It is time to get ready for the 2024 Big Ten Championships on March 9-10. 

First up is 125 lbs. This has to be the most difficult weight class to seed and predict for Nationals. The rankings seemed to change weekly as high ranked wrestlers kept getting beat throughout the season.

The Big Ten has the two top ranked wrestlers and six of the top nine ranked wrestlers in the country at 125.

Drake Ayala is ranked #2 in the country with an 19-3 record with one pin, nine tech falls, and one major decision.

Ayala is 11-2 vs. ranked opponents this season.

In comparison to rankings in the Big Ten, Ayala lost to #1 Matt Ramos of Purdue, 4-1 and to #16 Michael DeAugustino of Michigan, 2-1, TB1.

Ayala was wins over #4 Patrick McKee(MN), #8 Caleb Smith(NE), and #9 Braeden Davis(PSU).

I believe Ayala will be the #2 seed at 125 for Big Tens.

There will be 9 automatic qualifiers from the Big Ten at 125 for the 2024 NCAA National Tournament.

InterMat Rankings at 125 for the Big Ten

Matt Ramos (Purdue) – #1

Drake Ayala (Iowa) – #2

Patrick McKee (Minnesota) – #4

Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) – #5

Caleb Smith (Nebraska) – #8

Braeden Davis (Penn State) – #9

Michael DeAugustino (Michigan) – #16

Brendan McCrone (Ohio State) – #24

2023-24 Season – Drake Ayala (125)

#29 Elijah Griffin (Cal Baptist) W-MD 18-8 1-0 

Luther Open – 1st Place Julian Long (Nebraska Wesleyan) W-Pin 1:20 2-0 

Dalton Whitehall Gikes (Wartburg) W-TF 17-2 3-0 

Cade Hornback (Coe) W-TF 19-4 4-0 

Akhil Vega (Stevens Tech) W-TF 21-6 5-0 

Joey Cruz (Iowa) W-TF 19-3 6-0

#18 Branden Kaylor (Oregon State) L-D 7-6 6-1

#8 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) W-D 7-2 7-1 

#19 Max Gallagher (Penn) W-D 8-7 8-1 

Nick Babin (Columbia) W-TF 18-3 9-1 

Soldier Salute – 1st Place Garrett Rinken (Northern Iowa) W-TF 19-4 10-1 

Hayden Benter (Navy) W-TF 19-4 11-1 

#20 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) W-D 5-4 12-1 

#7 Jore Volk (Wyoming) W-D 4-2 13-1 

#7 Caleb Smith (Nebraska) W-D 7-3 14-1 

#18 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) W-D 8-5 15-1 

#2 Matt Ramos (Purdue) L-D 4-1 15-2 

#30 Justin Cardani (Illinois) W-TF 18-3 16-2 

Massey Odiotti (Northwestern) W-TF 19-4 17-2 

#12 Michael DeAugustino (Michigan) L-D 2-1 TB1 17-3 

#2 Braeden Davis (Penn State) W-D 4-2 18-3 

#12 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) W-D 8-1 19-3

InterMat Rankings at 125: https://intermatwrestle.com/rankings.html/ncaa-di-r25/

Sat and Sun March 9-10 – at Big Ten Championships (College Park, Maryland)

Thurs-Sat March 21-23 – at NCAA Championships (Kansas City, MO)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

InterMat released the final rankings of the regular season. Iowa went from #4 to #2 in the country in the Tournament Rankings and moved up one spot to #2 in the Dual Meet Rankings. 

Penn State is #1 in the Tournament and Dual Meet Rankings.

There were few changes for Iowa wrestlers following the 22-9 win over Oklahoma State compared to the previous rankings.

Schriever(133), Woods(141), Rathjen(149), Franek(157), Kennedy(174), Glazier(197), and Hill(Hwt) all remained the same in the rankings.

Ayala went from #4 to #2 at 125 and Caliendo went from #7 to #6 at 165.

Up next for the Hawks will be Big Tens followed by the NCAA National Tournament.

Sat and Sun March 9-10 – at Big Ten Championships (College Park, Maryland)

Thurs-Sat March 21-23 – at NCAA Championships (Kansas City, MO)

InterMat Rankings – February 27, 2024

125 – Drake Ayala #2

133 – Cullan Schriever  #20

141 – Real Woods #2

149 – Caleb Rathjen #8

157 – Jared Franek #5

165 – Mike Caliendo #6

174 – Patrick Kennedy #7

184 – Aiden Riggins  Not ranked

197 – Zach Glazier #11

Hwt – Brad Hill  #29

Full InterMat Rankings:

https://intermatwrestle.com/rankings.html/ncaa-di-r25/

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Iowa Hwt Ben Kueter has been named as the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week. Kueter knocked off #11 ranked Konner Doucet of Oklahoma State 5-1 in Iowa’s impressive 22-9 win on Sunday.

Kueter scored on a reversal and back points in the third period for the biggest win of his young career to date to improve his record to 3-1 on the season.

Kueter joins fellow true freshman Gable Arnold who was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on November 29. Kueter and Arnold are both in the Recruiting Class of 2023.

Kueter is a true freshman from Iowa City (City High HS) where he was a four-time undefeated state champion and 2022 U20 World Freestyle champion.

Kueter is a member of the Iowa Football team and joined the wrestling program full time in January.

Congratulations Ben Kueter for being named as Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.

Up next for the Hawks will be Big Tens followed by the NCAA National Tournament.

Sat and Sun March 9-10 – at Big Ten Championships (College Park, Maryland)

Thurs-Sat March 21-23 – at NCAA Championships (Kansas City, MO)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Hawks ended the regular season with a 22-9 win at Oklahoma State on Sunday. This has been an unusual season so far for Iowa Wrestling. 

Iowa started the season off on November 4 with a 40-0 win at Cal-Baptist in Riverside, California. The last four months have been a roller coaster of a season that is unique.

The Iowa State dual was a real big win at Ames on November 26. Iowa State seemed to have every advantage they could possibly want and Iowa still found a way to win the dual meet, 18-14.

Dual meet wins over Oregon State, Penn, and Columbia were nothing special but solid wins just the same. 

The Hawks then competed in Soldier Salute on December 29-30 that provided an opportunity for wrestle offs for several weights.

Iowa came out after the first of the year on fire. Five straight dual meet wins over Big Ten opponents was impressive. Considering the situation of a young team I do not recall an Iowa team being more dominating than that stretch of wins over Nebraska, Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois, and Northwestern.

January 12 – #3 Iowa 22, #6 Nebraska 10

January 15 – #3 Iowa 22, #10 Minnesota 9

January 19 – #3 Iowa 34, Purdue 6

January 26 – #3 Iowa 36, #17 Illinois 6 

January 28 – #3 Iowa 46, Northwestern 0

In five dual meets against Big Ten competition, Iowa was 40-10. Of those 40 wins Iowa scored bonus points 21 times with 12 tech falls, 7 major decisions, and 2 falls. 

Iowa then dropped dual meets at Michigan (11-24) and at home against Penn State (6-29).

The Hawks closed out the home season with a 34-7 win over Wisconsin.

On Sunday Iowa defeated Oklahoma State 22-9 in front of over 13,000 fans in the third biggest crowd in 85-year history of Gallagher-Iba Arena.

A tweet from Willie Sailor stated that the Oklahoma State fans behind the bench were “bruuutal” to the Hawks. It was a hostile environment of a huge crowd that came to see the Hawks that competed against Michigan and Penn State. That team did not show up and a dominant performance was the result.

I go out on YouTube and listen to press conferences of wrestling coaches before and after dual meets to learn. Oklahoma State coach John Smith, a legend that I like learning from, helped connect the dots for me so to speak about what had happened.

Go to YouTube and type in: “I wasn’t expecting that” John Smith after Iowa

John Smith talks about how Iowa had two losses and experienced tough times in the season. They came out hungry and aggressive and got the job done. 

Oklahoma State was undefeated and was on a roll all season long until Sunday.

Now it was time for Oklahoma State to use this to get ready for the Big 12 Tournament.

Dan Gable once told me that you never wanted to lose but it could be very useful as a coach.

Iowa was 12-2 this season with some impressive performances. However, all of the talk by fans is about the two losses. No complaints here. That is Iowa Wrestling.

The losses to Michigan and Penn State were painful but I am confident that the Iowa Wrestling team and entire program is better because of it. Those losses helped prepare the entire program for battles ahead.

How will Iowa do at Big Tens and Nationals? Not knowing is part of the attraction of being a fan. 

Iowa Wrestling is my entertainment and I plan on being entertained.

Look forward or keep looking back as a fan, the choice is yours.

Let’s get ‘em in the middle.

Sat and Sun March 9-10 – at Big Ten Championships (College Park, Maryland)

Thurs-Sat March 21-23 – at NCAA Championships (Kansas City, MO)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

It was a great weekend for Iowa Wrestling. There was so much to keep track of I wanted to do a rundown of the big weekend.

On Friday the Iowa Women’s Wrestling team qualified their entire team and won the team title at the NCWWC Region V today in Indianola, Iowa. The Hawks came in first with 220 points followed by McKendree at 193 and Lindenwood at 106.

All fifteen Hawkeye wrestlers placed in the top four to qualify for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 8-9.

There were three matches of Iowa vs. Iowa in the finals. In a battle of the two top ranked wrestlers in the country at 101 it was Emilie Gonzalez defeating Sterling Dias, 7-0.

Brianna Gonzalez won a 9-3 decision over Felicity Taylor at 116 and Marlynne Deede won by an 8-4 decision over Bella Mir at 155.

Also winning titles for the Hawks: Ava Bayless(109), Reese Larramendy(143), and Kylie Welker(170).

Great tournament for the Hawks in their first year of competition.

On Saturday Spencer Lee won the Gold at the 2024 Pan-American Championships in Acapulco, Mexico. 

Lee won three straight matches by tech fall with times of :34, :26 and the 1:18 in the finals.

This was the first International competition for Lee in the Senior division.

Lee looks like he is ready to make a run at the Olympic Gold.

Next up for Lee will be the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in University Park, Pennsylvania on April 19-20.

It was another big weekend of wrestling for our incoming recruits. Brady Benham (OK) and Cadence Diduch (IL) capped off undefeated seasons by winning a state title. 

Leo Deluca placed second at 120 lbs. at the National Prep Wrestling Championships in Bethlehem, PA. Miguel Estrada (CA) placed fourth at 150 lbs. at State.

Joe Kennedy won the 152 lbs. title at Section 1AA Individual and will have the Minnesota State Tournament next weekend.

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.

On Sunday the Iowa Hawkeyes went into Stillwater, Oklahoma and defeated Oklahoma State 22-9. The Hawks won seven of ten bouts in a hostile environment of over 13,000 fans.

This was an impressive showing over an undefeated Oklahoma State team that was on a roll. Iowa won the takedown battle and was the aggressor the entire meet. 

Iowa outscored Oklahoma State 62-32 in match points.

Just what you want to see heading into Big Tens and Nationals.

Iowa finished the regular season with a 12-2 record in dual meets.

Sat and Sun March 9-10 – at Big Ten Championships (College Park, Maryland)

Thurs-Sat March 21-23 – at NCAA Championships (Kansas City, MO)

#4 Iowa 22, #2 Oklahoma State 9

125 – #4 Drake Ayala (I) dec. #12 Troy Spratley (O), 8-1 SV1

133 – #3 Daton Fix (O) dec. Brody Teske (I), 7-3

141 – #2 Real Woods (I) dec. #8 Tagen Jamison (O), 5-1

149 – #18 Jordan Williams (O) dec. Victor Voinovich III (I), 7-3

157 – #5 Jared Franek (I) dec. #10 Teague Travis (O), 10-4

165 – #7 Michael Caliendo (I) dec. #3 Izzak Olejnik (O), 7-2

174 – #7 Patrick Kennedy (I) major dec. #21 Brayden Thompson (O), 12-3

184 – #2 Dustin Plott (O) dec. Gabe Arnold (I), 5-1

197 – #11 Zach Glazier (I) dec. #16 Luke Surber (O), 4-1

285 – Ben Kueter (I) dec. #11 Konner Doucet (O), 5-1

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

It was another big weekend of wrestling for our incoming recruits. Brady Benham (OK) and Cadence Diduch (IL) capped off undefeated seasons by winning a state title. 

Miguel Estrada (CA) placed fourth at 150 lbs. at State. 

Leo Deluca placed second at 120 lbs. at the National Prep Wrestling Championships in Bethlehem, PA. 

Joe Kennedy won the 152 lbs. title at Section 1AA Individual and will have the Minnesota State Tournament next weekend.

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.

Season completed – 3rd place.

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

Season completed – State Champion.

Miguel Estrada – Bakersfield (Frontier HS), California  150 lbs.

Th-Sat  Feb 22-24 – at State (Bakersfield)

Rd 1 – Miguel Estrada (Frontier) Fall Aydan Ducharme (Vacaville) 1:39

Rd 2 – Miguel Estrada (Frontier) tech fall Jacob Belden (San Clemente) 19-4

Quarterfinals –  Miguel Estrada (Frontier) decision Jaxtyn Frost (Buchanan) 5-2

Semifinals – Laird Root (Poway) decision Miguel Estrada (Frontier) 3-1

Cons Semis – Miguel Estrada (Frontier) maj dec Anthony Berg (Whitney) 16-7

3rd Place – Ethan Parco (Los Gatos) decision Miguel Estrada (Frontier) 2-1

Angelo Ferrari – Melissa, Texas  175 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion.

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

Season completed – 2nd place.

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

Season completed – State Champion.

Joe Kennedy – Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota  152 lbs.

Fri/Sat Feb 23-24 – at Section 1AA Individual (Rochester)

Quarterfinal – Joseph Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville) won by fall over Caden Hyke (Stewartville) (Fall 0:17)

Semifinal – Joseph Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville) won by tech fall over Slade Barnett (Waseca) (TF-1.5 3:10 (15-0))

1st Place Match – Joseph Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville) won by major decision over Laiken Copeman (Zumbrota-Mazeppa) (MD 15-5)

Brady Benham – Sperry, Oklahoma  165 lbs.

Th/Sat Feb 22-24 – at Oklahoma State Championships (Oklahoma City)

Quarterfinal – Brady Benham (SPERRY) won by major decision over Seth Elam (SALINA) (MD 9-1)

Semifinal – Brady Benham (SPERRY) won by fall over Lubbock Drake (WARNER) (Fall 1:46)

1st Place Match – Brady Benham (SPERRY) won by decision over Kyle Harrall (HINTON) (Dec 5-0)

Recruiting Class of 2025

Leo DeLuca  – Blair Academy New Jersey  120 lbs.

Sat Feb 24 – at National Prep Wrestling Championships (Bethlehem, PA)

Rd 1 – Leo DeLuca (Blair) Fall over Cayden Farver (Loyola-Blakefield)  1:41

Quarterfinals – Leo DeLuca (Blair) Fall over Maddox Preskit (Bishop Lynch) 1:18

Semifinals – Leo DeLuca (Blair) decision over Lukas Littelton (Malvern Prep 4-1

Finals – Nate Desmond (Wyoming Seminary) decision over Leo DeLuca (Blair) 5-3

Leister Bowling – Mead, Colorado  175 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion.

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.

Fri/Sat Feb 23-24 – at Illinois Girls Individual State Finals (Bloomington)

Champ. Round 1 – Cadence Diduch (Freeport (H.S.)) won by fall over Leann Cory (Collinsville) (Fall 1:58)

Quarterfinal – Cadence Diduch (Freeport (H.S.)) won by fall over Maggie Zuber (Chicago (Mother McAuley)) (Fall 1:11)

Semifinal – Cadence Diduch (Freeport (H.S.)) won by major decision over Jenna Tuxhorn (Chatham (Glenwood)) (MD 13-2)

1st Place Match – Cadence Diduch (Freeport (H.S.)) won by major decision over Natalie Beaumont (Toledo (Cumberland)) (MD 10-1)

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

Season completed – State Champion.

Naomi Simon – Decorah, Iowa 170 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

Spencer Lee cruised through the competition to win the Gold at the 2024 Pan-American Championships in Acapulco, Mexico.

Lee won three straight matches at 57 kg by tech fall with times of :34, :26 and 1:18 in the finals.

This was the first International competition for Lee in the Senior division.

Lee looked strong, confident and on track for an Olympic run.

Next up for Lee will be the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in University Park, Pennsylvania on April 19-20.

2024 Pan-American Championships – 57 kg

Quarterfinals: Spencer Lee (USA) VSU 10-0 over Oscar Urbano (Columbia) :34

Semifinals: Spencer Lee (USA) VSU 10-0 over Giovan Silva (Brazil) :26 

Finals: Spencer Lee (USA) VSU1 12-2 over Jesus Pena (Venezuela) 1:18

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The Iowa Women’s Wrestling team qualified their entire team and won the team title at the NCWWC Region V today in Indianola, Iowa. The Hawks came in first with 220 points followed by McKendree at 193 and Lindenwood at 106.

All fifteen Hawkeye wrestlers placed in the top four to qualify for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 8-9.

Like today at Region V only ten wrestlers and one from each weight will be able to score points at the NCWWC Wrestling Championships.

There were three matches of Iowa vs. Iowa in the finals. In a battle of the two top ranked wrestlers in the country at 101 it was Emilie Gonzalez defeating Sterling Dias, 7-0.

Brianna Gonzalez won a 9-3 decision over Felicity Taylor at 116 and Marlynne Deede won by an 8-4 decision over Bella Mir at 155.

Also winning titles for the Hawks: Ava Bayless(109), Reese Larramendy(143), and Kylie Welker(170).

It was an impressive tournament for the Hawks who look to be more than ready for Nationals in two weeks.

NCWWC Region V Results for Iowa

101

Sterling Dias’s place is 2nd and has scored 17.5 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Sterling Dias (Iowa) won by tech fall over Megan Valdez (Lindenwood University) (TF 10-0)
• Semifinal – Sterling Dias (Iowa) won by decision over Lizette Rodriguez (McKendree University) (Dec 3-0)
• 1st Place Match – Emilie Gonzalez (Iowa) won by decision over Sterling Dias (Iowa) (Dec 7-0)

101

Emilie Gonzalez’s place is 1st and has scored 23.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Emilie Gonzalez (Iowa) won by tech fall over Vianey Hernandez (Quincy) (TF 10-0)
• Semifinal – Emilie Gonzalez (Iowa) won by tech fall over Kiona Conner (McKendree University) (TF 12-0)
• 1st Place Match – Emilie Gonzalez (Iowa) won by decision over Sterling Dias (Iowa) (Dec 7-0)

109

Ava Bayless’s place is 1st and has scored 25.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Ava Bayless (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal – Ava Bayless (Iowa) won by tech fall over Hope Chiattello (Wartburg) (TF 10-0)
• Semifinal – Ava Bayless (Iowa) won by tech fall over Sarah Zimmerman (Simpson) (TF 12-0)
• 1st Place Match – Ava Bayless (Iowa) won by decision over Pauline Granados (McKendree University) (Dec 4-2)

116

Brianna Gonzalez’s place is 1st and has scored 25.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) won by tech fall over Rose Le (William Jewell College) (TF 10-0)
• Semifinal – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) won by tech fall over Trinity Pendergrass (Quincy) (TF 10-0)
• 1st Place Match – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) won by decision over Felicity Taylor (Iowa) (Dec 9-3)

116

Felicity Taylor’s place is 2nd and has scored 22.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Felicity Taylor (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal – Felicity Taylor (Iowa) won by fall over Liannette Ortiz (Wartburg) (Fall 2:33)
• Semifinal – Felicity Taylor (Iowa) won by fall over Julia Vidallon (McKendree University) (Fall 2:11)
• 1st Place Match – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) won by decision over Felicity Taylor (Iowa) (Dec 9-3)

123

Ava Rose’s place is 4th and has scored 13.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Ava Rose (Iowa) won by tech fall over Autumn Van Bremen (Quincy) (TF 10-0)
• Quarterfinal – Ava Rose (Iowa) won by decision over Alexandra Waitsman (William Jewell College) (Dec 11-8)
• Semifinal – Shelby Moore (McKendree University) won by tech fall over Ava Rose (Iowa) (TF 10-0)
• Cons. Semi – Ava Rose (Iowa) won by decision over Emarie Bolosan (William Jewell College) (Dec 7-1)
• 3rd Place Match – Alexandra Waitsman (William Jewell College) won by decision over Ava Rose (Iowa) (Dec 8-5)

130

Emily Frost’s place is 3rd and has scored 17.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Emily Frost (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal – Emily Frost (Iowa) won by tech fall over Hayley Gilson (Lindenwood University) (TF 10-0)
• Semifinal – Kylie Rule (Wartburg) won by decision over Emily Frost (Iowa) (Dec 8-4)
• Cons. Semi – Emily Frost (Iowa) won by fall over Cayden Condit (Lindenwood University) (Fall 1:27)
• 3rd Place Match – Emily Frost (Iowa) won by decision over Jennifer Soto (McKendree University) (Dec 8-5)

136

Lilly Luft’s place is 2nd and has scored 19.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Lilly Luft (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal – Lilly Luft (Iowa) won by tech fall over Vaness Elexpuru (Simpson) (TF 11-0)
• Semifinal – Lilly Luft (Iowa) won by decision over Estella Gutches (McKendree University) (Dec 5-0)
• 1st Place Match – Viktorya Torres (McKendree University) won by fall over Lilly Luft (Iowa) (Fall 5:25)

143

Reese Larramendy’s place is 1st and has scored 25.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Reese Larramendy (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal – Reese Larramendy (Iowa) won by tech fall over Rebecca Strong (Lindenwood University) (TF 14-3)
• Semifinal – Reese Larramendy (Iowa) won by tech fall over Athena Willden (William Jewell College) (TF 10-0)
• 1st Place Match – Reese Larramendy (Iowa) won by decision over Emma Bruntil (McKendree University) (Dec 4-2)

143

Ella Schmit’s place is 4th and has scored 15.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Ella Schmit (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal – Ella Schmit (Iowa) won by tech fall over Aniyah Kelly (Wartburg) (TF 11-0)
• Semifinal – Emma Bruntil (McKendree University) won by decision over Ella Schmit (Iowa) (Dec 7-4)
• Cons. Semi – Ella Schmit (Iowa) won by fall over Rebecca Strong (Lindenwood University) (Fall 4:55)
• 3rd Place Match – Athena Willden (William Jewell College) won by fall over Ella Schmit (Iowa) (Fall 3:53)

155

Marlynne Deede’s place is 1st and has scored 27.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Marlynne Deede (Iowa) won by fall over Randi Nicholson (Wartburg) (Fall 0:57)
• Quarterfinal – Marlynne Deede (Iowa) won by tech fall over Ryan Garthoeffner (Lindenwood University) (TF 10-0)
• Semifinal – Marlynne Deede (Iowa) won by tech fall over Ruby Rios (McKendree University) (TF 10-0)
• 1st Place Match – Marlynne Deede (Iowa) won by decision over Bella Mir (Iowa) (Dec 8-4)

155

Bella Mir’s place is 2nd and has scored 21.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Bella Mir (Iowa) received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal – Bella Mir (Iowa) won by tech fall over Paige Barber (William Jewell College) (TF 10-0)
• Semifinal – Bella Mir (Iowa) won by tech fall over Keeley Kehrli (Simpson) (TF 10-0)
• 1st Place Match – Marlynne Deede (Iowa) won by decision over Bella Mir (Iowa) (Dec 8-4)

170

Kylie Welker’s place is 1st and has scored 25.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Kylie Welker (Iowa) won by fall over Katt Mossinghoff (Lindenwood University) (Fall 0:26)
• Semifinal – Kylie Welker (Iowa) won by tech fall over Kami Senlycki (Wartburg) (TF 10-0)
• 1st Place Match – Kylie Welker (Iowa) won by tech fall over Tristan Kelly (McKendree University) (TF 10-0)

170

Haley Ward’s place is 3rd and has scored 13.5 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Haley Ward (Iowa) won by tech fall over Emma Thomas (Lindenwood University) (TF 14-4)
• Semifinal – Tristan Kelly (McKendree University) won by fall over Haley Ward (Iowa) (Fall 4:04)
• Cons. Semi – Haley Ward (Iowa) won by decision over Kassidee Savaria (Simpson) (Dec 8-2)
• 3rd Place Match – Haley Ward (Iowa) won by decision over Kami Senlycki (Wartburg) (Dec 9-0)

191

Jaycee Foeller’s place is 2nd and has scored 19.5 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Jaycee Foeller (Iowa) won by tech fall over Emersen Smith (Wartburg) (TF 10-0)
• Semifinal – Jaycee Foeller (Iowa) won by fall over Ivana Elliott (Quincy) (Fall 1:38)
• 1st Place Match – Sara Lake (Lindenwood University) won by decision over Jaycee Foeller (Iowa) (Dec 2-1)

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

We have another big weekend of wrestling for our incoming recruits. Miguel Estrada (CA), Brady Benham (OK), and Cadence Diduch (IL) will be competing in their State tournament. 

Leo Deluca will be competing at the National Prep Wrestling Championships in Bethlehem, PA. that will be covered live by FloWrestling on Friday and Saturday.

Joe Kennedy will be at Section 1AA Individual in Rochester on Friday and Saturday. This will be a qualifier for the State Tournament next weekend.

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.

Season completed – 3rd place.

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

Season completed – State Champion.

Miguel Estrada – Bakersfield (Frontier HS), California  150 lbs.

Th-Sat  Feb 22-24 – at California State Wrestling Championships (Bakersfield)

Angelo Ferrari – Melissa, Texas  175 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion.

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

Season completed – 2nd place.

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

Season completed – State Champion.

Joe Kennedy – Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota  152 lbs.

Fri-Sat Feb 23-24 – at Section 1AA Individual (Rochester)

Brady Benham – Sperry, Oklahoma  165 lbs.

Th-Sat Feb 22-24 – at Oklahoma State Championships (Oklahoma City)

Recruiting Class of 2025

Leo DeLuca  – Blair Academy New Jersey  120 lbs.

Fri-Sat Feb 23-24 – at National Prep Wrestling Championships (Bethlehem, PA)

Leister Bowling – Mead, Colorado  175 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion.

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.

Fri-Sat Feb 23-24 – at Illinois Girls Individual State Finals (Bloomington)

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

Season completed – State Champion.

Naomi Simon – Decorah, Iowa 170 lbs.

Season completed – State Champion.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

The University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling team will be competing at the NCWWC Region V Tournament in Indianola, Iowa on Friday, February 23. The top four wrestlers at each weight will  qualify for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 8-9.

Wrestling will take place in Cowles Fieldhouse on the campus of Simpson College with competition beginning at 10 AM. 

Also I need to note that the head coach for Simpson is former Iowa Hawkeye two-time NCAA national champion Jeff McGinness.

Iowa is currently ranked #2 in the Tournament Rankings in their first year of competition.

Five of the nine teams competing at the NCWWC Region V are ranked in the Top 25 in the country. #2 Iowa will be challenged by #4 McKendree, #11 William Jewell, #16 Wartburg, and #22 Lindenwood.

Each mat will be live streamed by Rokfin. Brackets and results will be available on TrackWrestling.

I will have a  follow up blog with results.

NCWWC Region V

Buena Vista

Eureka

#2 Iowa

#22 Lindenwood

#4 McKendree

Quincy

Simpson

#16 Wartburg

#11 William Jewell

NWCA NCAA Women’s Coaches Rankings – February 8, 2024

101 – #1 Emilie Gonzalez  #2 Sterling Dias

109 – #2 Ava Bayless

116 – #3 Brianna Gonzalez  #4 Felicity Taylor

123 – Nobody ranked

130 – #9 Emily Frost

136 – #10 Lilly Luft

143 – #2 Reese Larramendy  #4 Ella Schmit 

155 – #1 Marlynne Deede  #9 Bella Mir

170 – #1 Kylie Welker  #3 Haley Ward

191 – #3 Jaycee Fowler  #8 Alivia White

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!