Next up for the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023 is Koye Grebel of Valley City, North Dakota. Grebel committed to the Hawks on March 30.

This past season Grebel was 44-2 on the season and won a state title at 138 lbs. with a 15-0 tech fall in the finals. He is a three-time state champ, four-time state finalist and was named North Dakota’s Mr. Wrestler for 2023.

At Junior Nationals Grebel was 4-2 at 138 lbs. He dropped a match to new Iowa Hawkeye teammate Ryder Block in the Round of 32.

I enjoyed the comments from my blog announcing Grebel committing to the Hawks. I was contacted by several wrestling fans letting me know that we were getting a real good wrestler.

The comments were similar on Facebook from fans talking about Grebel’s work ethic, character, and ability to make a way to win a match. I read in an interview that Grebel has been a lifelong Iowa Wrestling fan. Always good to hear. 

Grebel is listed at 133/141 on the new Iowa Wrestling roster.

Welcome aboard Koye Grebel.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

I cannot remember an Iowa Wrestling recruit who had his stock go up after committing to the Hawks more than Kale Petersen. When the commitment to be an Iowa Hawkeye was made by Petersen last November 15, he was a two-time state champion without any national rankings. A lot has changed since then.

Petersen, from Rockwell, Iowa, won his third state title while competing for Greene County this past season at 132 with a 42-0 record. Petersen defeated Gable Porter of Underwood in the finals of the Rollin Dyer Invitational in Atlantic in January by a 7-6 decision. At the time Porter was ranked #13 in the country by MatScouts and is now a true freshman at Virginia. I also need to add that Petersen has been in the Sebolt Wrestling Academy for years. 

Petersen made a really big move this spring and summer. In April Petersen placed second at Folkstyle Nationals in Cedar Falls. At Junior Duals in Tulsa Petersen was 8-0 with five tech falls and three decisions at 132. 

It was at U20 Nationals in Las Vegas where Petersen really put his name up there on a national level. As I mentioned in my blog Petersen may have been the biggest story of the entire tournament. After winning his first four matches at 61 kg/134 lbs. by tech fall Petersen defeated #1 nationally ranked Nasir Bailey, 10-1.

In the finals Petersen came storming back to drop an 11-8 decision to Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State. Bouzakis had just finished his true freshman season at Ohio State as a huge recruit and just won a Silver at the U20 World Championships. Some scale of where Petersen is at.

At Junior Nationals in Fargo Petersen placed second at 132 with a 7-1 record with three tech falls. A real good showing.

Folks, that is having one heck of a great season.

Petersen was ranked #64 overall for the Class of 2023 but did not crack the rankings at 132 by MatScouts in their final rankings. I sure disagree with that.

The recently released Iowa Wrestling roster has Petersen listed at 133/141. You have to like the potential this guy has after his performance this year. To add to the results is the grind and attacking style of Petersen that Iowa is known for. 

It will be interesting to see how Petersen’s career works out in the Black and Gold. Even with all of his accomplishments he is not getting the recognition he deserves. Maybe that will add to his desire to make a name for himself in Iowa Wrestling.

As with the other true freshman I look forward to seeing Petersen at Open tournaments and making his way into the lineup this season several times without using a year of eligibility to see what he has.

Yet another real good addition with a lot of potential to the Iowa Wrestling program for the Recruiting Class of 2023. 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Here is a great opportunity to meet Dan Gable and talk wrestling. Gable will be signing autographs at FRYfest on Friday, September 1 from Noon-1 PM. FRYfest will be held at the Coralville Hyatt Regency Hotel and Conference Center in Coralville’s Iowa River Landing.

Gable will be set up at the Iowa Style Apparel booth that will have Gable T-shirts, books, and hats available to purchase and autographed.

The 13th annual FRYfest has become a tradition to mark the beginning of the football season and to celebrate being an Iowa Hawkeye fan. Iowa Football faces Utah State in the season and home opener the next day on Saturday, September 2.  

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Next up to welcome to the Iowa Wrestling team is Ryder Block of Waverly, Iowa (Waverly-Shell Rock HS). Block enters the program as another impressive member of the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023.

Block certainly has the credentials of a top recruit. In the final MatScouts Rankings Block was #2 at 138 lbs. and #64 overall in the country.

This past season Block won a 138 lbs. state title with a 45-0 record to become a three-time state champion, four-time finalist, and was named the Casey’s 3A Wrestling Championships MVP.

After winning his state title Block had a successful freestyle season that concluded with his second consecutive Junior national title at 138 lbs. in Fargo where he won by a tech fall in the finals. For the tournament Block was 7-0 with five tech falls, a fall and a decision.

I was thinking we would see Block redshirt this season with Real Woods being a senior at 141 and be ready to challenge for that spot next year. However the new roster just released has Block at 149 and listed at 5’11”. With that type of frame and at that age it is just a guess as to what weight he will end up at. Whatever the weight we will have a real good wrestler with a lot of potential.

With the new rules over the last several seasons that allows a college wrestler to compete up to four times in dual meets without using a year of eligibility, I hope we see Block in there at least a few times this season in dual meets.

Block certainly has the pedigree with roots in 3A powerhouse Waverly-Shell Rock and Sebolt Wrestling Academy trained. That sounds like a great combination to me. Let’s get him some experience and more horsepower at whatever weight he ends up competing at. The Iowa Wrestling room is a great place to take care of that and prepare Block for what looks to be a real good career for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

If you have been reading my blog you already know how high I am on true freshman Gable Arnold. I am looking forward to following this young Hawkeye that is a great new addition to the program. This is the type of recruit that is ready to go right now that Iowa needs to get back on top of the college wrestling world.

Arnold won a state title at City High (Iowa City) this past season as a senior. He won all four tough battles with Iowa State true freshman Tate Naakteboren including in the State finals. Arnold, originally from Kennesaw, Georgia, had competed for Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania. It was huge for the Hawks to get the commitment from Arnold on January 1, 2022 for the Recruiting Class of 2023.

Arnold just completed a successful freestyle season that included winning U20 Nationals at 79 KG/174 lbs. in Las Vegas. Arnold then placed second at U20 World Team Trials. In June Arnold was dominating in winning the Gold for Team USA at 79 kg at the 2023 Pan American Championships in Santiago, Chile. Arnold won all three matches by a 11-0 tech fall.

I see Arnold competing at 174 for his college career and a great future in International Freestyle in front of him at 79 kg/174 lbs.

As I have been saying I see Arnold as a crowd favorite that will be fun to watch. He has a rare blend of strength and positioning that makes him hard to score on but also has the explosive pop to score a takedown with great quickness at any given moment.

As an Iowa Wrestling fan I am looking forward to seeing Gabe Arnold in the Black and Gold of Iowa Wrestling. 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

This will be the first installment of welcoming a new wrestler to the Iowa Wrestling program. We have a great group of incoming recruits and transfers at Iowa this year. 

First up to welcome in for the Recruiting Class of 2023 is Ben Kueter of Iowa City, Iowa (City HS). 

To say that Kueter did it all in high school is an understatement. Kueter has won nearly every state and national award possible this year.  

Recently Kueter was named the 2023 USA TODAY HSSA National Boys Wrestler of the Year. He was named as The Gazette Male Athlete of the Year, Outstanding Wrestler in the country on the USA Wrestling Dream Team, the overall #1 recruit pound for pound by MatScouts, the Regional winner of the Dave Schultz Excellence Award, the Dan Gable Wrestler of the Year, and also a member of the National Honor Society.

What Kueter accomplished in his high school career at City High High School in Iowa City, Iowa is amazing. Four-time undefeated state champion in wrestling. All-American linebacker in football. Played in an All-Star game with the best football players in the country. Started on a District champion baseball team and ran in the Drake Relays.

Kueter won a World title at the 2022 U20 World Freestyle Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria at 97kg/213 lbs.

I mentioned over a year and a half ago that Kueter was the best overall athlete for an Iowa Wrestling recruit that I have ever seen. I have also been saying for quite some time that Ben Kueter is the best high school athlete to ever come out of Iowa. I do not see how anyone could argue those points.

It is rare for an athlete to commit to two sports. Kueter is committed to a career with Iowa Football and Iowa Wrestling. If anyone can do it, it is Ben Kueter.

Kueter is in fall practice at middle linebacker with the Iowa Football team preparing for the upcoming season. I believe the Iowa defense will be in the Top 10 nationally again this season. Even so, I believe we will see Kueter make an immediate impact this year in his true freshman season. I can just hear the announcers when #32 makes a big play that he was a World champion wrestler. 

There is no doubt that Kueter will compete at Hwt for the Hawks. With that type of frame, he could fill out to 250 lbs. and still be lean and quick.

In all my years of following Iowa high school sports I have never seen anybody like Ben Kueter. There is no limit to what Kueter can do in both football and wrestling at Iowa and beyond.

What a great future Ben Kueter has in front of him. As a fan I am going to enjoy following Kueter’s career as an Iowa Hawkeye because we may never see anyone like this again.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Today is the first day of class at the University of Iowa. A new year has officially begun.

We have a big year coming up with two programs to follow with the men’s and women’s wrestling team. There is a lot to look forward to. The schedules have not been released for either program but I will keep you up to date when they are available. I will post a separate blog for the new additions to the women’s program.

This will be the last year that Iowa Wrestling will train in the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex. It sounds as though there is a chance the new facility may be completed before the end of the wrestling season. It would be great to see at least one home dual meet with our wrestlers coming out of the new tunnel from the new facility. 

I always like to follow through and check the updated roster on the first day of class just to make sure. The recruiting journey is a long process that takes a lot of time and effort by the staff. 

Nothing is official to me until today when I see the names listed on the official roster and the wrestler is registered and attending class. With the addition of NIL and transfers in today’s college wrestling world I am more precise than ever about this.

Let’s take a look at the new additions.

Freshman:

Gabe Arnold – 174  Albany, Georgia

Ryder Block – 141  Waverly, Iowa

Isaiah Fenton – 157  Burlington, Iowa

Koye Grebel – 133/141  Valley City, North Dakota

Ben Kueter – Hwt  Iowa City, Iowa

Kale Petersen – 133/141  Rockwell, Iowa

Transfers:

Michael Caliendo – 165  Geneva, Illinois (North Dakota State)

Joey Cruz – 125  Fresno, California (Oklahoma)

Jared Frankek – 157  Harwood, North Dakota (North Dakota State)

Victor Voinovich – 149  Brecksville, Ohio (Oklahoma State)

Iowa Wrestling Roster: https://hawkeyesports.com/sports/wrestling/roster/

As I have done the last couple of years I will release a separate blog for each new member of the team complete with their background and commentary. I will do that for both the men’s and women’s teams.

The next big date to look forward to in Iowa Wrestling would be Saturday, September 2. That is the date of the first home Iowa Football game. Should there be an open practice for the Hawkeye Wrestling Club for fans to attend I will let you know right here on my Iowa Wrestling Fan Blog.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

FloWrestling announced that incoming Iowa Hawkeye recruit Angelo Ferrari will face Ty Eise at Who’s #1 at 170 lbs. Who’s #1 will be held on Saturday, September 2 at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Who’s #1 always provides great matchups of tomorrow’s stars in our sport.

Ferrari was the #1 overall ranked recruit in the Class of 2024 by Flo last season. He committed to the University of Iowa on May 31. He won a state title at 175 for Melissa High School in Texas last season. 

Ferrari was ranked #1 at 170 by MatScouts in their old rankings. In the new rankings Ferrari is #2 at 182. Ferrari dropped out of the Top 20 P4P ranking by MatScouts since the last rankings.

His opponent Ty Eise is ranked as the #18 overall recruit in the Class of 2025.

Flo Article:

Angelo Ferrari Returns To Who’s Number One For Showdown With Ty Eise – FloWrestling

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

There will be a retirement party for coaching legend Brad Smith on Saturday, August 19th. State championship trophies and memorabilia will be in Gwen’s on main street in Lisbon. The main tent, also known as the Beer Tent at Lisbon Sauerkraut Days will be a great place to be to socialize. The wrestling history under that tent will be amazing.

The start time will be at 2 PM. I have no doubt that there will be a great crowd enjoying stories of the past.

As a national champion and contributing member of the first national title winning team in Iowa Wrestling history, Coach Smith has done it all. I am sure there will be plenty of Iowa Wrestling legends in the crowd for this celebration.

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

Dan Burgess, a state champ for us at Lisbon in 1983, has created a great Facebook page called: I wrestled for Brad 

Dan does a great job with this site and you will find a lot of great wrestling history. I recommend a like to join this Facebook page to any wrestling fan.

An online store with I wrestled for Brad gear is now available. 

Brad Smith announces retirement:

https://iowawrestlingblog.com/2023/03/brad-smith-announces-retirement/

Also, on Friday night (Aug 18) the 50-year reunion for the first state title in Lisbon Wrestling history (1973) will be held at Gwen’s starting at 6 PM. 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Isabella Mir of the University of Iowa placed fifth for Team USA at 68 KG at the U20 World Freestyle Championships in Amman, Jordan. 

Mir won a 12-8 decision over Manola Skobaleska of Ukraine in the first round before dropping a match to Ray Hoshino of Japan. Mir responded with a 8-5 decision over Karaluna Jawarska of Poland in repechage. In the Bronze medal match Mir lost to Allna Schauchuk (INA) 8-1.

Mir won U20 Nationals in April to qualify for Team USA. She recently won gold at the Poland Open against international competition.

Mir, originally from Las Vegas, Nevada where she was a four-time state champion, will be a redshirt freshman this season at Iowa.

Another young Hawkeye wrestler with a great future.

U20 World Freestyle Championships

Amman, Jordan

Isabella Mir (USA) dec Manola Skobaleska (Ukraine) 12-8

Ray Hoshino (Japan) tech fall Isabella Mir (USA) 12-1

Isabella Mir dec Karaluna Jawarska (Poland) 8-5

Bronze Medal Match: Allna Schauchuk (INA) dec Isabella Mir (USA) 8-1

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!