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!

Incoming recruit Ben Kueter has been named as the 2023 USA TODAY HSSA National Boys Wrestler of the Year. Iowa recruits Gabe Arnold and Angelo Ferrari were finalists for this award. Kueter and Arnold are in the Recruiting Class of 2023 and Ferrari is in the Class of 2024.

Kueter has won nearly every state and national award possible this 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 with the Iowa Football team preparing for the upcoming season. Even considering how good/great the Iowa defense is I believe we will see Kueter make an immediate impact this year in his true freshman season.

What a great future Ben Kueter has in front of him.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Isabella Mir will represent Team USA at 68 KG at the U20 World Freestyle Championships in Amman, Jordan on August 16-17. The U20 Worlds were originally scheduled to be held in Warsaw, Poland but the change was made due to political issues. 

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.

All of the competition from U20 Worlds will be available on live stream on the FloWrestling premium service.

U20 World Freestyle Championships

Amman, Jordan

*****Times listed are CST

Wednesday, August 16

2 AM – Qualification Rounds (WFS 50-55-59-68-76 kg) 

8:45 AM – Semifinals (WFS 50-55-59-68-76 kg)

Thursday, August 17

2 AM – Repechage (WFS 50-55-59-68-76 kg)

10 AM – Medal Matches and Awards (WFS 50-55-59-68-76 kg)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Dan Erekson has been named as the Director of High Performance at Air Force and the Associate Head Coach of the Air Force Regional Training Center. Erekson will join former Hawkeye All American Joe Johnston who is the Associate Head Coach at Air Force.

Erekson won the Gold at the 2022 Veterans World Championships in Division A in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. After the tournament Erekson announced that he would resume his wrestling career in the Senior division and competed in several international tournaments in the Open division. 

From McCall, Idaho, Erekson was a two-time All American and two-time Big Ten champ for the Hawks and a member of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 NCAA National Championship teams.

Congratulations and best of luck to Dan Erekson.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Hawkeye Wrestling Club has announced they will host a tailgater on Saturday, September 30. Iowa football will host Michigan State for the Big Ten home opener so you can expect an electric crowd in town for the full game day experience.

There will be an open practice before the football game. As an Iowa Wrestling fan, you will be welcomed into the legendary Dan Gable Wrestling Complex in Carver-Hawkeye Arena to watch practice. 

After practice the HWC will host a tailgater in Lot 46 beside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Lot 46 is the lot with the Dan Gable statue and there will be signs posted for the tailgater. The tailgater will continue until kickoff. This will be a great opportunity to meet former Hawkeye greats and members of the HWC.

Kickoff time for the Iowa-Michigan State football game has not been released at this time. I will keep you up to date with the start time of the open practice. 

For more information:

Open Practice & Tailgate Party – Campaign (hawkeyewrestlingclub.com)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club will host the Women’s Wrestling Academy on September 23. This event will offer a great opportunity for fans to get an inside look at the Iowa Women’s Wrestling program. Iowa is the first Power 5 Conference member to have women’s wrestling and will have their first year of competition this season.

Registration is now open.

From iowawomenswrestlingclub.com:

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling Academy will provide an incredible opportunity for you to spend a day (or two) immersed in the world of women’s wrestling. The academy will be a unique educational and fun experience designed for wrestling moms, grandparents, aunts, sisters and fans of the sport. Participants will enjoy exclusive insider-access to athletes and coaches and receive a behind-the-scenes tour of where the Hawkeye women prepare to be the best.

From scoring and strategy to nutrition and video review…to participating in the same daily drills as the athletes, you will learn everything it takes to be a women’s wrestler at Iowa. Your participation in the academy also will lay the foundation to support future athletes of the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club. 

For more information and to register:

Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club – Academy – Events | Iowa City (iowawomenswrestlingclub.com)

For questions you can contact IWWC Board Member Kylee Walker at [email protected]

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!