The NCAA announced that Women’s Wrestling has been recommended to have NCAA championship status in 2026. Division I, Division II, and Division III would have a national collegiate women’s wrestling championship.

This is not final but it looks very probable that this will happen. The recommendation has been made and the steps are being taken to make this a reality for the winter of 2026. The press release by the NCAA below will provide you with details.

I will keep you up to date on the process of making this official.

This is great news for all of wrestling. The growth of women’s wrestling has been amazing throughout the country. This will further promote and grow our great sport of wrestling.

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling program is in their first year of competition. 

The next competition for Iowa will be the NCWWC Regionals at Simpson College (Indianola, Iowa) on Friday, February 23. This will be the qualifier for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 8-9.

I have been covering the University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling program on this blog since the day it was announced the program would be created on September 21, 2021.

From the NCAA:

Women’s wrestling moves toward NCAA championship status, projected for winter 2026

by Corbin McGuire, NCAA

Committee on Women’s Athletics recommends three divisions sponsor legislation to add sport as national collegiate championship

Women’s wrestling on Wednesday took a big step toward becoming the 91st NCAA championship sport, with its projected first NCAA championship occurring in winter 2026.

The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics voted at its meeting Wednesday to recommend Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate women’s wrestling championship. The Association-wide committee oversees the Emerging Sports for Women program, which includes women’s wrestling.

“We are excited to recommend women’s wrestling as the 91st NCAA championship sport,” said Ragean Hill, chair of the Committee on Women’s Athletics and executive associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Charlotte. “We are extremely proud of the work that USA Wrestling has done to make this a reality in such a short period of time. Also, a special thank you to the men’s wrestling community for believing in our young women and championing this process.”

Following the committee’s recommendation, the projected timeline to add a women’s wrestling championship is:

* Each division is expected to review the recommendation and sponsor a proposal by its respective 2024-25 legislative cycle deadline.

* The recommendation also includes establishing a Women’s Wrestling Committee, which would begin its work in January 2025, to allow time to prepare for a championship in winter 2026.

* If sponsored, the divisions are expected to vote on the proposals during the 2025 NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 15-18.

* If adopted on that timeline, the first women’s wrestling championship would be held in winter 2026.

* Before a women’s wrestling national collegiate championship can be established, funding must be considered by the appropriate financial oversight committees among other competing priorities during the relevant annual budget development cycle.

These required next steps and timeline are consistent with past sports added as national collegiate championships through the Emerging Sports for Women program.

“USA Wrestling is excited that the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics has recommended women’s wrestling to become an official NCAA championship,” said Rich Bender, executive director of USA Wrestling, one of the national governing bodies of women’s wrestling. “As part of the coalition of wrestling organizations that has supported women’s wrestling through the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women process, this is a huge milestone for our sport and for our NCAA women student-athletes. We look forward to working with the NCAA leadership in the coming months during the approval process, with the goal of having the first NCAA Women’s Wrestling National Championships in the 2025-26 season.”

If approved by NCAA members, women’s wrestling will become the sixth sport to earn NCAA championship status through the Emerging Sports for Women program, established in 1994 based on a recommendation from the NCAA Gender Equity Task Force. It would join rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003) and beach volleyball (2015).

“Wrestle Like a Girl is thrilled that the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics has recommended women’s wrestling to become an official NCAA championship sport,” said Sally Roberts, CEO of Wrestle Like a Girl, one of the national governing bodies of women’s wrestling. “This momentous occasion further empowers women in sports and brings us closer to fulfilling the promise made 51 years ago with the passage of Title IX. With the many battles won, women’s wrestling will be rightfully enshrined with dignity and recognition as an NCAA championship sport for women. It is a victory for all the athletes, supporters and allies who have worked passionately to make this dream a reality. The tireless efforts have paid off, and we are proud to stand with our sisters in sports to celebrate this accomplishment. This is a significant step forward in women’s empowerment, and we are honored to be part of it.”

Before the committee can make a recommendation to add a championship for an emerging sport, 40 schools must sponsor it at a varsity level and meet the sport’s minimum competition and participant requirements. Women’s wrestling, which became an emerging sport in 2020, eclipsed that number in the 2022-23 academic year.

“The rise in sponsorship and participation numbers for women’s wrestling is yet another proof point of the rapid growth of women’s sports. The sport is also a growing Olympic pipeline, helping produce multiple medalists at the 2020 Games,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said. “The NCAA is excited to continue investing in the sport to help it grow and provide more opportunities for student-athletes.”

Added Maddie Avila, a sophomore women’s wrestler at North Central (Illinois): “I think it represents our hard work — all the blood, sweat and tears that we’ve put into this sport. We have to put countless hours into this sport, and we are working just as hard as the men, so it will be really awesome, for women’s sports in general, to have women’s wrestling represented by the NCAA at the championship level.”

According to the latest sports sponsorship and participation data, nearly 800 student-athletes competed in women’s wrestling across 51 teams in 2022-23. More than 70 schools reported that they intended to sponsor the sport for the 2023-24 academic year.

College women’s wrestling also boasts a diverse student-athlete population. Per NCAA demographics research, 43% of the student-athletes on women’s wrestling rosters are minorities, which is tied for the fourth-highest percentage among NCAA women’s sports.

Current NCAA women’s wrestlers compete in a season-ending national competition that is organized by the coalition of wrestling organizations. The National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships are set for March 8-9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For information, visit: https://www.ncwwc.com/

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

There will be a HAWK Klub party at the Radisson Hotel after the Iowa-Penn State dual meet Friday, February 9. Dan Gable will be the guest speaker.

The Radisson is at 1220 1st Ave. in Coralville just North of I-80 by Exit 242.

Going to a HAWK Party is part of your fan experience of attending a big Iowa Wrestling meet. I highly recommend all of their socials to all Iowa Wrestling fans.

HAWK Klub (Hawkeye Area Wrestling Klub) was formed in 1978 and is the oldest college wrestling fan support organization in the country. 

For membership information about HAWK Klub: http://hawkklub.com/

I have great memories as a student at Iowa hearing legendary voice of Iowa Wrestling Phil Haddy announce during a dual meet:

“There will be a HAWK Klub Party after tonight’s meet.”

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Hawkeyes will host Penn State on Friday at 8 PM. The dual meet will be live on BTN.

When the schedule comes out every year as a fan you look up when and where the Iowa-Penn State dual meet will be. The entire wrestling world will take notice of the battle in Carver Friday night. 

From the most recent InterMat rankings #6 Iowa has only one wrestler ranked higher than #1 Penn State and that is at 165 where Michael Caliendo is #6 and Mitchell Mesenbrink is #7.

There are several weights where the rankings are close to the point of being a toss up. There will be some great matches in this dual meet.

Iowa has one wrestler listed at each weight except for Hwt. with Brad Hill and Ben Kueter.

The match that I have been looking forward to is at 197. How good is Zach Glazier? We will find out Friday. At 19-0 and ranked #11 Glazier will face #1 Aaron Brooks.

The first match of a dual is always important. Should they start at 125, and I believe they will, we will see #2 Braeden Davis vs. #7 Drake Ayala. 

The biggest matchup will be at 141. #1 Beau Bartlett vs. #2 Real Woods may be the match of the night. 

Every single match is going to be a battle and I look for quite a few close matches.

I fully expect a sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena to be fired up and ready to go.

You can listen to the Iowa-Penn State dual meet on iheart.com, YouTube, and AM 800 KXIC where Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will call the action.

#6 IOWA HAWKEYES (10-1, 5-1) 2023-24 Overall

Wt. Rank^ Name Yr. Hometown/High School Record

125 2/7/6/6 Drake Ayala So. Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge 17-3

133 18/20/25/17 Cullan Schriever Jr. Mason City, Iowa/Mason City 8-2

141 2/2/2/2 Real Woods R-Sr. Albuquerque, New Mexico/Montini Catholic (Ill.) 12-1

149 15/12/15/13 Caleb Rathjen So. Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny 12-3

157 6/5/5/7 Jared Franek Grad. Harwood, North Dakota/West Fargo 18-2

165 6/6/6/7 Michael Caliendo So. Geneva, Illinois/Batavia 19-1

174 7/7/5/5 Patrick Kennedy Jr. Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota/Kasson-Mantorville 10-3

184 Aiden Riggins R-Fr. Janesville, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock 11-10

197 10/11/12/7 Zach Glazier Sr. Albert Lea, Minnesota/Albert Lea 19-0

285 –/–/28/– Ben Kueter Fr. Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City 2-0

-or- –/29/–/– Bradley Hill R-Fr. Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf 15-5

^ WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN

#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-0, 5-0) *Based on last dual* 2023-24 Overall

Wt. Rank^ Name Yr. Hometown/High School Record

125 5/2/2/7 Braeden Davis Fr. Bellevill, Michigan/Dundee 14-0

133 7/6/5/10 Aaron Nagao So. La Habra, California/Esperanza 8-3

141 1/1/1/1 Beau Bartlett Sr. Tempe, Arizona/Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 14-0

149 10/10/12/7 Tyler Kasak Fr. Doylestown, Pennsylvania/Bethlehem Catholic 11-1

157 1/1/1/1 Levi Haines So. Arendtsville, Pennsylvania/Biglerville 11-0

165 3/7/7/8 Mitchell Mesenbrink R-Fr. Hartland, Wisconsin/Arrowhead 15-0

174 1/1/1/1 Carter Starocci Sr. Erie, Pennsylvania/Cathedral Prep 9-0

184 8/6/7/6 Bernie Truax Gr. Oceanside, California/Rancho Buena Vista 8-2

197 1/1/1/1 Aaron Brooks 5th. Hagerstown, Maryland/North Hagerstown 10-0

285 1/1/1/1 Greg Kerkvliet Sr. Inner Grove Heights, Minnesota/Simley 9-0

^ WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Hawkeye Wrestling Club will host a Pre-Match Social from 5-8 PM on Friday, February 9. The Social will be at the Sports Column at 12 S Dubuque St in downtown Iowa City. 

The HWC Socials are free of charge and provide a great opportunity to meet HWC wrestlers, former Hawkeye greats and other Iowa Wrestling fans.

The Hawks will face Penn State at 8 PM in sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

We had the first weekend of state tournaments for our incoming Iowa Wrestling recruits.

Kiara Djoumessi and Naomi Simon both won state titles at the Iowa Girls State Tournament. Djoumessi was 5-0 with three pins and Simon was 5-0 with four pins and a major decision. I believe the 15-2 major decision in the finals is the first result this season that I have posted for Simon that was not a fall. Decorah won the team title and Waverly Shell-Rock was fourth. 

Incoming Iowa recruit Karlee Brooks won the 123 lbs. title at the Grand View Open. Brooks was 4-0 with three tech falls and a pin. 

Brooks, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, is in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the U.S. Olympic Training Center as a member of the EAP (Elite Accelerator Program). She is currently ranked #2 at 120 lbs. and #11 in the P4P rankings and is a member of the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024.

Keyan Hernandez won the Divisional at Great Falls with a pin, tech fall, and major decision. Hernandez will compete at the Montana State Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

We will have quite a few incoming recruits competing next weekend at tournaments to qualify for their state tournament.

As I have done for years I will continue to post a blog of where our incoming recruits will be competing for the weekend and a follow up blog with results.

Recruiting Class of 2024

Dru Ayala – Fort Dodge, Iowa  120 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Keyan Hernandez – Billings (West), Montana 126 lbs.

Fri/Sat Feb 2-3 – at Divisionals (Great Falls)

Champ. Round 1 – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) 24-0 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) 24-0 won by fall over Eli Harrell (Great Falls CMR) 1-2 (Fall 3:28)

Semifinal – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) 24-0 won by tech fall over Ty Laslovich (Gallatin (Bozeman)) 13-7 (TF-1.5 5:03 (17-2))

1st Place Match – Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) 24-0 won by major decision over Mason Gutenberger (Belgrade) 19-3 (MD 15-1)

Miguel Estrada  Bakersfield (Frontier HS), California  144 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Angelo Ferrari – Melissa, Texas  175 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Jake Howell –  Glenwood Village (Cherry Creek HS), Colorado  215 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Kael Voinovich – City High HS, Iowa City, Iowa  157 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Joe Kennedy – Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota  152 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Recruiting Class of 2025

Leo DeLuca  – Blair Academy New Jersey  120 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Leister Bowling – Mead, Colorado  175 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Women’s Recruiting Class of 2024

Val Solorio – Canon-McMillan HS, Pennsylvania  100 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Karlee Brooks – Valiant College Prep HS (Phoenix, AZ)  120 lbs.

Sat Feb 3 – at Grand View Open (Des Moines)

Champ. Round 1 – Karlee Brooks (Elite Accelerator Program) won by tech fall over Ava Rose (University of Iowa ) (TF 10-0)

Quarterfinal – Karlee Brooks (Elite Accelerator Program) won by fall over Mateah Roehl (Askren Wrestling Academy ) (Fall 3:27)

Semifinal – Karlee Brooks (Elite Accelerator Program) won by tech fall over Catharine Campbell (Grand View University) (TF 11-0)

1st Place Match – Karlee Brooks (Elite Accelerator Program) won by tech fall over Emily Paulino (Midland University) (TF 10-0)

Cadence Diduch – Freeport, Illinois  135 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Kiara Djoumessi – Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa  140 lbs.

Th/Fri Feb 1-2 – at Iowa High School State Tournament (Coralville, Iowa)

Champ. Round 1 – Kiara Djoumessi (Waverly-Shell Rock) 47-0 won by fall over Emma York (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) 15-12 (Fall 2:51)

Champ. Round 2 – Kiara Djoumessi (Waverly-Shell Rock) 47-0 won by fall over Olivia Bonnema (Solon) 32-15 (Fall 1:39)

Quarterfinal – Kiara Djoumessi (Waverly-Shell Rock) 47-0 won by fall over Andelyn Cabalka (East Buchanan) 48-17 (Fall 3:35)

Semifinal – Kiara Djoumessi (Waverly-Shell Rock) 47-0 won in sudden victory – 1 over Dionni Garcia-Vasquez (West Liberty) 45-3 (SV-1 5-3)

1st Place Match – Kiara Djoumessi (Waverly-Shell Rock) 47-0 won in sudden victory – 1 over Shaylee Sutherland (Spencer) 45-4 (SV-1 4-2)

Naomi Simon – Decorah, Iowa 170 lbs.

Th/Fri Feb 1-2 – at Iowa High School State Tournament (Coralville, Iowa)

Champ. Round 1 – Naomi Simon (Decorah) 48-0 won by fall over Genevieve Lantigua (Marshalltown) 13-10 (Fall 1:13)

Champ. Round 2 – Naomi Simon (Decorah) 48-0 won by fall over Kensi Steele (Iowa City, Liberty) 32-12 (Fall 1:04)

Quarterfinal – Naomi Simon (Decorah) 48-0 won by fall over Aleah Johnson (Raccoon River-Northwest) 45-10 (Fall 1:39)

Semifinal – Naomi Simon (Decorah) 48-0 won by fall over Averie Wittkop (West Marshall) 46-5 (Fall 1:09)

1st Place Match – Naomi Simon (Decorah) 48-0 won by major decision over Autumn Elsbury (South Tama County) 37-2 (MD 15-2)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa competed at the 51-team Grand View Open in Des Moines. Felicity Taylor (116) and Bella Mir (155) won titles. Taylor was 4-0 with three tech falls. Mir had three tech falls and a fall before receiving a forfeit in the finals.

Jaycee Foeller(191) placed second, Lily Luft(136) placed third, Emmily Patneaud(136) and Sam Calkins(235) placed fourth, Eva Rose(123) and Anayka Besco(136) placed sixth. Cali Leng(123) and Alexandra Baudhuin(130) did not place.

Incoming Iowa recruit Karlee Brooks breezed through the competition at 123 lbs. for the title. Brooks was 4-0 with three tech falls and a pin. 

Brooks, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, is in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the USA Olympic Training Center as a member of the EAP (Elite Accelerator Program). She is currently ranked #2 at 120 lbs. and #11 in the P4P rankings. Brooks is a member of the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2024.

The next competition for Iowa will be the NCWWC Regionals at Simpson College (Indianola, Iowa) on Friday, February 23. This will be the qualifier for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 8-9.

Grand View Open

116

Champ. Round 1 – Felicity Taylor (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Mayangelie Colon (Grand View University) (TF 11-0)

Quarterfinal – Felicity Taylor (University of Iowa ) won by fall over Irma Retano (Eastern Oregon University) (Fall 1:14)

Semifinal – Felicity Taylor (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Katherine Heath (Baker University) (TF 14-4)

1st Place Match – Felicity Taylor (University of Iowa ) won by decision over Juliana Diaz (Missouri Baptist University ) (Dec 9-3)

123

Champ. Round 1 – Karlee Brooks (Elite Accelerator Program) won by tech fall over Ava Rose (University of Iowa ) (TF 10-0)

Cons. Round 1 – Ava Rose (University of Iowa ) won by decision over Carolina Rios (Texas Wesleyan University) (Dec 8-2)

Cons. Round 2 – Ava Rose (University of Iowa ) won by injury default over Brittany Cotter (William Penn University) (Inj. 0:00)

Cons. Round 3 – Ava Rose (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Paige Chafin (Eastern Oregon University) (TF 12-2)

Cons. Semi – Catharine Campbell (Grand View University) won by fall over Ava Rose (University of Iowa ) (Fall 4:06)

5th Place Match – Mateah Roehl (Askren Wrestling Academy ) won by tech fall over Ava Rose (University of Iowa ) (TF 11-0)

123

Champ. Round 1 – Brittany Cotter (William Penn University) won by decision over Cali Leng (University of Iowa ) (Dec 4-4)

Cons. Round 1 – Cali Leng (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Riley White (Missouri Baptist University ) (TF 11-0)

Cons. Round 2 – Mateah Roehl (Askren Wrestling Academy ) won by tech fall over Cali Leng (University of Iowa ) (TF 10-0)

130

Champ. Round 1 – Alexandra Baudhuin (University of Iowa ) received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Alexandra Baudhuin (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Samara Lusk (Grand View University) (TF 10-0)

Quarterfinal – Bella Williams (Unattached – Stars) won by fall over Alexandra Baudhuin (University of Iowa ) (Fall 5:12)

Cons. Round 4 – Cindy Zepeda (Menlo College) won by fall over Alexandra Baudhuin (University of Iowa ) (Fall 3:39)

136

Champ. Round 1 – Emmily Patneaud (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Mattison Parker (Texas Wesleyan University) (TF 10-0)

Champ. Round 2 – Emmily Patneaud (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Laura Kipnusu (Grand View University) (TF 12-1)

Quarterfinal – Emmily Patneaud (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Samantha Barragan (Menlo College) (TF 12-2)

Semifinal – Xochitl Pettis (Rise RTC) won by tech fall over Emmily Patneaud (University of Iowa ) (TF 10-0)

Cons. Semi – Emmily Patneaud (University of Iowa ) won by fall over Piper Cadden (Unattached – Fort Hays State) (Fall 5:59)

3rd Place Match – Lilly Luft (University of Iowa ) won by decision over Emmily Patneaud (University of Iowa ) (Dec 6-0)

136

Champ. Round 1 – Lilly Luft (University of Iowa ) received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Lilly Luft (University of Iowa ) won by decision over Migdalys Ramos (University of the Cumberlands) (Dec 6-0)

Quarterfinal – Lilly Luft (University of Iowa ) won by decision over Piper Cadden (Unattached – Fort Hays State) (Dec 2-0)

Semifinal – Andrea Schlabach (Grand View University) won by decision over Lilly Luft (University of Iowa ) (Dec 9-0)

Cons. Semi – Lilly Luft (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Anayka Besco (University of Iowa ) (TF 11-0)

3rd Place Match – Lilly Luft (University of Iowa ) won by decision over Emmily Patneaud (University of Iowa ) (Dec 6-0)

136

Champ. Round 1 – Xochitl Pettis (Rise RTC) won by fall over Anayka Besco (University of Iowa ) (Fall 2:30)

Cons. Round 1 – Anayka Besco (University of Iowa ) received a bye () (Bye)

Cons. Round 2 – Anayka Besco (University of Iowa ) won by fall over Keilani Guillermo (Wayland Baptist University) (Fall 4:42)

Cons. Round 3 – Anayka Besco (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Samantha Chaon (Northern Michigan University ) (TF 10-0)

Cons. Round 4 – Anayka Besco (University of Iowa ) won by fall over Samantha Barragan (Menlo College) (Fall 5:13)

Cons. Round 5 – Anayka Besco (University of Iowa ) won by decision over Stephanie Chavez (Menlo College) (Dec 10-8)

Cons. Semi – Lilly Luft (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Anayka Besco (University of Iowa ) (TF 11-0)

5th Place Match – Piper Cadden (Unattached – Fort Hays State) won by forfeit over Anayka Besco (University of Iowa ) (FF)

155

Champ. Round 1 – Bella Mir (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Danielle Lopez (Northern Michigan University ) (TF 11-0)

Champ. Round 2 – Bella Mir (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Elizabeth Hubbard (Missouri Valley College) (TF 11-0)

Quarterfinal – Bella Mir (University of Iowa ) won by fall over Angella Van Valkenburg (Snow College) (Fall 1:43)

Semifinal – Bella Mir (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Liv Wieber (Eastern Oregon University) (TF 10-0)

1st Place Match – Bella Mir (University of Iowa ) won by forfeit over Shannon Workinger (Menlo College) (FF)

191

Champ. Round 1 – Jaycee Foeller (University of Iowa ) won by decision over Maquoia Bernabe (University of the Cumberlands) (Dec 4-1)

Champ. Round 2 – Jaycee Foeller (University of Iowa ) won by decision over Katja Osteen (Unattached ) (Dec 3-2)

Quarterfinal – Jaycee Foeller (University of Iowa ) won by fall over Payton Sholander (Wayland Baptist University) (Fall 0:32)

Semifinal – Jaycee Foeller (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Joanna Hendricks (Waldorf University ) (TF 10-0)

1st Place Match – Tavia Heidelberg-Tillotson (Menlo College) won by injury default over Jaycee Foeller (University of Iowa ) (Inj. 5:37)

235

Champ. Round 1 – Samantha Calkins (University of Iowa ) won by fall over Rose Rother (Iowa Central Community College) (Fall 1:57)

Quarterfinal – Samantha Calkins (University of Iowa ) won by decision over Leilani Sanchez (Wayland Baptist University) (Dec 6-0)

Semifinal – Hannah Jackson (Ottawa University) won by decision over Samantha Calkins (University of Iowa ) (Dec 1-0)

Cons. Semi – Samantha Calkins (University of Iowa ) won by tech fall over Rose Rother (Iowa Central Community College) (TF 11-0)

3rd Place Match – Leilani Sanchez (Wayland Baptist University) won by decision over Samantha Calkins (University of Iowa ) (Dec 4-2)

123

Champ. Round 1 – Karlee Brooks (Elite Accelerator Program) won by tech fall over Ava Rose (University of Iowa ) (TF 10-0)

Quarterfinal – Karlee Brooks (Elite Accelerator Program) won by fall over Mateah Roehl (Askren Wrestling Academy ) (Fall 3:27)

Semifinal – Karlee Brooks (Elite Accelerator Program) won by tech fall over Catharine Campbell (Grand View University) (TF 11-0)

1st Place Match – Karlee Brooks (Elite Accelerator Program) won by tech fall over Emily Paulino (Midland University) (TF 10-0)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling team will compete at the Grandview Open on Saturday, February 3 in Des Moines, Iowa.

54 teams from across the country including the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club and the Elite Accelerator Program (Olympic Training Center) are scheduled to compete.

The competition will take place at the Johnson Wellness Center & Sisam Arena on the Grand View campus. 

With the type of teams registered I would have to believe there will be good competition throughout the tournament.

This event was not on the schedule for the Iowa Women’s Wrestling team.

The Grandview Open will be covered live on TrackWrestling.

I will have a follow up blog with results.

The Hawks wrapped up a perfect 16-0 dual meet season with a 39-7 win over the University of Sioux  Falls on Wednesday night.

The next competition for Iowa following Saturday will be the NCWWC Regionals at Simpson College (Indianola, Iowa) on Friday, February 23. This will be the qualifier for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 8-9.

Iowa is ranked #2 in the country in the most recent NWCA NCAA Women’s Coaches Rankings.

NWCA NCAA Women’s Coaches Rankings – January 18, 2024

101 – #1 Emilie Gonzalez  #2 Sterling Dias

109 – #2 Ava Bayless

116 – #3 Brianna Gonzalez

123 – #3 Felicity Taylor 

130 – #10 Emily Frost

143 – #2 Resse Larramendy  #4 Ella Schmit 

155 – #1 Marlynne Deede  #9 Bella Mir

170 – #1 Kylie Welker  #3 Haley Ward

191 – #3 Jaycee Fowler  #9 Alivia White

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling team closed out the dual meet season on the road with a 39-7 win over Sioux Falls. Iowa finished at 16-0 in dual meets on the season.

The Hawks had five tech falls, two pins, a decision, and received a forfeit. Iowa forfeited at 109 lbs.

The best match of the night was Alivia White of Iowa defeating Zoe Adams 8-4 at 191. Adams scored on a four-point headlock in the first period. White countered with a four-point throw of her own to tie it. It looked as though White had the fall but they were called out of bounds. The best move of the night was at the end of the match when White fought off another headlock and came out on top for a takedown to seal the win. Great match to watch.

Emilie Gonzalez(101), Brianna Gonzalez(116), Cali Leng(123), and Ella Schmidt(143) won by tech fall. Emily Frost(130), Emmily Patneaud(136), and Bella Mir(155) won by fall. 

I was disappointed that Iowa forfeited at 109 lbs. and we did not get to see Kylie Welker at 170 lbs. who received a forfeit. Iowa and Sioux Falls are both in their first year of competition.

Emily Frost pinned a Sioux Falls wrestler in the first period in an exhibition match at the end of the dual meet. I hope we see more exhibition matches at the end of all dual meets next season. The meet last night lasted 40 minutes so more matches at the end would fit in. 

The bleachers looked full in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and it was easy to see a lot of Black and Gold Iowa Wrestling shirts in the crowd.

I would like to thank the University of Sioux Falls for the online broadcast of the meet that was free of charge. Well done.

#2 Iowa 39, Sioux Falls 7

101 — Emilie Gonzalez (I) tech. fall over Ava McNeal (SF), 10-0
109 – Paw Hobza (SF) forfeit over Unknown (I)
116 — Brianna Gonzalez (I) tech. fall over Paige Denke (SF), 12-2
123 – Cali Leng (I) tech. fall over Reianna Ogden (SF), 10-0
130 — Emily Frost (I) fall over Teila Peters (SF), 1:31
136 – Emmily Patneaud (I) fall over McKenna Hendrickson (SF), 1:23
143 – Ella Schmit (I) tech. fall over Brinley Green (SF), 11-0
155 – Bella Mir (I) fall over Aliyah Villarreal (SF), 1:01
170 — Kylie Welker (I) forfeit over Unknown (SF)
191 — Alivia White (I) dec. over Zoe Adam (SF), 8-4

Exhibition match: 130 – Emily Frost won by fall

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

We have the first weekend of state tournaments for our incoming Iowa Wrestling recruits.

Kiara Djoumessi (140 lbs. – Waverly-Shell Rock) and Naomi Simon (170 lbs. – Decorah) will be competing in the Iowa Girls State Tournament on Thursday and Friday (Feb 1-2) at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa.

Both Djoumessi and Simon are the #1 seed. TrackWrestling will be covering the State Tournament.

Th/Fri Feb 1-2 – at Iowa High School State Tournament (Coralville, Iowa)

Th Feb 1: Session 1: First and second round – 10 AM

                Session2: Quarterfinals – 6 PM

Fri Feb 2: Session3: Semifinals – 10 AM

                Session4: Grand March and Finals – 6 PM

Keyan Hernandez will be at Divisionals on Friday and Saturday in Great Falls. Jake Howell has a dual meet on Friday at Valor Christian. 

Leo DeLuca will be competing at the MAPL Tournament in Lawrenceville, NJ on Saturday.

Next weekend we will have quite a few incoming recruits competing at tournaments to qualify for their state tournament.

As I have done for years I will continue to post a blog on Friday of where our incoming recruits will be competing for the weekend and a follow up blog with results.

Recruiting Class of 2024

Dru Ayala – Fort Dodge, Iowa  120 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Keyan Hernandez – Billings (West), Montana 126 lbs.

Fri/Sat Feb 2-3 – at Divisionals (Great Falls)

Miguel Estrada  Bakersfield (Frontier HS), California  144 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Angelo Ferrari – Melissa, Texas  175 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Jake Howell –  Glenwood Village (Cherry Creek HS), Colorado  215 lbs.

Fri Feb 2 – at Valor Christian dual meet

Kael Voinovich – City High HS, Iowa City, Iowa  157 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Joe Kennedy – Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota  152 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Recruiting Class of 2025

Leo DeLuca  – Blair Academy New Jersey  120 lbs.

Sat Feb 3 – at MAPL Tournament (The Lawrenceville School/Lawrenceville, NJ)

Leister Bowling – Mead, Colorado  175 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Women’s Recruiting Class of 2024

Val Solorio – Canon-McMillan HS, Pennsylvania  100 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Karlee Brooks – Valiant College Prep HS (Phoenix, AZ)  120 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Cadence Diduch – Freeport, Illinois  135 lbs.

No competition scheduled.

Kiara Djoumessi – Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa  140 lbs.

Th/Fri Feb 1-2 – at Iowa High School State Tournament (Coralville, Iowa)

Naomi Simon – Decorah, Iowa 170 lbs.

Th/Fri Feb 1-2 – at Iowa High School State Tournament (Coralville, Iowa)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Hawkeyes will be on the road at Big Ten rival Michigan at 7:30 PM CST on Friday, February 2. The dual meet will be televised by BTN.

How close is this dual meet on paper according to rankings? Iowa and Michigan are both favored in five matches each with a lot of close matches expected.

In the Probable Lineups Iowa has one wrestler listed at each weight except for Hwt. where both Brad Hill and Ben Kueter are listed. Cullan Schriever is listed at 133 and Caleb Rathjen at 149.

Michigan has two wrestlers listed at 165 and 197.

The biggest match of the night will be #8 Patrick Kennedy vs. #3 Shane Griffith at 174.

The second biggest match would be 197 with the potential for bonus points out of Zach Glazier.

Should Iowa win 174 and get at least two bonus points at 197 they will have a real good chance of winning this dual meet.

This dual will draw a strong crowd across the country and I am expecting fireworks in an entertaining dual meet. 

What a great way to start the weekend of wrestling. 

You can listen to the Iowa-Michigan dual meet on iheart.com, YouTube, and AM 800 KXIC where Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will call the action.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

2 IOWA HAWKEYES (10-0) 2023-24 Overall

Wt. Rank^ Name Yr. Hometown/High School Record

125 3/5/4/4 Drake Ayala So. Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge 17-2

133 19/18/–/– Cullan Schriever Jr. Mason City, Iowa/Mason City 8-1

141 1/1/1/1 Real Woods R-Sr. Albuquerque, New Mexico/Montini Catholic (Ill.) 12-0

149 15/11/14/14 Caleb Rathjen So. Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny 12-3

157 3/2/2/3 Jared Franek Grad. Harwood, North Dakota/West Fargo 18-1

165 6/6/6/7 Michael Caliendo So. Geneva, Illinois/Batavia 18-1

174 8/8/6/5 Patrick Kennedy Jr. Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota/Kasson-Mantorville 10-2

184 Aiden Riggins R-Fr. Janesville, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock 10-10

197 10/11/12/7 Zach Glazier Sr. Albert Lea, Minnesota/Albert Lea 18-0

285 –/28/–/– Bradley Hill R-Fr. Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf 15-4

-or- – Ben Kueter Fr. Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City 2-0

^ WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN

No. 12 MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (5-3) 2023-24 Overall

Wt. Rank^ Name Yr. Hometown/High School Record

125 10/12/15/14 Michael DeAugustino Gr. Palm Coast, Florida/Flager Palm Coast 8-2

133 4/4/4/4 Dylan Ragusin R-Jr. Elk Grove Village, Illinois/Montini Catholic 19-0

141 15/19/19/18 Sergio Lemley Fr. Chesterton, Indiana/Mount Carmel (Ill.) 12-4

149 5/6//6/7 Austin Gomez Gr. Carol Stream, Illinois/Glenbard North 4-0

157 13/12/14/17 Will Lewan Gr. Chicago, Illinois/Montini Catholic 7-4

165 9/10/8/10 Cameron Amine R-Sr. Brighton, Michigan/Detroit Catholic Central 8-4

-or- Beau Mantanona Fr. Bermuda Dunes, California/Palm Desert 15-5

174 3/3/3/3 Shane Griffith Gr. Westwood, New Jersey/Bergen Catholic 10-2

184 16/19/16/14 Jaden Bullock R-Jr. Chesapeake, Virginia/Oscar Smith 13-7

197 Bobby Striggow Gr. Orono, Minnesota/Orono 5-6

-or- Rylan Rogers R-Fr. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho/Coeur d’Alene 4-4

285 7/6/6/6 Lucas Davison Gr. Chesterton, Indiana/Chesterton

^ WIN/Intermat/Flo/AWN

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!