HWC Social in Ames before Iowa-Iowa State dual meet

The Hawkeye Wrestling Club will have a pre-match social on Sunday, December 5 in Ames, Iowa before the Iowa-Iowa State wrestling meet.  Jethro’s BBQ Steak n’ Chop will host the HWC Social starting at 3 PM. Jethro’s is at 1301 Buckeye Ave. in Ames.  

The Iowa-Iowa State dual meet is at 6 PM in Hilton Coliseum.  

Jethro’s has been the host of an I-Club social before Iowa-Iowa State meets in the past and always draw a big crowd of Iowa Wrestling fans.

I am expecting a large crowd at the HWC Social and a lot of Black and Gold cheering on the Hawks in Hilton.

Upcoming HWC Socials:

https://www.hawkeyewrestlingclub.com/hwc-socials/

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Jace Rhodes season preview

Jace Rhodes of Mason City, Iowa was yet another recruit to commit to the Hawks after the huge recruiting weekend of October 9-10. Rhodes was a state runner-up as a freshman and placed fifth the last two years. 

Rhodes won a Junior state freestyle title at 132 lbs. last season and is a member of the outstanding Recruiting Class of 2022. He is projected to compete at 141.

Rhodes comes from a strong wrestling family and is a prototypical Iowa high school product that will train, work, and compete hard. Rhodes will join former Mason City teammate Cullen Schriever in the Hawkeye program.

We have a lot to follow this season with 13 incoming recruits competing all across the country. I will do my best to bring you results this season for all of our incoming recruits right here on my blog. 

The future looks great for Iowa Wrestling.

 

2021-22 Mason City Wrestling Schedule

Thursday, Dec 2  at Des Moines Roosevelt 

Saturday, Dec 4 at Keith Young (Cedar Falls)

Saturday, Dec 11  at Johnston Invitational

Thursday, Dec 16  Marshalltown/Ankeny Centennial

Saturday, Dec 18 at Ft. Dodge Invitational

Thursday, Jan 6 at Ames  

Saturday Jan 8 at Flanigan Invitational (Crestwood) 

Thursday, Jan 13 at Ft. Dodge

Saturday, Jan 15 at Bob Sharpe Invitational (Ankeny)

Tuesday, Jan 18  Clear Lake

Thursday, Jan 20  Ankeny

Friday, Jan 28 at CIML Conference Tournament (Johnston)

Thursday, Feb 3  Southeast Polk

Saturday, Feb 12 at Districts (Marshalltown)

Th-Sat Feb 17-19 at State Tournament (Des Moines)

 

Jace Rhodes

Mason City, Iowa

2nd, 5th and 5th at State

138 lbs.

 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

 

Four Hawks win titles at Harold Nichols Open

Four University of Iowa wrestlers won titles at the Harold Nichols Open in Ames on Sunday. Patrick Kennedy and Aaron Costello won titles in the Open division. Kennedy had a first period pin and a tech fall before defeating Isaac Judge of Iowa State by a 20-3 tech fall in the semifinals. Judge was the varsity wrestler at 165 for Iowa State in their opening dual meet. In the finals Kennedy won by a Medical Forfeit over Austin Yant of UNI.

After two decisions Costello defeated Ethan Anderson of Iowa State 10-3 in the finals for the title at Hwt. Anderson defeated Carter Isley of UNI in the semifinals. Brennan Swafford placed second at 174.

Cullan Schriever advanced to the semifinals at 133 before withdrawing from the tournament. Vince Turk and Bretli Reyna won their first round match at 149 and then withdrew from the tournament. Joe Kelly did not place at 165.

Drake Ayala (125) and Wyatt Henson (141) won titles in the Fresh/Soph division. After two first period pins Ayala defeated Conor Knopick of Iowa State 16-8 in the finals. Henson started with a first round tech fall and a 9-3 decision in the semifinals. In the finals Henson won by Medical Forfeit over Drew Woodley of Iowa State. 

Charles Matthews (133) and Sebastian Robles (157) placed third. Andrew Simaz (184) did not place.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Kolby Franklin season preview

Iowa went into the heart of Pennsylvania to get elite recruit Kolby Franklin.  Franklin’s home town of Dubois, PA is only 59 miles from State College, the home of Penn State. This recruit has a level of physicality, skill set, toughness and athleticism that will make him a force as a freshman. Franklin is in the outstanding Recruiting Class of 2022 and will compete at 197.

Franklin attends national powerhouse Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School in Kingston, Pennsylvania. SEM will compete against as tough of competition as any high school program in the country this season. The tournaments SEM will compete at in December is the best of the best.  I hope that Franklin is the first of several SEM wrestlers to make their way to Iowa City to be a Hawkeye.

This past weekend Franklin won the 197 lbs. title at the Mat Town College Open at Lock Haven (PA). After 8-2 and 5-2 decisions, Franklin won by an 18-3 tech fall over Ethan Weatherspoon of Virginia in the finals. Not bad for a high schooler. This is a recruit that Iowa fans are going to really like.

We have a lot to follow this season with 13 incoming recruits competing all across the country. I will do my best to bring you results this season for all of our incoming recruits right here on my blog. 

The future looks great for Iowa Wrestling.

 

2021-22 Wyoming Seminary Wrestling Schedule

Sat Dec 4  FOSW Tournament

Fri/Sat, Dec 10-11 at Walsh Ironman

Fri/Sat, Dec 18-19 at Beast of East (Newark, Delaware)

Wed/Thurs, Dec 29-30 at Powerade (Canonsburg, PA)

Friday, Jan 7 at Bergen Catholic

Sat, Jan 8 at Bissell (Hill)

Fri/Sat, Jan 14-15 at Eastern States

Friday, Jan 21  Blair Academy

Saturday, Jan 22 at Prep Squad-Montgomery Tournament

Tuesday, Feb 1 – at Williamsport Area

Saturday, Feb 5 Delbarton School

Fri/Sat, Feb 11/12 at Melle on the Metro VI (Washington D.C.)

Fri/Sat, Feb 18-19 at PAISWT (Malvern Prep)

Fri/Sat, Feb 25-26 at National Preps

 

*National Rankings by Willie Saylor of MatScouts.

 

Kolby Franklin

Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania

State runner-up

Cadet Freestyle and Greco-Roman champion

#5 at 197

 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

 

It will be Iowa-Army on Sunday, November 28

There has been a change of plans Iowa Wrestling fans. Originally Iowa was to meet Oregon State today (Saturday) at 2 PM. Due to a conflict in travel the meet was moved to Sunday. Now the Iowa-Oregon State dual meet has been cancelled. Oregon State was unable to make the trip.

Iowa will now face Army at 2 PM on Sunday, November 28th in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Army is in the area competing against Iowa State in a dual meet today (Saturday) and will then travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawks. First of all, thank you Army for a lot of reasons. One being that they took this dual meet on short notice. 

I have been following Army the last several seasons because former Iowa wrestler Ned Shuck has been an Assistant Coach. Shuck left Army to be the new head coach at Bellarmine University in July. Army has some tough wrestlers with six rated in the top 29 in the country.

Army dropped a 32-7 dual meet at Penn State on November 18. Army won matches at 141 where #26 Corey Shie defeated Brandon Merideth 5-2 and at 157 where #29 Markus Hartman defeated Terrell Barraclough by a 9-0 major decision. In close matches at 149 #21 Beau Barlett of Penn State defeated #22 P.J. Ogunsanya 3-1 (SV). At 165 #32 Creighton Edsell of Penn State defeated Christian Hunt by a 4-3 decision.

We should have a huge crowd in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday. I am looking forward to it.

 

#1 IOWA HAWKEYES (1-0, 0-0 BIG TEN) 2021-22 Overall

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

125 Jesse Ybarra *Fr. Tucson, Arizona/Sunnyside 4-0

133 #3 Austin DeSanto Sr. Exeter, Pennsylvania/Exeter (Drexel) 5-0

141 #2 Jaydin Eierman Sr. Columbia, Missouri/Father Tolton (Missouri) 4-0

149 Cobe Siebrecht So. Lisbon, Iowa/Lisbon 5-0

157 #8 Kaleb Young Sr. Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania/Punxsutawney 4-1

165 #1 Alex Marinelli Sr. Miamisburg, Ohio/St. Paris Graham 5-0

174 #2 Michael Kemerer Sr. Murrysville, Pennsylvania/Franklin Regional 0-0

-or #13 (184) Nelson Brands Jr. Iowa City, Iowa/West 1-0

184 Myles Wilson Sr. Junction, Colorado/Glenwood Spring 1-0

-or- Abe Assad So. Carol Stream, Illinois/Glenbard North 3-1

197 #3 Jacob Warner Sr. Tolono, Illinois/Washington Community 3-0

-or- Zach Glazier So. Albert Lea, Minnesota/Albert Lea 3-1

285 #7 Tony Cassioppi Jr. Roscoe, Illinois/Honoegah 0-1

 

 

ARMY WEST POINT 

125    Ryan Chauvin     Jr.    Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep    

133    Mark Montgomery    So.    Roselle Park, N.J./Roselle Park    

141    #26 Corey Shie    Sr.    Fairfield, Ohio/La Salle    

149    #22 P.J. Ogunsanya    Sr.    River Forest, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest    

157    #29 Markus Hartman    Sr.    Barrington, Ill./Barrington   

165    Christian Hunt   Jr.    Yorktown, Ind.   

174    #24 Ben Pasiuk    So.    Carrollton, Ohio/Carrollton    

184    #29 Brad Laughlin    Sr.    Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown    

197    #20 J.T. Brown    Sr.    Elyria, Ohio/Elyria   

285    Ben Sullivan    Sr.    New Paris, Ohio/National Trail    

 

*Rankings by InterMat.

 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

 

Season preview for Mickey Griffith

Mickey Griffith of Des Moines Lincoln committed to Iowa over the huge recruiting weekend of Oct 9-10. Iowa went on a roll from that recruiting weekend and received commitments from several instate recruits. A state runner-up at 170 as a sophomore, Griffith won a state title at 182 last season. He is projected at 174/184 in college and is in the outstanding Recruiting Class of 2022.

Griffith is currently ranked #17 nationally at 182 lbs. by Willie Saylor of MatScouts.

Griffith is a hard-nosed tough competitor and a product of Iowa high school wrestling. That has been the formula for success at Iowa Wrestling for decades.

We have a lot to follow this season with 13 incoming recruits competing all across the country. I will do my best to bring you results this season for all of our incoming recruits right here on my blog. 

The future looks great for Iowa Wrestling.

 

2021-22 Des Moines Lincoln Wrestling Schedule

Thursday, Dec 2  Johnston 

Fri/Sat, Dec 3-4 at Independence Invitational

Thursday, Dec 9  at Waukee

Fri/Sat, Dec 11-12  at Saydel Invitational

Thursday, Dec 16  Ottumwa

Thursday, Jan 6 at Interstate 35  

Saturday Jan 8 at Ottumwa Invitational 

Thursday, Jan 13 at DM North

Saturday, Jan 15 at Bob Sharpe Invitational (Ankeny)

Thursday, Jan 20 at DM Roosevelt

Saturday, Jan 22  DM Lincoln Duals

Friday, Jan 28 at CIML Conference Tournament (Johnston)

Thursday, Feb 3 at WDM Valley

Saturday, Feb 12 at Districts (Johnston)

Th-Sat Feb 17-19 at State Tournament (Des Moines)

 

*National Rankings by Willie Saylor of MatScouts.

Mickey Griffith

Des Moines Lincoln HS, Iowa

State champion, state runner-up

#17 at 182 lbs.

 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Season preview for Ben Kueter

Ben Kueter started it all off for the epic recruiting run that Iowa Wrestling had this fall.  Kueter committed to both Iowa Wrestling and Iowa Football on September 19. That is a very rare thing in today’s world of specialization. Kueter is just a junior and in the Recruiting Class of 2023.

As I stated in an earlier blog I have never seen anything quite like Ben Kueter. I went through all of the former Iowa wrestlers that I know and Kueter is the best all around athlete of them all at this time. Kueter just finished the football season as the leader in 5A (Iowa’s biggest schools) as the state leader in tackles and tackles for loss and by a large margin in both. He also is very good as a receiver. 

Add in he was in a Drake Relays runner-up relay and a starter for a sub-state baseball team and you have an athlete with a lot of options. If anyone can make it in both elite football and wrestling, Kueter is it. I am just glad that Kueter will be a Hawkeye.

Speaking of wrestling Kueter is an undefeated two-time state champion at City High (Iowa City, Iowa). He won a state title at 160 as a freshman and at 195 last season as a sophomore. He placed second at Junior Nationals at 220 last summer. At 6’3” and 220 lbs. right now Kueter will likely compete at Hwt in college. I can see Kueter wrestling in the Olympics or playing in the NFL depending on the path he chooses. The sky is the limit with this guy.

We have a lot to follow this season with 13 incoming recruits competing all across the country. I will do my best to bring you results this season for all of our incoming recruits right here on my blog. 

The future looks great for Iowa Wrestling.

 

2021-22 Iowa City High Wrestling Schedule

Fri/Sat, Dec 3-4 at Dan Gable Donnybrook (Coralville)

Thursday Dec 9  Washington

Sat Dec 11, 2021 at Saydel Invitational

Thursday Dec 16  at Western Dubuque

Fri/Sat Dec 17-18 at Battle of Waterloo

Wednesday Dec 22 at Iowa City West

Thursday Jan 6  Prairie

Sat Jan 8 at Jack Mendenhall Invitational (Ames)

Thursday Jan 13  at Liberty

Saturday, Jan 15 at J-Hawk Invitational (Cedar Rapids)

Thursday Jan 20  at Linn-Mar

Saturday, Jan 22  Bean City Duals

Thursday Jan 27  Dubuque Wahlert

Saturday, Jan 29 at Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament (CR Jeff)

Tuesday, Feb 8, 2022 at Regional Duals 

Saturday, Feb 12  Districts (City High) 

Thur-Sat Feb 17-19 at State (Des Moines) 

 

*National Rankings by Willie Saylor of MatScouts.

Ben Kueter

City High HS, Iowa

2X undefeated state champion

Junior National runner-up

#4 at 220 lbs.

 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

 

Oregon State preview

The Iowa-Oregon State dual meet has been cancelled.

Iowa will now face Army at 2 PM on Sunday, November 28 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Top ranked Iowa will host Oregon State at 2 PM on Sunday. The meet was originally scheduled for Saturday but due to a traveling conflict the meet will now be on Sunday. The Hawks opened the dual meet season with a 32-12 win over #22 Princeton last Friday night. Iowa won seven of ten bouts in front of the first home crowd since February 23, 2020. 

Oregon State has seven wrestlers ranked in the top 26 in the country. Their highest ranked wrestler is Grant Willits at 141 who is ranked 13th in the country. Oregon State enters the dual meet with a 1-2 record. Oregon State defeated Campbell 23-12. They dropped dual meets to Lehigh (21-12) and to #2 ranked Penn State (32-7). Against Penn State they won matches at 125 and 157.

Jesse Ybarra will get the nod again at 125. Ybarra was in the lineup last weekend but received a forfeit. DeSanto (133) and Eierman (141) are set to go. Cobe Siebrecht is again listed at 149. Seibrecht had a very impressive debut on the varsity squad against Princeton with a first period 16-1 tech fall in just 2:25.

Young (157) and Marinelli (165) are in the lineup. Michael Kemerer and Nelson Brands are listed at 174. It sounds as though we will see the season premier of second ranked Kemerer. At 184 both Myles Wilson and Abe Assad are listed. Wilson looked great in scoring a 23-8 tech fall against Princeton while Assad won an extra match. 

Jacob Warner and Zach Glazier are both listed at 197. Glazier competed against Princeton. I am hoping Warner is ready to go. Cassippii will look to get back on track at Hwt.

The dual meet will be streamed live on B1Gt.

#1 IOWA HAWKEYES (1-0, 0-0 BIG TEN) 2021-22 Overall
Wt. Rank^ Name Yr. Hometown/High School Record
125 Jesse Ybarra *Fr. Tucson, Arizona/Sunnyside 4-0
133 3/3/3 Austin DeSanto Sr. Exeter, Pennsylvania/Exeter (Drexel) 5-0
141 2/2/2 Jaydin Eierman Sr. Columbia, Missouri/Father Tolton (Missouri) 4-0
149 Cobe Siebrecht So. Lisbon, Iowa/Lisbon 5-0
157 9/8/8 Kaleb Young Sr. Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania/Punxsutawney 4-1
165 1/1/1 Alex Marinelli Sr. Miamisburg, Ohio/St. Paris Graham 5-0
174 2/2/2 Michael Kemerer Sr. Murrysville, Pennsylvania/Franklin Regional 0-0
-or- –/13/– (184) Nelson Brands Jr. Iowa City, Iowa/West 1-0
184 Myles Wilson Sr. Junction, Colorado/Glenwood Spring 1-0
-or- 18/–/– Abe Assad So. Carol Stream, Illinois/Glenbard North 3-1
197 3/3/3 Jacob Warner Sr. Tolono, Illinois/Washington Community 3-0
-or- Zach Glazier So. Albert Lea, Minnesota/Albert Lea 3-1
285 5/7/5 Tony Cassioppi Jr. Roscoe, Illinois/Honoegah 0-1

OREGON STATE BEAVERS (1-2, 0-0 PAC 12) 2021-22 Overall
Wt. Rank^ Name Yr. Hometown Record
125 –/26/– Brandon Kaylor So. Bonney Lake, Washington/Bonney Lake 2-1
133 –/20/20 Devan Turner Sr. Dixon, California/Dixon 3-2
141 13/13/11 Grant Willits Jr. Pueblo, Colorado/Pueblo County 4-2
149 –/32/– Cory Crooks Gr. Anthem, Arizona/Boulder Creek 3-3
157 18/17/14 Hunter Willits Jr. Pueblo Colorado/Pueblo County 4-2
165 Matthew Olguin *Fr. Fresno, California/Buchanan 2-4
174 –/23/– Mateo Olmos Jr. Imperial Beach, California/Mater Dei Catholic 2-1
184 Jackson McKinney So. Vancouver, Washington/Skyview 2-2
197 JJ Dixon So. Tacoma, Washington/Lincoln 1-5
285 –/–/21 Gary Traub Gr. Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore 2-4

^WIN/Intermat/FLO
*redshirt

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Season preview for Riggins and Block

Iowa Wrestling has two top recruits coming in from Waverly-Shell Rock. When you have talent like Aiden Riggins and Ryder Block in your state you have to keep them home. The Hawks did just that. Riggins has already signed his National Letter of Intent for the Class of 2022 and Block is in the Class of 2023.

Riggins looks ready to go for college right now. I feel as though Block is underrated nationally and also has a lot of potential for Iowa Wrestling. 

The Cedar Valley has been producing talented wrestlers for generations. It is great to see my home state of Iowa producing Division I talent like Riggins and Block once again. The foundation of Iowa Wrestling has always been recruits from Iowa.

We have a lot to follow this season with 13 incoming recruits competing all across the country. I will do my best to bring you results this season for all of our incoming recruits right here on my blog. 

The future looks great for Iowa Wrestling.

 

2021-22 Waverly-Shell Rock Wrestling Schedule

Thursday Dec 2 at West Delaware

Fri/Sat, Dec 3-4 at Dan Gable Donnybrook (Coralville)

Thursday Dec 9  at Waukon

Sat Dec 11 at Johnston Invite

Thursday Dec 16  Crestwood

Fri/Sat Dec 17-18 at Battle of Waterloo

Thursday Jan 6 at Decorah

Fri/Sat Jan 7-8 at The Clash (Rochester, MN)

Thursday Jan 13  Charles City

Saturday, Jan 15 at Bob Sharpe Invitational (Ankeny)

Thursday Jan 20  New Hampton

Saturday, Jan 22  W-SR Rick Caldwell Invitational 

Saturday, Jan 29 at Northeast Iowa Conference Tournament (New Hampton)

Tuesday, Feb 8, 2022 at Regional Duals 

Saturday, Feb 12 at Districts (Marshalltown) 

Thur-Sat Feb 17-19 at State (Des Moines) 

 

*National Rankings by Willie Saylor of MatScouts.

Aiden Riggins

Waverly-Shell Rock HS

State champ, state runner-up, 3rd place

Junior Nationals runner-up

2021 Cadet FS World Team Trials runner-up

#3 at 160 lbs.

 

Ryder Block

Waverly-Shell Rock HS

State champ, State runner-up

#14 at 132 lbs.

 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

 

Season preview for Jesurogas and Martinsons

Southeast Polk High School in Pleasant Hill, Iowa is sending us four Hawkeyes. Nate Jesuroga committed early on the huge recruiting weekend of October 9-10 that really started the momentum that followed. Of all the recruits that Iowa has coming in, Nate Jesuroga was and still is my #1 pick. Jesuroga is ranked #1 at 120 lbs. in the country and #3 P4P by Willie Saylor of MatScouts.

Nate is in the Class of 2023. Joel Jesuroga, Carter Martinson, and Cole Martinson are in the Class of 2022 and have all signed their National Letter of Intent. 

Every year I post a schedule and a weekly preview on Friday about where our recruits will be competing. I have people contact me that went to see a future Hawk compete because of this. I know of fans that have traveled a fair distance to watch an incoming Iowa wrestler compete. 

Other fans like following along online and watching matches on the internet when possible. Iowa Wrestling fans take a huge interest in our incoming recruits. These are all reasons why I do this. 

We have a lot to follow this season with 13 incoming recruits competing all across the country. I will do my best to bring you results this season for all of our incoming recruits right here on my blog. 

The future looks great for Iowa Wrestling.

 

2021-22 Southeast Polk Wrestling Schedule

Thursday, Dec 2 at Fort Dodge 

Saturday, Dec 4 at Gardner Edgerton Invitational (Gardner, KS)

Thursday, Dec 9  North/Hoover

Saturday, Dec 11 at Western Dubuque Invitational

Saturday, Dec 18 Red Owens Holiday Classic 

Tuesday, Dec 21 Don Bosco

Monday, Jan 3 Waukee 

Friday/Saturday Jan 7-8 at Cheesehead Invitational (Kaukauna, Wisconsin)

Thursday, Jan 13 at Urbandale 

Thursday, Jan 20 WDM Valley 

Saturday, Jan 22 at Ed Winger Invitational (Urbandale)

Tuesday, Jan 25 at Johnston

Friday, Jan 28 at CIML Conference Tournament (Johnston)

Thursday, Feb 3 at Mason City

Saturday, Feb 12 at Districts (Carlisle)

Th-Sat Feb 17-19 at State Tournament (Des Moines)

 

*National Rankings by Willie Saylor of MatScouts.

Nate Jesuroga

Southeast Polk HS

State champ, 3rd place

2021 Cadet World Bronze medalist at 51kg/112 lbs. 

#3 P4P

#1 at 120 lbs.

 

Carter Martinson

Southeast Polk HS

3rd and 4th at state

138 lbs.

 

Joel Jesuroga

Southeast Polk HS

State champ, 4th

#23 at 145

 

Carson Martinson

Southeast Polk HS

3rd and 5th at state

152 lbs.

 

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!