Members of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club will be in action at the Bill Farrell Memorial International in New York City this Saturday, November 19 . The Downtown Athletic Club will host the event that will provide top competition at every weight for Men’s and Women’s Freestyle and Greco-Roman.

HWC will be represented by Austin DeSanto, Pat Lugo, Kaleb Young, Alex Marinelli, and Kyle Summers. Incoming recruit Cody Chittum will be at 70 KG. Chittum is a member of the Recruiting Class of 2023.

Former Hawkeye Dan Erekson will be competing at 125 kg. Erekson won the Gold at the 2022 Veterans World Championships in Division A  in Plovdiv, Bulgaria last month. After the tournament Erekson announced that he would resume his wrestling career in the Senior division. From McCall, Idaho, Erekson was a two-time All American for the Hawks and a member of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 NCAA championship teams.

Competition begins at 9 AM CST with prelims through the medal round. 

All of the competition will be covered on the premium service of FloWrestling.

Austin DeSanto – 61 KG

Pat Lugo – 65 KG

Cody Chittum – 70 KG

Kaleb Young – 74 KG

Alex Marinelli – 79 KG

Kyle Summers – 86 KG

Dan Erekson – 125 KG

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Wrestling team will hit the road for three dual meets in New York. Tonight the Hawks will be in West Point for a dual meet with Army at 6 PM CST. Last season due to a travel delay Oregon State had to cancel for a dual meet in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Army had competed in the area the day before and took the dual meet on short notice. I think it is great that Iowa is competing at West Point. I hope they have a huge crowd for the dual meet tonight.

Army competed in two dual meets at the Journeyman Tournament last Saturday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Army defeated Sacred Heart 39-0 and lost to #16 Nebraska, 25-9. Army won matches against ranked Nebraska opponents at 125, 141, and 174.

Army is led by #14 Ben Pasiuk at 174. At 125 Ethan Berganic defeated #24 Liam Cronin of Nebraska, 7-5. Berganic, now ranked #19, was named as the EIWA Wrestler of the Week. Nate Lukez (157) and Dalton Harkins (165) are both ranked #28.

On Friday the Hawks will compete in the Arm Bar at the Armory in Albany, New York. Iowa will face Sacred Heart (5:30 PM) followed by Buffalo (7:30 PM).

Buffalo has ranked wrestlers in #28 Jay Nivison (174) and #32 Giuseppe Hoose (184).

The three dual meets will be livestreamed on the premium service of FloWrestling. AM 800 KXIC will call all of the action.

#2 IOWA HAWKEYES (1-0) 

2022-23 Overall Wt. Rank Name Yr. Hometown/High School Record 

125 Aidan Harris Jr. Layton, Utah/Layton (Iowa Central CC) 0-1 

133 19/12/20 Brody Teske Jr. Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge (Penn State/UNI) 1-0 -or- Cullan Schriever So. Mason City, Iowa/Mason City 0-0 

141 Drew Bennett Sr. Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge 1-0 

149 7/7/8 Max Murin RS Sr. Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria 1-0 

157 Caleb Rathjen RS Fr. Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny 0-0 -or- Cobe Siebrecht Jr. Lisbon, Iowa/Lisbon 1-0 

165 16/13/17 Patrick Kennedy So. Kasson-Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 1-0 

174 Drake Rhodes Fr. Billings, Mont./Billings West 1-0 

184 11/8/9 Abe Assad Jr. Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North 1-0 

197 2/2/2 Jacob Warner RS Sr. Tolono, Ill./Washington 1-0 

285 4/4/4 Tony Cassioppi Sr. Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah 1-0 

ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS (1-1) 

2022-23 Overall Wt. Rank  Name Yr. Hometown Record 

125 –/24/19 Ethan Berginc Fr. Jeannette, Pa./Jeannette-Senior 7-0 

133 Richard Treanor So. Davidson, N.C./William Amos 5-3 

141 Julian Sanchez Jr. Oregon, Ohio/Genoa Area 2-2 

149 Matthew Williams Jr. Hudson, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 3-4 

157 –/28/– Nate Lukez Jr. Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland 5-2 

165 –/28/– Dalton Harkins So. West Chester, Pa./Malvern Prep (USMAPS) 5-1 

174 14/21/20 Ben Pasiuk Jr. Carrollton, Ohio/Carrollton 4-1 

184 Sahm Abullrazzaq Sr. Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge Senior (USMAPS) 6-2 

197 Kyle Swartz So. Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York (USMAPS) 5-3 

285 Kade Carlson So. Salt Lake City, Utah/Corner Canyon (USMAPS) 4-3 

SACRED HEART PIONEERS (0-4) 

2022-23 Overall Wt. Rank  Name Yr. Hometown Record 

125 Mikey Manta Fr. Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge 0-3 

133 Andrew Fallon Jr. Fall River, Mass./Bishop Hendricksen 1-2 

141 Seth Brown Gr. Coventry, R.I./Coventry 0-3 

149 Matt Laurie Sr. Wethersfield, Conn./Wethersfield 1-3 

157 Nick Palumbo Gr. Andover, N.J./Lenape Valley 1-1 

165 Aidan Zarrella Fr. North Kingstown, R.I./North Kingstown 1-2 

174 Ryan Bolletino Jr. Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial 0-4 

184 Hunter Perez Fr. Mount Olive, N.J./Mount Olive 1-2 

197 Nick Copley So. Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman 0-3 

285 Marc Berisha Fr. Mount Kisco, N.Y./Fox Lane 0-3 

BUFFALO BULLS (2-3) 

2022-23 Overall Wt. Rank^ Name Yr. Hometown Record 

125 Tristan Daugherty Jr. Peoria, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame 1-2 

133 Cole Minnick RS Fr. Katy, Texas/Thompkins 0-3 -or- Mason Bush RS Fr. Mohawk, N.Y./Central Valley Academy 1-1 

141 Jack Marlow So. East Northport, N.Y./East Northport 1-4 -or- Matt Ryan RS So. Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull (St. Benedict’s Prep) 0-0 

149 Kaleb Burgess RS Fr. Mohawk N.Y./Palmyra-Macedon 2-3 

157 Nick Stampoulus Fr. Newark, N.J./St. Benedict’s 1-4 

165 Noah Grover Gr. Warsaw, N.Y./Warsaw 0-1 

174 –/28/– Jay Nivison RS So. Davison, Mich./Davison 1-1 -or- –/20/– *Marcus Petite RS So. Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway 1-2 

184 –/32/– Giuseppe Hoose RS Sr. Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central (Hofstra) 4-1 

197 Eli Sherren RS Fr. Klein, Texas/Klein 2-1 -or- Sam Mitchell RS Jr. Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield 2-1 

285 Greg Hodulick Gr. Islip, N.Y./Islip (Nassau Community College) 1-3

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kale Petersen has announced that he will be an Iowa Hawkeye. Petersen is a two-time state champion winning a title at Greene County (2A) and at West Fork (1A). Petersen picked the Hawks over Iowa State and Purdue.

Petersen will probably begin his career at 133 for the Hawks. A senior this year at Greene County, Petersen will be a member of the outstanding Recruiting Class of 2023. I have previously stated that the Class of 2023 is the best recruiting class in the history of Iowa Wrestling.

Petersen has been a member of the Sebolt Wrestling Academy for years. SWA has become a pipeline to the Iowa Wrestling program over the last two recruiting classes.

As with all of our incoming recruits I will follow all of Petersen’s matches on my weekly blogs for a preview and follow up with results throughout the season. 

Welcome aboard Kale Petersen.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

InterMat released their new rankings after the first full weekend of college wrestling. The top 4 is the same for both the Tournament and Dual Meet rankings: Penn State, Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio State.

The Hawks are led by #1 ranked Spencer Lee and #2 ranked Real Woods and Jacob Warner. Tony Cassioppi is ranked #4, Max Murin is #7 and Abe Assad at #8. 

Brody Teske took the mat for Iowa at 133 for a win in the season opener against Cal Baptist and is ranked #12. Patrick Kennedy is ranked #13 at the loaded weight of 165. I see Kennedy finishing as an All American this year.

Iowa is on the road with a dual meet at Army in West Point, New York on Thursday. On Friday the Hawks will compete in the Arm Bar at the Armory in Albany, New York with dual meets against Sacred Heart and Buffalo.

November 15 InterMat Rankings

125 Spencer Lee – #1

133 Brody Teske – #12

141 Real Woods – #2

149 Max Murin – #7

157 Cobe Siebrecht – NR

165 Patrick Kennedy – #13

174 Drake Rhodes – NR

184 Abe Assad – #8

197 Jacob Warner – #2

Hwt Tony Cassioppi – #4

Tournament

1. Penn State – 100
2. Iowa – 80
3. Missouri – 66
4. Ohio State – 60

Dual Meet

1. Penn State
2. Iowa
3. Missouri
4. Ohio State

Full rankings: https://intermatwrestle.com/rankings/college

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan..

Go Hawks!

Cullan Schriever and Jace Rhodes won titles at the Luther Open in Decorah, Iowa. Schriever won two tech falls and a decision before defeating Kaden Anderlik (Upper Iowa) by a 13-5 major decision to win the Elite 133 lbs. title. 

In the Silver 133 lbs. class Rhodes won two major decisions and a decision before defeating Dominik Mallinder (Wisconsin-Whitewater) 9-5 for the title. Schriever is a sophomore and Rhodes a true freshman are both from Mason City, Iowa.

Also placing for the Hawks was second place Kolby Franklin (Elite 197), Mickey Griffith – third (Elite 184), Brad Hill – third (Elite Hwt), Gage Marty – third (Silver Hwt), Joe Kelly – fourth (Elite 157), and Easton Fleshman – fifth (Silver Hwt).  

The two divisions  were the Elite and the Silver that was for freshmen.

Luther Open

Elite 133

Champ. Round 1 – Cullan Schriever (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Cullan Schriever (Iowa) won by tech fall over Denis Murphy (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) (TF 21-4)

Quarterfinal – Cullan Schriever (Iowa) won by tech fall over Yousuf Zigan (Luther) (TF 19-2)

Semifinal – Cullan Schriever (Iowa) won by decision over Cade Willis (Augsburg) (Dec 7-5)

1st Place Match – Cullan Schriever (Iowa) won by major decision over Kaden Anderlik (Upper Iowa) (Maj 13-5)

Elite 157

Champ. Round 1 – Joe Kelly (Iowa) won by decision over Dylan Falck (Coe) (Dec 13-6)

Champ. Round 2 – Joe Kelly (Iowa) won by decision over Jackson Rolfs (Upper Iowa) (Dec 6-3)

Quarterfinal – Joe Kelly (Iowa) won by fall over Travis Guzman (Nebraska Wesleyan) (Fall 3:46)

Semifinal – Drake Hayward (Minnesota State Mankato) won by decision over Joe Kelly (Iowa) (Dec 6-2)

3rd Place Match – Chance Throndson (Upper Iowa) won by decision over Joe Kelly (Iowa) (Dec 7-4)

Elite 184

Champ. Round 1 – Mickey Griffith (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Mickey Griffith (Iowa) won by tech fall over Colby Lape (Augustana (IL)) (TF 15-0)

Quarterfinal – Mickey Griffith (Iowa) won by major decision over Thomas Culp (Eureka) (Maj 13-3)

Semifinal – Shane Liegel (Loras) won by decision over Mickey Griffith (Iowa) (Dec 8-3)

3rd Place Match – Mickey Griffith (Iowa) won by decision over Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Augsburg) (Dec 5-4)

Elite 197

Champ. Round 1 – Kolby Franklin (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Kolby Franklin (Iowa) won by fall over Mathieu Arsenault (Coe) (Fall 0:35)

Quarterfinal – Kolby Franklin (Iowa) won by tech fall over Mason Askelsen (Minnesota State Mankato) (TF 15-0)

Semifinal – Kolby Franklin (Iowa) won by major decision over Jared Voss (Coe) (Maj 19-6)

1st Place Match – Beau Yineman (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) won by decision over Kolby Franklin (Iowa) (Dec 9-4)

Elite 285

Champ. Round 1 – Bradley Hill (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Bradley Hill (Iowa) won by fall over Quinn Wilcoxen (Cornell College) (Fall 0:39)

Quarterfinal – Bradley Hill (Iowa) won by decision over Walter West (Luther) (Dec 7-3)

Semifinal – Tyler Kim (Augsburg) won by decision over Bradley Hill (Iowa) (Dec 3-2)

3rd Place Match – Bradley Hill (Iowa) won by medical forfeit over Zach Ryg (Upper Iowa) (MFF)

Silver 133

Champ. Round 1 – Jace Rhodes (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Jace Rhodes (Iowa) won by major decision over Jackson McCormick (Rochester Community & Tech. College) (Maj 14-4)

Quarterfinal – Jace Rhodes (Iowa) won by major decision over Nosa Egbon (Loras) (Maj 15-3)

Semifinal – Jace Rhodes (Iowa) won by decision over Justin Fortugno (Wisconsin-Whitewater) (Dec 8-3)

1st Place Match – Jace Rhodes (Iowa) won by decision over Dominik Mallinder (Wisconsin-Whitewater) (Dec 9-5)

Silver 285

Champ. Round 1 – Gage Marty (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Gage Marty (Iowa) won in sudden victory – 1 over Jordan Lewis (Wisconsin-Whitewater) (SV-1 3-1)

Quarterfinal – Gage Marty (Iowa) won by fall over Kamond Manning (North Iowa Area Community College) (Fall 0:48)

Semifinal – Robert Beese (Augsburg) won by decision over Gage Marty (Iowa) (Dec 1-0)

3rd Place Match – Gage Marty (Iowa) won by major decision over David Pierson (Wartburg) (Maj 10-0)

Silver 285

Champ. Round 1 – Easton Fleshman (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)

Champ. Round 2 – Easton Fleshman (Iowa) won by decision over Landen Schemmel (Cornell College) (Dec 9-3)

Quarterfinal – Reed Parrish (Rochester Community & Tech. College) won by decision over Easton Fleshman (Iowa) (Dec 8-3)

Cons. Round 4 – Easton Fleshman (Iowa) won by decision over Andrew Keeler (Luther) (Dec 1-0)

Cons. Semi – Easton Fleshman (Iowa) won in sudden victory – 1 over Jacob Peacy (Wisconsin-Whitewater) (SV-1 3-1)

5th Place Match – Easton Fleshman (Iowa) won by fall over Cayden Miller (Iowa State) (Fall 2:35)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Members of the Iowa Wrestling team will be competing at the Luther Open on Saturday, November 12. Competition begins at 9 AM at the Regents Center Gymnasium in Decorah, Iowa.

Cullan Schriever (133) and Joe Kelly (157) will be competing unattached in the Elite division. Schriever is in the running for the varsity spot at 133 for the Hawks.

Six true freshmen from the Recruiting Class of 2022 will make their college debut. Mickey Griffith (184), Kolby Franklin (197), and Bradley Hill (Hwt) will be in the Elite division. Jace Rhodes (133), Easton Fleshman (Hwt), and Gage Marty (Hwt) will compete in the Silver Bracket for freshman only. 

FloWrestling will be covering the Luther Open on their premium service. 

The varsity will start their season at home in legendary Carver-Hawkeye Arena against Cal-Baptist at 1:30 on Sunday, November 13.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

It is official. The National Letter of Intents have been received and the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023 is in the books. This is nothing short of an incredible recruiting class. In my opinion the best recruiting class in the history of Iowa Wrestling.

Ben Kueter of Iowa City, Iowa (City High HS) was the first recruit to commit to the Class of 2023 when he committed to Iowa Wrestling and Iowa Football in September of 2021. Kueter is a three-time undefeated state champion in wrestling and a highly ranked recruit at linebacker in football. Kueter is a Butkus Award semi-finalist  for the best high school linebacker in the country. This past summer Kueter won a U20 World freestyle title in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is currently ranked as the #2 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country by Flo.

Kueter is also a standout on the City High baseball team and has competed at a high level on the track team. I stated on this blog last year that Ben Kueter is the best all around athlete for an incoming Iowa wrestler that I have ever seen. He widened the gap for that distinction over the last year. This unique skill set reminds me of World freestyle champion and Super Bowl winning team member Stephen Neal. Kueter is projected to compete at Hwt.

Iowa had a huge recruiting weekend on October 9-10 in 2021. Elite recruit Nate Jesuroga of Pleasant Hill, Iowa was the first to commit that weekend. Jesuroga won a Bronze medal at the 2021 Cadet World Freestyle Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Jesuroga is a two-time state champion for powerhouse Southeast Polk and is ranked #1 in the country at 126 by Flo and #11 P4P by MatScouts. Jesuroga will start his career at 125 and possibly move up later in his career. Everything about Jesuroga make him just what you want to see in the Iowa lineup. Great future.

Ryder Block of Waverly-Shell Rock HS (Iowa) committed to the Hawks the week following the huge recruiting weekend in 2021. Block is a two-time state champion and state runner-up at WSR. This past summer Block shot up the recruiting rankings by winning a Junior National freestyle title in dominating fashion at 138 lbs. 

Block is currently ranked #2 at 138 lbs. nationally. I have stated for over a year that Block has been under rated in the national rankings. I believe this wrestler has some great years in the Black and Gold of the Hawks ahead of him.

Hawk fans got a great New Year’s Day present when elite recruit Gabe Arnold committed to Iowa. Arnold is originally from Kennesaw, Georgia and competed for national powerhouse Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania. Arnold moved to Iowa City this summer and will be a teammate of Kueter at City High this season.

Arnold was a 14U and 16U freestyle and Greco-Roman national champion. Arnold is a powerful wrestler that has a ton of potential. Hawk fans are going to like this recruit and I see him becoming a fan favorite. Arnold has been ranked in the top six nationally and is projected to compete at 174/184.

Cody Chittum of Tennessee committed to the Hawkeye program in July. Chittum is ranked as the #1 overall recruit in the country in the Class of 2023 by FloWrestling and  #2 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country by MatScouts. Chittum won a Junior National Freestyle title in Fargo at 152 lbs. last summer in dominating fashion.

While competing for Blair Academy, Chittum faced the best competition in the country. Chittum is projected to compete at 149/157 for the Hawks. I look for Chittum to contend for the varsity spot at 149 next season as a true freshman. This guy is t-o-u-g-h.

This was an outstanding recruiting class with the first four commitments. The addition of Chittum in my opinion makes the Class of 2023 the best recruiting class in the history of Iowa Wrestling. Four wrestlers ranked in the top 2 and one that has been ranked as high as #3. Factor in one is a World champion and another a World medalist. This is an amazing recruiting class.

As I have done for years I will be posting blogs with upcoming competitions and results for our incoming recruits throughout the upcoming high school season every week. These recruits are now officially Iowa Hawkeyes. I will keep you up to date on all of their matches.

I am looking forward to seeing these elite recruits make their way from “The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world!” and through a tunnel to be met by yet another sellout crowd in legendary Carver-Hawkeye Arena. I will be one of those fans. I cannot wait.

The future looks great for Iowa Wrestling.

Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023

Nate Jesuroga – 125

Ryder Block – 141/149

Cody Chittum – 149/157

Gabe Arnold – 174/184

Ben Kueter – Hwt

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa Wrestling program released dates for their summer camps.  Last year was a sellout. The girls camp shattered any record of number of wrestlers by a long shot.

Register early to take part in these great wrestling camps.

Form Camp Director and Iowa Assistant Wrestling Coach Bobby Telford:

Hello.

It’s that time of year again! Our 2023 camp dates are set! Attached are two of our camp flyers. Please feel free to share with anyone interested in camp. Camp will be held June 18-29 and July 6-10. We have 12-day, 6-day and 4-day camps in June. We also have our Girl’s and Elite camp in July. Our camps will be held at the Xtream Arena in Coralville, IA. Our host hotels will be the Drury, Staybridge and Hyatt.

If you’re interested in coming to camp this year, please register earlier. Camp is limited and will sell out! The hardest part of hosting camp is telling athletes we are full. Registration will begin in January. Athletes will have the option to register as a commuter or overnight camper. New this year, we will have an early registration discount. Please visit our website Iowawrestlingcamps.com for more details and information. You can sign up for our camp interest form on the website to be contacted with details, updates and more information on camp. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. We hope to see you at camp in 2023!

Go Hawks,

Bobby Telford

Ph: 319-335-9404

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Iowa Wrestling wrapped up their intrasquad matches on Friday in the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex. 

The most noticeable match was at 157 where Cobe Siebrecht defeated Caleb Rathjen, 7-0. 157 is a wide open weight for the Hawks this year. I look for this weight to be contested throughout the season but this should make Siebrecht the starter for the season opener. Siebrecht is a junior out of Lisbon, Iowa and is moving up from competing at 149 last season.

Friday results:

Aidan Harris dec. Charles Matthews, 4-1

Brody Teske major dec. Jace Rhodes, 12-4

Cobe Siebrecht dec. Caleb Rathjen, 7-0

Patrick Kennedy major dec. Drake Rhodes, 16-5

Jude Link dec. Carson Martinson, 4-2

Abe Assad dec. Mickey Griffith, 4-1

Jacob Warner dec. Kolby Franklin, 4-2

Tony Cassioppi major dec. Bradley Hill, 10-2

Gage Marty dec. Easton Fleshman, 3-1

Thursday results:

Joel Jesuroga dec. Cade Siebrecht, 3-1

Carter Martinson dec. Sebastian Robles, 6-4

Tony Cassioppi pinned Gage Marty (1:12)

Joel Jesuroga won by injury default Leif Schroeder

Cobe Siebrecht tech. fall Carter Martinson, 19-3

Leif Schroeder dec. Bretli Reyna, 3-1

Drake Rhodes dec. Carson Martinson, 7-2

Bradley Hill major dec. Easton Fleshman, 20-7

Caleb Rathjen major dec. Joe Kelly, 12-3

Bretli Reyna dec. Cade Siebrecht, 5-4

It was announced last week that the home dual meets for the upcoming season in legendary Carver-Hawkeye Arena are a sellout of over 14,000 for the second consecutive year. Hawk fans are more than ready for the upcoming season.

I will keep you up to date should the Hawks enter wrestlers in any early season open tournaments. The college wrestling season kicks off this weekend.

The Hawks open the season Sunday, November 13 with a home dual meet in Carver-Hawkeye Arena against Cal Baptist.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa announced that the new wrestling facility will be named the Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center and the wrestling room will be named after Bob and Kathy Nicolls.

From HawkeyeSports.com:

Shortly after the Iowa men’s wrestling team claimed the 2021 NCAA team title, the Goschkes met Head Coach Tom Brands and Spencer Lee, a three-time NCAA individual champion. It was an experience the Goschkes, of Iowa City, have not forgotten and served as a catalyst for their $7 million gift commitment to the Carver Circle campaign.

“After we met with Coach Brands and Spencer, we immediately gained a greater appreciation of the philosophy of Iowa wrestling,” says Doug. “We saw many similarities between Iowa wrestling and how we raised our family and built our business. It took our passion for Iowa wrestling to a new level, and both Ann and I are thrilled to support Iowa’s wrestlers in this way.”

“Our vision was to build the best training facility in college wrestling,” says Brands. “As Doug and Ann Goschke’s relationship with Iowa athletics grew—and they started to understand our vision—they were 100% on board. They recognized why this project was a must for our program and were eager to get behind it. The Goschkes have helped us reach the finish line. They are great Hawks, and we are proud to have their name on this facility.”

The new 13,000 square foot wrestling room will double the amount of training space and will allow Iowa’s collegiate wrestlers and members of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club to train at the highest level. That space will be named in honor of Bob Nicolls and Kathy Nicolls, of Franktown, Colorado.

Bob Nicolls has been a passionate Iowa wrestling fan since his time as a student, and the couple are generous supporters of Iowa’s track and field and wrestling teams, as well as the UI Department of Accounting. To honor the Nicolls’ $7 million gift to the Carver Circle campaign, the wrestling room will be named in their honor.

“Bob Nicolls got this campaign started,” says Brands. “He stepped up right away, brought others to the table, and never wavered in his commitment and drive to help us get this project done. He’s been the lead volunteer on this project and a great friend to our program and me. We are honored to have the Nicolls’ name on our wrestling room. It can’t be anyone else. That’s how important Bob Nicolls was to getting this campaign done.”

$31 million has been raised for the 38,500 square foot training facility and construction began in June.

I have called the new facility “The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world!” since the beginning years ago. Once this facility is built I am confident it will indeed be just that.

Thank you to the Goschke family and Nicolls family for your support of Iowa Wrestling.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!