I started a series of blogs last year as a way of showing my appreciation for our seniors. I am going to continue with this and make a yearly tradition.

We have three seniors on this year’s team that were all four year starters. Spencer Lee, Max Murin, and Jacob Warner.

I will start with Mad Max Murin at 149. Murin is one of several to make their way to Iowa City by way of the Young Guns Wrestling Club that produced a generation of elite wrestlers that we may never see from a wrestling club again. Murin went to the same high school as Jody Strittmatter, Central Cambria in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. 

If there is a Iowa Wrestling Grinder Hall of Fame, Murin makes it on the first ballot. This guy is the epitome of a grinder that was always working hard. On the mat in competition and in the practice room. 

After being so close several times in the Round of 12 Murin just placed sixth at Nationals to become an All American. His name will forever be on the wall for All Americans in the legendary Iowa Wrestling room that is moving to a new location next year. The name of Max Murin is etched in Iowa Wrestling history as an All American.

The way that Murin carried himself on and off the mat and was always working hard reminded me of another Hawkeye favorite of the recent past, Brandon Sorensen. The wrestler that Murin replaced in the lineup. Speaking of which Iowa has sent out either Brandon Sorensen or Max Murin on the mat at 149 for the last nine seasons. Opponents and fans knew that we were going to see a battle every single time. That is quite a tradition.

I interviewed Jody Strittmatter for my blog in June of 2017. 

What can Iowa Wrestling fans expect out of Spencer Lee and Max Murin?

Strittmatter: They love the sport of wrestling, number one.  They are workers.  They want their shoes on all day long.  They are the kind of kids that you have to tell that practice is over and you have to get home.  They are passionate about the sport.  They have different styles but are both passionate about the sport and getting better.  Off the mat they are amazing kids.  These are the type of kids that you want your son to become like them.  I’m not talking about anything to do with wrestling.  The type that I want my son to become like him.  Just awesome kids.

Strittmatter told me a few Max Murin stories that day that I would like to share. If I remember right Murin did not win a wrestling tournament in his career until late in his junior year or even senior year of high school. He was surrounded by state, national, and even world champions in Young Guns but he did not have elite success. That is a story for wrestling coaches to be telling their team or impatient parents.

The club had been at a big state tournament for middle school for the weekend. They got home late on a Saturday night around midnight. Murin did not place at the tournament. Strittmatter woke up around six the next morning to someone knocking on his door. It was Max Murin wanting to lift weights in his basement. The season was officially over and Murin was up to lift weights the next morning.

Stories like that made me a Max Murin fan.

Off the mat Murin accumulated academic awards including Academic All-Big Ten in 2020, ‘21, and ‘22. Big Ten Distinguished Honor and NWCA Scholar Athlete. 

Murin has already graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology, Law, and Justice. He is currently working on a master’s degree in Sports and Recreation Management.

Regardless of what field Murin goes into, I hope that coaching wrestling is a part of his life. Murin would make a great coach at any level from kids club to Division I.

Murin has represented Iowa Wrestling so well over his entire career. Fans like me appreciate the effort and grind on and off the mat. I have no doubt that Max Murin will continue to be successful throughout his life.

Good luck and thank you Max Murin.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Iowa Women’s Wrestling Coach Clarissa Chun has been selected to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) National High School Hall of Fame. Chun is one of four athletes named to the Class of 2023 Hall of Fame along with eight coaches and administrators.

The 40th induction ceremony of the National High School Associations (NFHS) National High School Hall of Fame will be in Seattle, Washington on July 1.

From NFHS.org:

In 1998, Clarissa Chun of Roosevelt High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, became the first wrestler to win an official state high school girls wrestling title – not only in Hawaii but the entire country – when she claimed the 98-pound title in the first year of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association’s (HHSAA) girls division. Chun went on to win a second state title in 1999 and finished third in the 1999 United States Girls Wrestling Association High School Nationals.

In addition to wrestling, Chun qualified for HHSAA state tournaments in swimming and bowling, and she won five junior national championships in judo and also participated in water polo. She then went on to become a trailblazer for female wrestlers on many levels.

Chun qualified for the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and earned a bronze medal at the 2012 Games in London. She is a four-time U.S. Open champion, four-time Pan American champion and 2008 World Championships gold medalist. She is one of only four females bestowed with Distinguished Member honors when she was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. She also was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

Chun’s trailblazing career continued in early 2022 when she was named to coach the inaugural women’s wrestling team at the University of Iowa – the first school among Division I Power Five conferences to offer the sport for girls. Chun will lead the team in its first official season in 2023-24.

Congratulations Coach Chun for receiving this honor.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

We are officially at the beginning of a new season of Iowa Wrestling. The internet is full of talk of transfers into the Iowa program. I am going to proceed with what I know at this time.  

Iowa has three graduating seniors to replace in the lineup for next season. Spencer Lee (125), Max Murin (149), and Jacob Warner (197). First of all thank you to Lee, Murin, and Warner. They certainly left their mark on the long standing tradition of Iowa Wrestling. 

Now on to a new year of Iowa Wrestling.

125

I see the tradition of Iowa having an outstanding wrestler to start things off at 125 to continue. Even though he has huge shoes to fill Drake Ayala is more than ready at 125. 

Ayala is one of the quickest wrestlers that I have ever seen come out of Iowa high school wrestling. He is originally from Ft. Dodge, Iowa and was Sebolt trained growing up. Competing at Nationals last year provided a great opportunity for Ayala to get a feel for the next level.

Ayala has put on the needed size for 125. Even with the returning competition I expect Ayala to contend for the national title next season.

133

Brody Teske will return at 133 as an NCAA National Qualifier. After starting the season opener on November 13 Teske was out with an injury until returning to the lineup on January 8. Cullan Schriever was in the lineup when Teske was out and he will return next year as well.

133 was a tough weight at Nationals this year and will be again in 2024. It will be interesting to see how Teske develops in the off season. I definitely like his toughness and conditioning. Improvement will be needed to make the award stand next season as an All American. The potential is there for Teske to make the jump to All American status. 

141

Real Woods will return for his senior season. Woods had a very good season with a Big Ten title and NCAA Runner-up finish. It would be great to see Woods put on more size for 141. I look for Woods to improve and make another run at the title.

149

Max Murin has held this spot for the last four years. The Hawks have two really good options to fill this spot.

Cody Chittum was the overall #1 recruit in the country for the class of 2022. Chittum is taking a grey shirt season while training and competing for the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. He recently won a silver at the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Event in Alexandria, Egypt with elite International competition.

Even as high as I am on Chittum do not forget about Caleb Rathjen. Rathjen may be the best athlete on the team and he is definitely tough. Rathjen went up a weight and took at the time #3 Kendall Coleman to the limit in dropping a 3-2 match. I believe the starter for Iowa at this weight between Chittum and Rathjen will contend for the national title. They are that good.

157

Heading into this past season 157 was the biggest unknown. Cobe Siebrecht stepped up and had a real solid year while competing in a meat grinder of a schedule. With his big throws and thrilling last second flurries for the win Siebrecht became a fan favorite.

Siebrecht picked up valuable experience at Nationals where he qualified at 157. Should Siebrecht improve even ⅓ as much for the upcoming season as he did last year, look out. Ton of potential here for Siebrecht.

165

Patrick Kennedy was an NCAA Qualifier in his first year on varsity. 165 had to be considered the toughest weight in the country and by a good margin. Unfortunately nearly all of the All Amercans from this year will be back next season. Kennedy will have to improve to find a spot on the podium next year at Nationals.

174

I was happy for Nelson Brands placing fifth at Nationals. He showed a lot of grit coming back from an injury. This was the best version of Nelson Brands to date and by quite a bit. Brands will be back next season.

Incoming recruit Gabe Arnold will be a true freshman next season. I believe we will see Arnold in several big dual meets next year. The new rule where a wrestler can compete up to five matches and not burn a year of eligibility will provide Arnold an opportunity to show what he has. We are seeing a trend nationwide of true freshmen being successful right away.

I believe that Arnold is as good as he has to be to win a match and he will be more successful in college and Senior International than he was in high school. The sky’s the limit for this guy.

184

Abe Assad returns after qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Assad has the tools to take it to the next level. It would be great to see Assad get healthy, put in a full season, and have a good tournament at Nationals.

197

Iowa has to replace Jacob Warner who has held this spot for the last five years. Kolby Franklin will be a redshirt freshman next season and will be the favorite. Franklin edged teammate Zach Glazier 4-3 at Soldier Salute in late December. Franklin and Glazier will have a battle for the top spot in the lineup next year.

Hwt

Tony Cassioppi will return for his senior season. Big Cass placed fourth at Nationals and finished with a 25-5 record with 11 pins.

Look for Cassioppi to improve over the off season and have a great season next year.

As I previously mentioned there is a lot of talk on the internet that Iowa may have transfers that will have an impact on the starting lineup next season.

I will keep you up to date on any transfers right here on my blog.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

It is tournament time. The wrestling world will be focused on Tulsa, Oklahoma for the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships for the next three days. This weekend is what wrestling fans look forward to every year. The Iowa Hawkeyes enter Nationals with a full lineup with five Hawks seeded to become an All American.

125 – Spencer Lee #1

As I have been saying in this blog since his true freshman year, Spencer Lee is…Spencer Lee.

133 – Brody Teske #23

There was a change at 133 on Monday. Teske is now seeded #23 and will face #10 Lucas Byrd of Illinois in the first round. I have no doubt that Teske will be ready to go for this tournament. 

141 – Real Woods #1

Woods earned his #1 seed at 141. I liked his comments after winning a Big Ten title. He stated that he can wrestle better. I believe Woods will bring home the national title for Iowa.

149 – Max Murin #8

It is the last go for Murin. He has been to the Round of 12 before but came up short of becoming an All American. I believe Murin will make a way to get on the award stand Saturday night.

157 – Cobe Siebrecht #14

Siebrecht has stepped up and had a real good season in his first year on varsity. Siebrecht will face #19 Garret Model of Wisconsin in the first round. Siebrecht defeated Model 3-2 in the dual meet in Madison on January 22. 

165 – Patrick Kennedy #6

165 has to be considered the toughest weight in the tournament. Should seeds hold up there will be a rematch of the Big Ten semifinals with Amine of Michigan in the round of 16. Another potential rematch with Hamiti of Wisconsin in the quarterfinals. Kennedy will have to wrestle real well to become an All American in this loaded weight class.

174 – Nelson Brands #11

Nelson Brands will face #22 Alex Faison of North Carolina State in the first round. Brands looked good at Big Tens and looks to be wrestling the best of his career right now.

184 – Abe Assad #12

I really like the draw that Assad has to work with. Assad faces #21 Giuseppe Hoose of Buffalo in the first round. Assad beat Hoose by a 22-7 teck fall in the dual meet on November 18. In the round of 16 there is a potential rematch with Marcus Coleman of Iowa State. Coleman defeated Assad 3-2 in the dual meet on December 4. It would be great to see Assad get on a roll. 

197 – Jacob Warner #14

I really do not believe you could have asked for more than what Warner has for a bracket at 197. First round Warner will face Cameron Caffey of Michigan State. Warner won by a medical forfeit over Caffey in the fifth place match at Big Tens. In the round of 16 is a potential rematch with #3 Rocky Elam of Missouri. Elam defeated Warner in the NWCA All Star 8-6, OT on November 22. I stated in a preseason blog that if seeds held up that we would see Warner-Dean in the finals for a second straight year. The potential is there.

Hwt – Tony Cassioppi #4

I know that there is a lot of wrestling to be done before but I preferred that Cassioppi was on the side of Parris of Michigan. They could meet in the semifinals. Cass dropped the first match in the dual meet to Parris, 9-7. I am looking for a big tournament out of Tony Cassioppi. 

Iowa Wrestling is my entertainment. I plan on being entertained this weekend.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle. 

Brackets for 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships:

https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2023/03/15/DI%20wrestling%20Brackets3.14v1.pdf

NCAA Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Thursday, March 16

Session I – 11 AM  ESPNU

Session II – 6 PM  ESPN

Friday, March 17

Quarterfinals – 11 AM  ESPNU

Semifinals – 7 PM  ESPN

Saturday, March 18

Consolations – 10 AM  ESPNU

FInals – 6 PM  ESPN

*All times listed are CST.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum announced awards presented by the Glen Brand Hall of Fame of Iowa.

Lilly Luft of Charles City was awarded the Iowa High School Female Wrestler of the Year. Luft recently won her third state title and finished her career with a 125-6 record. Luft was 40-0 this season in winning a state title at 130 lbs. 

Luft was named as the Dan Gable Ms. Wrestler of the Year last month and is in the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023.

Iowa Women’s Wrestling will start their first official year of competition next season.

Ben Kueter was named as the Bob Steenlage Iowa High School Wrestler of the Year. 

Kueter of City High (Iowa City) finished his career as the 32nd four-time state champion in state history and just the seventh to have an undefeated career record (111-0). He is the overall #1 recruit in the country pound for pound by MatScouts. 

Kueter won a Junior World Freestyle title last summer in Sophie, Bulgaria at 97 kg/213 lbs. Kueter is also an elite linebacker in football and received All American honors. He committed to both Iowa Wrestling and Iowa Football.

Kueter was named as the Dan Gable Mr. Wrestler of the Year last month and is in the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023.

A banquet honoring the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa Class of 2023 will be held at Prairie Links Golf & Event Center in Waverly, Iowa, on June 23. For more information, contact the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum at (319) 233-0745 or [email protected].  

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The NCAA released seeds and brackets for the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The Hawks have two wrestlers seeded #1 in Spencer Lee (125) and Real Woods (141). Tony Cassioppi is #4 at Hwt, Patrick Kennedy #6 at 165 and at 149 Max Murin is #8.

According to the seeds there are five Hawkeyes picked to become an All American.

Iowa is set to have some good matchups in round one and real big matches in round two.

I do not get caught up in the good draw vs. bad draw drama. Every wrestler is tough at this tournament. Every wrestler has to make their own way to be successful in a tournament where nothing comes easy. Everything is earned.

With that being said I must admit that I do not mind the draw for Assad and Warner. Actually I like it a lot.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have their entire team at Nationals and I am confident they will be ready to go. I could not ask for more.

The action starts next Thursday, March 16 at 11 AM CST. As a fan I cannot wait.

It’s time to go.

Let’s get ’em in the middle.

Seeds for Iowa

125 Spencer Lee – #1

133 Brody Teske – #24

141 Real Woods – #1

149 Max Murin – #8

157 Cobe Siebrecht – #14

165 Patrick Kennedy – #6

174 Nelson Brands – #11

184 Abe Assad – #12

197 Jacob Warner – #14

Hwt Tony Cassioppi – #4

Brackets for 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships:

https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/files/2023-ncaa-di-wrestling-brackets.pdf

NCAA Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Thursday, March 16

Session I – 11 AM

Session II – 6 PM

Friday, March 17

Quarterfinals – 10 AM

Semifinals – 7 PM

Saturday, march 18

Consolations – 10 AM

FInals – 6 PM

*All times listed are CST.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

At the Lisbon Wrestling banquet last night legendary coach Brad Smith announced his retirement after 45 years of coaching. I am proud to say that Brad Smith was my wrestling coach. I am sure I will do more blogs on Coach Smith in the future. I have a lot to write about.

After being a successful three-sport standout (wrestling, football, and baseball) at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, IL, Smith competed at the University of Iowa for Gary Kurdelmeier. 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.

Coach Smith began his coaching career at Lisbon in 1978 replacing another legend Al Baxter. 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.

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.

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

With the most state titles and dual meets won I do not see how you can say there has ever been a better high school wrestling coach in the history of Iowa.

Coach Smith started at Lisbon when I was in sixth grade. I grew up seeing Iowa and Hawkeye Wrestling Club wrestlers at Lisbon. I still remember Coach Smith’s first dual meet in 1978. There were Iowa wrestlers in the crowd including Randy Lewis. I got his autograph.

The gasp from the crowd in that first home dual meet when Coach Smith told a Lisbon wrestler to let his opponent up. It was 1978 and we had never seen that before in high school wrestling. It was quite a change.

I firmly believe Coach Smith was a big influence in Iowa high school wrestling going to more of a freestyle type approach in the 1980’s with more of an emphasis on takedowns. Also the Iowa-style of wrestling made famous by Coach Smith’s assistant coach at Iowa, Dan Gable. The footprint of Coach Smith’s influence in Iowa High School wrestling is unmatched. All of that influence started from a small farming community of 1,300 with a 1A school.

Current Iowa wrestlers Cobe and Cade Siebrecht were state champions for Coach Smith at Lisbon. 

Coach Smith was the only wrestling coach at Lisbon until 1987. He alone coached the high school, junior high, and kids club.

I could go on and on with stats, stories, and memories and I will at another time. 

I will finish this blog up with a story Coach Smith told me in an interview a few years ago.

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 Coach 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 April day in 1978. The influence, legacy, and history of that one event is beyond description.

Thank you and enjoy your much deserved retirement is all that I can say for now to Coach Smith.

Go Lions!

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Big Ten Wrestling Championships did not disappoint. The quality and quantity of top notch competition proved yet again that the Big Ten is the premiere wrestling conference in the country and by a large margin.

At the end of two days of intense wrestling Penn State won the team title over second place Iowa, 147-134.5. That team score for Iowa is impressive considering Iowa had two champs and a runner-up. Penn State had four champs and two runner-ups. More importantly Iowa qualified all ten wrestlers for Nationals.

Congratulations to Spencer Lee for being named as the Big Ten Tournament OW and the Big Ten Wrestler of the year. This is the third time that Lee has been named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.

My main goal for Big Tens was for Iowa to qualify all ten wrestlers and to leave Big Tens healthy with no new injuries. As far as I know, mission accomplished. We qualified all ten weights and I did not notice any new injuries for Iowa wrestlers from the tournament  

A few stats really stood out to me. Iowa wrestled to or above their seed in eight of ten weights. Iowa also led the tournament with bonus points by a large margin. I really liked the way Iowa wrestlers kept working to score with bonus points in mind.

I had two favorite moves at Big Tens and they were both finishing a takedown. Patrick Kennedy finishing a takedown for the win in the semifinals was the best of his career to date. That finish showed real good patience, technique, and strength.

Nelson Brands takedown to win in OT in the Round of 12 would be great for a highlight film. That finish had some serious pop and horsepower involved. That takedown won the match and was an automatic qualifier for Nationals.

My last memory of Big Tens was important and one worth mentioning. Mark Ironside talked about how the entire program was behind the coaches for Cassioppi’s third place match. Iowa Wrestling is a close-knit team.

The time between now and Nationals that begin on Thursday, March 16 will go fast for the wrestlers and slow for us fans. The hard work for strength and conditioning is pretty much done. Individual sessions that I call Magic Time in this blog over the years will be in play. Working on specific situations for technique will be worked on.

Our wrestlers look to be in great shape even by Iowa Wrestling standards. 

Upcoming schedule:

1. The At-Large bids will be announced later today.
2. Brackets will be released tomorrow (Wednesday)

I will release a blog after the brackets are announced.

I believe the Hawks are peaking at the right time and the best is yet to come for Iowa Wrestling.

Iowa Wrestling is my entertainment. I plan on being entertained on March 16, 17, and 18 for the NCAA National Wrestling Championships.

Let’s get ’em in the middle.

NCAA Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Thursday, March 16

Session I – 11 AM

Session II – 6 PM

Friday, March 17

Quarterfinals – 10 AM

Semifinals – 7 PM

Saturday, march 18

Consolations – 10 AM

FInals – 6 PM

*All times listed are CST.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

After winning the Big Ten title at 125 lbs. Spencer Lee was voted the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year and Outstanding Wrestler of the Big Ten Championships. This is the third time Lee has been named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year (2020 and 2021). Lee was 3-0 with two tech falls and outscored his three opponents by a combined 45-4 in winning his Big Ten title.

Lee is the second Hawkeye to be named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year three times. Mark Ironside won the award in 1996, ‘97, and ‘98. Iowa has had 11 wrestlers awarded 13 OW’s of the Big Ten Championships. Ten Iowa Hawkeyes have been named for 15 Big Ten Wrestler of the Year honors.

Iowa qualified all ten weight classes for the NCAA Championships when they placed in the top seven at their weight at Big Tens in Ann Arbor, Michigan this weekend.

Lee will lead Iowa into the NCAA National Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma on March 16-18.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa recruit Ryder Block has been chosen to represent the USA All-Star Team in the Pittsburgh Classic on Saturday, March 25. Block will face a member of the Pennsylvannia All-Star team that has yet to be announced.

The Pittsburgh Classic will be held in the AHN Arena at Peters Township High School in McMurray, Pennsylvania. The USA All Stars-PA All Stars meet will begin at 5 PM CST and will be broadcast live on FloWrestling.

Block recently won his third state title with a career record of 159-1 for Waverly-Shell Rock. In the recent national rankings for MatScouts Block is ranked #2 at 138.

Block is in the outstanding Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!