The weight room has new equipment with individual power stations that is impressive. A nice assortment of dumbbells topping out at 220 lbs., fat grip dumbbells and kettlebells will provide plenty of future workouts.

There is a separate sauna and cool baths for both the men’s and women’s teams. The new sauna for the men is probably at least three times bigger than the old sauna in Carver. There was even a station to put wrestling shoes on to dry them out. 

The locker room area, special rooms and offices for Team Trainers. Every little detail was planned out and it shows. Everything was done right.

I was so impressed with the wrestling room tour that I suddenly thought about the tunnel. No description will come close to describing an underground tunnel that you walk through from the wrestling room and come out on the floor of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

Walking through the tunnel is like something from a movie. About every ten feet there is a light around the tunnel to give you some depth perspective. When you look down the tunnel you can just see the arena floor. Then as you get closer the arena floor continues to get bigger until you are on the main floor of Carver.

I would think having a recruit walk through that tunnel and feel the energy of the famous Iowa Wrestling crowd would be influential. Walking out with the team may be influential for a booster as well. It was a great experience for me in May when the stands were empty. I can only imagine what it will be like with another packed house of loud fans.

I am hoping that they follow the team from the room all the way through the tunnel before they make their entrance in Carver. I can see it now on the jumbotron and scoreboards as the team makes that journey before running through a fog to a packed and loud sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena. As a fan I cannot wait to experience the team entrance from the tunnel before a dual meet. 

I could keep going but I will suggest that you take a tour of the Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center and Bob and Kathy Nicolls Wrestling Room. It is The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world.

The $31-million, 38,500-square-foot building was funded entirely by private gifts. That is amazing.

I tip my hat to Tom Brands, the donors, and everyone involved with the construction of this amazing training facility. This facility sets a new standard for the entire sport of wrestling around the world.

All Hawkeye fans and alumni should be proud and excited about this new facility. It is the greatest.

I will be posting additional blogs about the new facility.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The eight Regional competition sites and dates were released by the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Coalition (WCWC). The top four place winners at each Regional will qualify for the NCWWC Championships on March 7-8, 2025 at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa.

The Iowa Hawkeyes will be competing at Region VII in Indianola, Iowa at Simpson College on Saturday, February 22. This is the same location that Iowa competed in Regionals this past season.

Iowa won the 2024 NCWWC national title in their first year of competition and return an experienced  team with a deep roster that will contend for the title in 2025.

It was announced in April that the number of Regions would increase from six this past season to eight in 2025. The field for the NCWWC Championships will grow from 240 to 320 wrestlers.

From the WCWC:

Women’s Wrestling is an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women at all three NCAA Divisions. When NCAA women’s wrestling met required standards in terms of number of programs, roster size and competition schedules of its institutions, along with other considerations, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA) recommended in February 2024 that Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate women’s wrestling championship. If so approved, women’s wrestling would become the 91st NCAA Championship sport, with its projected first NCAA championship occurring in winter 2026.

2025 NCWWC Regionals:

Region I – Buffalo State University Arena, Buffalo State University, Buffalo, New York, Saturday, February 22

Region II – Koehler Fieldhouse, East Stroudsburg University, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Sunday, February 23

Region III – Shaw Athletic Center, Emmanuel University, Franklin Springs, Georgia, Saturday, February 22

Region IV – Heminger Center, Tiffin University, Tiffin, Ohio, Saturday, February 22

Region V – Merillat Sport and Fitness Center, Adrian College, Adrian, Michigan, Saturday, February 22

Region VI – Hyland Arena, Lindenwood University, St. Charles, Missouri, Sunday, February 23

Region VII – Cowles Fieldhouse, Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa, Saturday, February 22

Region VIII – Kitty Magee Arena, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas, Saturday, February 22

National Collegiate Women’s Championships (NCWWC) – Fri/Sat March 7-8, 2025 at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

This is usually the slowest time of the year for college wrestling. This year we have had quite a few things going on. I want to catch up on recent events and requests for a probable lineup for an update.

I have printed for years that wrestling seems to peak in an Olympic year. I am counting the days until we see Spencer Lee and all of our wrestlers compete in the Olympics.

Team USA had their first Olympic training camp last week in Manheim, Pennsylvania at a massive facility called Spooky Nook. With over 700,000 square feet, Spooky Nook is the largest indoor sports complex in the country.

Officiated matches were contested to simulate the upcoming competition in the Olympics. Spencer Lee and Kylie Welker represented the University of Iowa. 

I also have to mention former Hawkeye national champions Bill Zadick as the head coach for Men’s Freestyle and Terry Steiner as the head coach for the Women’s Freestyle team.

I am sure there will be another camp coming up soon at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

2024 Summer Olympics

57kg

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

Friday August 9 – Repechage/Bronze and Gold Medal Round

Barry Davis was named as an Assistant Coach at Navy. Davis was a three-time NCAA champ(’82,’83.’85) and four-time All American for the Hawks. In International competition he was a 1984 Olympic Silver medalist, two-time Olympian (‘84 and ‘88), World Silver medalist and World Bronze medalist.

Davis was an assistant coach at Iowa from 1986-1992 and the head coach at Wisconsin for 25 years.

Best of luck to Barry Davis.

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. I am looking forward to seeing the new facility.

The summer of competition begins this weekend for Iowa Wrestling.

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)

We are still in May but as fans we are always looking forward to the new season. There are a lot of open weights for the upcoming season but here are my picks.

My probable lineup for Iowa at the 2025 Big Ten Championships:

125 – Drake Ayala

133 – Kale Petersen

141 – Ryder Block

149 – Kyle Parco

157 – Cobe Siebrecht

165 – Michael Caliendo

174 – Gabe Arnold

184 – Nelson Brands

197 – Zach Glazier

Hwt – Ben Kueter

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

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!