Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruits put on a display at the Junior Nationals Freestyle Championships in the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota the last three days.  Of the eleven future Hawks that entered the tournament, four of them won national titles, one was a national runner up and another placed fourth. That is real impressive.

It was not only that the incoming Iowa recruits won a national title, but how they dominated their competition at such a high level.

Nate Jesuroga returned to 120 and was as dominant as any wrestler competing in Fargo this week by rolling to the title. What a future Jesuroga has with the Hawks.

This was the huge breakout performance on the national level that I have been waiting for with Ryder Block rolling to the title at 138. I have been saying that Block is underrated. He certainly will not be after this performance.

Aiden Riggins capped off his high school career with a national title at 160. Riggins looks to be ready for the next level right now. At 220 it was an All-Iowa final with future teammates squaring off. Brad Hill defeated Kolby Franklin for the title. Joel Jesuroga battled back through the consolations to place fourth at 145.

The only remaining competition for our recruits this season will be Ben Kueter, from Iowa City (City HS). He will represent Team USA at 97kg at the 2022 U20 World Freestyle Championships in Sophie, Bulgaria on August 15-16. Kueter is in the Recruiting Class of 2023.

Nate Jesuroga – 120  National Champion

Jace Rhodes – 132  DNP

Ryder Block – 138  National Champion

Joel Jesuroga – 145  4th place

Carter Martinson – 152  DNP

Aiden Riggins – 160  National Champion

Carson Martinson – 160  DNP

Drake Rhodes – 170  DNP

Brad Hill – 220  National Champion

Kolby Franklin – 220  National Runner-Up

Easton Fleshman – Hwt  DNP

Nate Jesuroga and Ryder Block are in the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023. The remaining wrestlers are in the Class of 2022 and will enroll at Iowa this fall.

Drake Rhodes is from Montana. The remaining recruits were all competing for Team Iowa.

Iowa Assistant Coach Ryan Morningstar was a coach for Team Iowa.

The future looks great for Iowa Wrestling.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The largest wrestling tournament in the world is taking place in the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota. This is a tournament of epic proportions that is a showcase of our present and future in the great sport of wrestling in our country.

11 Iowa Wrestling recruits will be in action in the Junior division that started this morning with the finals on Tuesday afternoon. Unlike other tournaments without seedings in place you can have great matchups right away in round one.

You can always count on the competition to be at a high level for this tournament.

Nate Jesuroga – 120

Jace Rhodes – 132

Ryder Block – 138

Joel Jesuroga – 145

Carter Martinson – 152

Aiden Riggins and Carson Martinson – 160

Drake Rhodes – 170

Kolby Franklin and Brad Hill – 220

Easton Fleshman – Hwt

Nate Jesuroga is the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023. The remaining wrestlers are in the Class of 2022 and will enroll at Iowa this fall.

Drake Rhodes is from Montana. The remaining recruits are all competing for Team Iowa.

Iowa Assistant Coach Ryan Morningstar is a coach for Team Iowa.

Best of luck to all of our incoming Iowa Hawkeye wrestlers.

Full coverage of all the wrestling in Fargo is available on FloWrestling.

The future looks great for Iowa Wrestling.

Junior National Freestyle Schedule:

Sunday, July 17

Preliminaries and Consolation: 8 AM

Preliminaries and Consolation:  4:30 PM

Monday, July 18

Round of 16 and Quarterfinal: 9 AM

Semifinals and Consolation Semifinal: 4:30 PM

Tuesday, July 19

Finals and Consolation Finals: 1 PM

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruit Ben Kueter rolled to a 97kg/213 lbs. Gold medal at the U20 Pan American Championships in Oaxtepec, Mexico on Sunday. Kueter won a 10-0 tech fall over Pereira of Canada in the first round and a 10-0 teck fall over Nazareno of Ecuador in the second round.

In the finals Kueter has a 4-0 lead before pinning Jacobo of Mexico for the Gold.

Team USA won a Gold at every weight for the U20 division.

Kueter, from Iowa City (City HS), Iowa, will represent Team USA at the 2022 U20 World Freestyle Championships in Sophie, Bulgaria on August 15-16.

Kueter will be a senior this fall at City High and is a member of the outstanding Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023. He committed to both Iowa Wrestling and Football last September and is a rare athlete with an outstanding future in both wrestling and football.

Congratulations to Ben Kueter for winning the Pan American Gold medal.

97 kg: Ben Kueter – GOLD

WIN Samuel Pereira (Canada), 10-0

WIN Jean Paul Nazareno (Ecuador), 10-0

WIN Adrian Zapata Jacobo (Mexico), fall

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruit Ben Kueter rolled to a 97kg/213 lbs. Gold medal at the U20 Pan American Championships in Oaxtepec, Mexico on Sunday. Kueter won a 10-0 tech fall over Pereira of Canada in the first round and a 10-0 tech fall over Nazareno of Ecuador in the second round.

In the finals Kueter had a 4-0 lead before pinning Jacobo of Mexico for the Gold.

Team USA won a Gold at every weight for the U20 division.

Kueter, from Iowa City (City HS), Iowa, will represent Team USA at the 2022 U20 World Freestyle Championships in Sophie, Bulgaria on August 15-16.

Kueter will be a senior this fall at City High and is a member of the outstanding Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023. He committed to both Iowa Wrestling and Football last September and is a rare athlete with an outstanding future in both wrestling and football.

Congratulations to Ben Kueter for winning the Pan American Gold medal.

97 kg: Ben Kueter – GOLD

WIN Samuel Pereira (Canada), 10-0

WIN Jean Paul Nazareno (Ecuador), 10-0

WIN Adrian Zapata Jacobo (Mexico), fall

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa Wrestling recruit Ben Kueter rolled to a 97kg/213 lbs. Gold medal at the U20 Pan American Championships in Oaxtepec, Mexico on Sunday. Kueter won a 10-0 tech fall over Pereira of Canada in the first round and a 10-0 tech fall over Nazareno of Ecuador in the second round.

In the finals Kueter had a 4-0 lead before pinning Jacobo of Mexico for the Gold.

Team USA won a Gold at every weight for the U20 division.

Kueter, from Iowa City (City HS), Iowa, will represent Team USA at the 2022 U20 World Freestyle Championships in Sophie, Bulgaria on August 15-16.

Kueter will be a senior this fall at City High and is a member of the outstanding Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2023. He committed to both Iowa Wrestling and Football last September and is a rare athlete with an outstanding future in both wrestling and football.

Congratulations to Ben Kueter for winning the Pan American Gold medal.

97 kg: Ben Kueter – GOLD

WIN Samuel Pereira (Canada), 10-0

WIN Jean Paul Nazareno (Ecuador), 10-0

WIN Adrian Zapata Jacobo (Mexico), fall

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The first college rankings of the year are on the board from InterMat. Rankings this time of year? Gotta love it. The upcoming 2022-2023 college wrestling season is something to look forward to as an Iowa Wrestling fan. 

The headline of the upcoming season will be the return of Spencer Lee as he pursues his fourth NCAA title. An online picture this spring showed Lee looking bigger and stronger. His return at 125 will be a huge boost for the Hawks.

Iowa lost a lot of seniors that graduated from last year’s team. The Iowa room is full of talented wrestlers and more are on the way for recruits. 

There is a lot to look forward to for the new season. The Iowa Women’s team will begin this year with their first year of official competition to begin next season. Add in that ground was broke on the new Iowa Wrestling facility last week, “The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world” and there is a lot to be excited about.

A quick look at the rankings shows Iowa at #2. That is never the goal for Iowa Wrestling but for a reloading year that is a pretty darned good place to start. The combination of a strong core of returning All Americans, elite recruits, and the addition of Real Woods will make the Hawks a title contender this year. 

The most open weight for Iowa is 157. I look for a dogfight for this starting spot that may not be decided until Big Tens. Whoever emerges at this weight will be scoring points at Nationals for the Hawks.

I am especially looking forward to the emergence of Patrick Kennedy at 165. This weight has the potential to be nothing short of epic with the level of competition. I mean one of the best weight classes of all-time type of epic. 

The potential showdown with NCAA champ David Carr in the Iowa-Iowa State dual meet in December will let us know pretty quickly where Kennedy is at on the national scene at a very loaded weight.

The BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma will host the 2023 NCAA National Wrestling Championships on March 16-18.

I am always saying that Iowa Wrestling is my entertainment. I plan on being entertained this season.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

InterMat rankings

Tournament:

1. Penn State – 99 points
2. Iowa – 73
3. Arizona State – 63.5
4. Ohio State – 59

Dual meet:

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

125 – Spencer Lee: #1

133 – Cullan Shriever: #14

141 – Real Woods: #2

149 – Max Murin: #8

157 – Bretli Reyna: #33

165 – Patrick Kennedy: #17

174 – Nelson Brands: #16

184 – Abe Assad: #13

197 – Jacob Warner: #3

Hwt – Tony Cassioppi: #4

Complete Intermat Rankings: https://intermatwrestle.com/rankings/college/125?

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Cullan Schriever was named to the 2022 spring semester president’s list for the University of Iowa. Schriever has been named for this honor in each of his two years at Iowa. He has also been named Academic All Big Ten and to the Dean’s List.

The requirements for this honor is to have a 4.0 GPA as a full time student on all academic subjects for the 2021 fall semester.

Schriever was a three-time state champion and highly ranked recruit out of Mason City, Iowa in the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2020. He will be a redshirt sophomore for the upcoming season.

Schriever looks to be the preseason favorite for the 133 lbs. varsity spot for the 2022-2023 Iowa Wrestling team.

Congratulations to Cullan Schriever for this honor.

Another example of Iowa Wrestling getting it done on the mat and in the classroom.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Future Iowa Hawkeyes looked great this weekend in leading Team Iowa to a second consecutive team title at Junior Duals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The six Iowa Wrestling recruits went a combined 35-1 against top competition from around the country.

Iowa defeated Ohio 47-14 in the finals. 

At 120 Nate Jesuroga led the way by going 8-0 with seven tech falls and outscored his opponents 75-0. Ryder Block was 5-1 at 138 with four tech falls and a fall. Joel Jesuroga was 6-0 with two tech falls. At 160 Aiden Riggins was 7-0 with four tech falls. 

Kolby Franklin was 7-0 with seven tech falls with five matches at 195 and two at 220. Franklin outscored his seven opponents 74-3. Ben Kueter was 2-0 with two falls with a match at 220 and Hwt.

This was a real impressive showing by our incoming recruits.

Joel Jesuroga, Riggins, and Franklin are in the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2022. Nate Jesuroga, Block, and Kueter are in the Class of 2023.

The future looks great for Iowa Wrestling.

Iowa Assistant Coach Ryan Morningstar was on the coaching staff.

Next up will be Cadet and Junior Nationals in Fargo in July.

120 – Nate Jesuroga

Nathanael Jesuroga (Iowa) over Cooper Shore (Ohio Scarlet) TF 10-0

Nathanael Jesuroga (Iowa) over Marcelo Pozo (Virginia) TF 10-0

Nathanael Jesuroga (Iowa) over Anthony Isek (Colorado) TF 10-0

Nathanael Jesuroga (Iowa) over Kaleb Marciszewski (Washington) TF 10-0

Nathanael Jesuroga (Iowa) over Massey Odiotti (Illinois) TF 10-0

Nathanael Jesuroga (Iowa) over Sam Smith (Oklahoma Blue) TF 11-0

Nathanael Jesuroga (Iowa) over Alan Koehler (Minnesota Gold) TF 10-0

Nathanael Jesuroga (Iowa) over Marcus Blaze (Ohio) Dec 5-0

138 – Ryder Block

Ryan Bennett (Ohio Scarlet) over Ryder Block (Iowa) Fall 3:58

Ryder Block (Iowa) over Emilio Trujillo-Deen (Colorado) TF 15-2

Ryder Block (Iowa) over Smokey McClure (Washington) TF 11-0

Ryder Block (Iowa) over Nasir Bailey (Illinois) TF 14-4

Ryder Block (Iowa) over Cash Raymond (Minnesota Gold) TF 10-0

Ryder Block (Iowa) over Ismael Ayoub (Ohio) TF 10-0

145 – Joel Jesuroga

Joel Jesuroga (Iowa) over Samuel Cartella (Ohio Scarlet) Dec 3-1

Joel Jesuroga (Iowa) over Max Apsel (Virginia) TF 10-0

Joel Jesuroga (Iowa) over Dustin Baxter (Washington) TF 11-0

Joel Jesuroga (Iowa) over Noah Manuel Tapia (Illinois) Dec 7-1

Joel Jesuroga (Iowa) over Jace Roller (Oklahoma Blue) Dec 10-1

Joel Jesuroga (Iowa) forfeit over (Ohio)

160 – Aiden Riggins

Aiden Riggins (Iowa) over Christopher Earnest (Ohio Scarlet) TF 10-0

Aiden Riggins (Iowa) over Cooper Lockhart (Virginia) TF 12-0

Aiden Riggins (Iowa) over Aydin Rix McElhinney (Colorado) TF 10-0

Aiden Riggins (Iowa) over Thor Michaelson (Washington) Dec 3-2

Aiden Riggins (Iowa) over Chris Moore (Illinois) TF 10-0

Aiden Riggins (Iowa) over Jordan Williams (Oklahoma Blue) Dec 9-8

Aiden Riggins (Iowa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

Aiden Riggins (Iowa) over Antwuan Burns (Ohio) TF 10-0

195 – Kolby Franklin

Kolby Franklin (Iowa) over Coen Grimm (Ohio Scarlet) TF 10-0

Kolby Franklin (Iowa) over Xavier Williams (Virginia) TF 11-0

Kolby Franklin (Iowa) over Dylan Bravo-Parker (Colorado) TF 10-0

Kolby Franklin (Iowa) over Donald Schmidt (Washington) TF 10-0

Kolby Franklin (Iowa) over Jersey Robb (Oklahoma Blue) TF 10-0

220 – Kolby Franklin (Iowa) over Max Balow (Minnesota Gold) TF 13-3

220 – Kolby Franklin (Iowa) over Carter Neves (Ohio) TF 10-0

220 – Ben Keuter

(Hwy) Ben Kueter (Iowa) over Hayden Simpson (Oklahoma Blue) Fall 1:07

(220) Ben Kueter (Iowa) over Logan Shephard (Ohio) Fall 1:22

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Incoming Iowa Hawkeye recruits will be in action this weekend at Junior Duals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is always a good tournament with competition from around the country. Dual meets begin at 8 AM on Friday and 9 AM on Saturday. Team Iowa won their first title since 2005 last year and will be looking to defend the title with a strong looking team.

Iowa recruits for Team Iowa:

120 – Nate Jesuroga

138 – Ryder Block

145 – Joel Jesuroga

160 – Aiden Riggins

195 – Kolby Franklin

220 – Ben Keuter

Joel Jesuroga, Riggins, and Franklin are in the Iowa Wrestling Recruiting Class of 2022. Nate Jesuroga, Block, and Kueter are in the Class of 2023.

Iowa Assistant Coach Ryan Morningstar will be on the coaching staff.

Junior Duals will be streamed live on the premium service for FloWreslting.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

It was a great performance for Iowa Wrestling in Geneva, Ohio. Tony Cassioppi and Patrick Kennedy won titles at the U23 World Team Trials. Cassioppi rolled to the 125 kg finals where he defeated Zack Elam (Tiger Style Wrestling) 2-0 in a best of three format by scores of 11-4 and 13-2. Cassioppi is the defending U23 World Champion at 125 kg.

Patrick Kennedy looked real tough in winning the title at 74kg. Kennedy defeated Peyton Hall (Mountaineer Wrestling Club) 8-3 and 5-0 to win the best of three finals. Kennedy is an elite recruit that is set to step into the lineup at 165 for the Hawks this year with four years of eligibility remaining.

Abe Assad (86kg) and Brennan Swafford (79kg) placed third, Cobe Siebrecht (70kg) placed fourth and Drew Bennett (65kg) did not place. With this impressive performance the Hawkeye Wrestling Club won the team title for the U23 WTT.

The U23 World Freestyle Championships are in Pontevedra, Spain on October 22-23. 

A special mention is needed for the showing that Siebrecht and Swafford had this weekend. Their performance really influences the landscape for the starting lineup for the upcoming season. It was also great to see Abe Assad back in action competing at that high of a level. A healthy Abe Assad can have a big year in 2023 for the Hawks.

Iowa Wrestling is going to be better this year than most may be thinking here in early June. This weekend was a big boost of confidence and excitement for me in the Iowa Wrestling program.

Great job Iowa Wrestling.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!