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Bowling's U20 Greco title leads seven Iowa placers at US Open

by:Tanner Lafever•04/28/25•

TannerLafever

Leister Bowling US Open champ
U20 Greco champion Leister Bowling IV was the highest of seven Hawkeye placers in Las Vegas. (Photo Credit: Tony Rotundo)

It took several days, many hours and even more matches, but the Iowa men’s wrestling portion of the 2025 US Open finally came to a close on Sunday afternoon.

With it, seven wrestlers with Hawkeye ties had placed within the top eight of their respective divisions. Among them – two high-achieving alums, a pair of supremely anticipated recruits and one wildly intriguing incoming transfer.

And yet, none of them were the guy who stood atop the podium out in Las Vegas.

So, who was that guy and how did the dozen total past/present/future Hawkeyes perform?

Well, I’m glad you asked.

Bowl’d Over

For those of you who perused my US Open men’s preview article you’re already aware of my grave pre-tournament omission.

I’m speaking, of course, about Leister Bowling IV – a 2025 commit who was entered in the U20 Greco division.

During my preparation for last week’s competition, I somehow managed to miss Bowling’s name among registered entries. And thus, he had already wrapped up his (single) day of action before I’d even written my preview.

I did go back and watch each match for the Hawkeye-to-be. And while this (second) apology feels more than warranted for my error, I’m not sure a second recap of his efforts would do any more justice than my first. So, here it is (as written last Thursday):

Bowling was the lone Iowa entry of the week in the Greco-Roman discipline. And as it turns out, his tournament began (and wrapped) all in one afternoon/evening on Thursday. It did so to great results, I might add.

Seeded fifth at 77 kilograms, the two-time Colorado state champ won his U20 crown in utterly dominant fashion. In five matches Bowling registered five technical falls. Only one of those bouts exceeded the first period and only twice did he concede a point (two total).

All told, the incoming freshman outscored his opponents 47-2.

Have yourself a day young man.

Bassett/Mocco look the part, fall just short

We don’t need to rehash the excitement of Iowa fans over star 2026 commits Bo Bassett and Michael Mocco.

I say this as their U20 Freestyle finishes last weekend – while I’m sure disappointing to both athletes – didn’t change much if anything in this writer’s eyes.

‘Disappointing’ is a relative term, mind you. Bassett (third at 65kg) and Mocco (5th at 125kg) still had very promising performances – especially given the competition.

In Bassett’s seven victories (all by either tech. fall of pin) he outscored his opponents by a whopping 68-7 margin. That included wins over the #7 ranked high school 150-pounder – a senior committed to Virginia Tech – and the #2 ranked 144-pounder – a senior committed to Michigan.

Neither match lasted longer than 2:03.

A peek at some of Bo Bassett’s many highlighted from the weekend in Las Vegas.

Bassett’s lone blemish of the tournament came in the semifinals to Lehigh All-American Luke Stanich.

Stanich – who placed 5th in 2024 as the #2 seed at 125 pounds – was the only wrestler able to withstand Bassett’s pace/activity. And even so, some savvier tactics may well have gotten him the victory.

Both of Stanich’s takedowns came on reattacks – one saving him from giving up an activity clock point in the first period, the other regaining him the lead with 1:07 left in the second. Conversely, Bassett only converted 1/5 solid leg attacks of his own.

Losing is obviously unfamiliar territory for the #1 recruit in the 2026 class, but this 5-2 setback (to an excellent, experienced opponent) needn’t be cause for panic – especially when it can be rectified in barely one month.

If Bassett advances through the U20 World Team Trials bracket at the end of May, waiting for him at the end will be Stanich in a best-of-three final for a spot on Team USA.

Sign me up for that, please.

Moving on to Mocco, he too, found his only losses against collegiate competition.

First though, the #7 ranked high school heavyweight in America picked up a notable win in the quarterfinals. Trailing 3-2 at the break to #4 Rocco Dellagatta – a senior committed to Cornell – the future Hawkeye rattled off three takedowns, including a huge four-pointer in an eventual 10-5 win.

That match preceded a wild semifinal against Penn State redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola – the presumptive Nittany Lion starter for 2025-26.

Mocco scored all three takedowns in the match – one of which arguably should’ve been a four-pointer. But his inability to hold center gave Mirasola the opportunity to score seven step-out points – the final two of which (with 0:07 and 0:02 seconds to go) he needed to regain the lead.

It was a tremendously ‘freestyle’ way to lose a match. Having said that, I think Iowa fans will be glad to hear that their future heavyweight got all three takedowns against next year’s Penn State heavyweight.

Mocco’s other loss of the tournament came in the consi semis to Minnesota redshirt freshman Koy Hopke. Hardly a freestyle slouch himself, Hopke (a 2022 U17 World champ) was Gable Steveson’s understudy last season.

An early takedown-to-gut-wrench transition put Mocco in a hole that he couldn’t quite climb out of in a 6-2 defeat.

Just as will Bassett, the Iowa legacy gets his own opportunity for revenge at the Trials in late May.

Senior Superlatives

Iowa three other highest profile US Open entries were all in the Senior division.

And as we’re getting toward the end of the school year, I figured now was the perfect opportunity to utilize a cheesy tie-in.

Thus, here are your ‘Senior Superlatives.’

Closest Call – Real Woods (65kg)

There probably wasn’t an athlete in Las Vegas who led for a greater percentage of his time on the mat without winning the tournament than Real Woods.

Woods led Stanford freshman Aden Valencia 4-1 with 0:39 remaining in their quarterfinal only to give up an inside trip/turn.

And yet, somehow that heartbreak may not compare to the final seconds of their subsequent meeting for third place. This time, Valencia scored the go-ahead takedown with quite literally no time remaining:

Oof. And to make the irony somehow even crueler, Valencia is the younger brother of current Iowa women’s wrestler, Nyla Valencia.

Other than that, Woods never trailed for a second all weekend. Although he did nearly blow a 9-0 lead against Penn State’s Beau Bartlett.

Toughest Sledding – Austin DeSanto (61kg)

Arguably no field at the US Open was more stacked than 61kg in the Senior men’s division. And as such, 2023 Open finalist Austin DeSanto was always going to have a brutal row to hoe.

The Iowa fan favorite made it as far as the quarterfinals before losing 6-3 to old college rival Seth Gross. That defeat (to the eventual runner up) left a consolation road ahead – where a Woods-esque fate awaited him.

Leading 4-3 against burgeoning Ohio State star Ben Davino with seconds remaining, the Buckeye somehow managed to hop over a kneeling DeSanto for the winning takedown just before the buzzer.

(You really can’t make this stuff up, folks.)

Still, as he’s wont to do, DeSanto pulled himself together and finished his weekend with a win for fifth place.

Greatest Intrigue – Massoma Endene (97kg)

The newest Hawkeye – man of mystery Massoma Endene – remains ever the compelling figure after a seventh-place finish at 97 kilograms.

Twice the three-time Division III champion (Wartburg) won by technical fall. However, neither of those matches were as instructive as a trio of others:

  • Quarterfinals: 7-3 loss to Ethan Laird
  • Consolations: 10-7 loss to Zane Lanham
  • Seventh-place match: 8-4 win over Tyrie Houghton

Against Laird – a four-time NCAA qualifier and 2023 All-American (6th) at Rider – Endene only gave up two points in ‘folkstyle’ fashion. Two others came on a sequence when the two wrestlers exchanged exposures. Additionally, a point each resulted from strong Endene shots being countered on the edge for step-out scores.

The bout against Lanham – a two-time NAIA champ at Life University – was even less applicable to the forthcoming college season. Endene won the takedown battle 3-1, but Lanham transitioned into a trap-arm gut wrench on his lone successful offensive attack. Three-consecutive exposures, plus another on an earlier chest-wrap earned him eight points he could only get in the freestyle discipline.

And finally, against Houghton – a 2022 ACC runner up and NCAA qualifier for NC State – Endene once again scored thrice the takedowns of his opponent (3:1).

Far be it for me to extrapolate too much from this freestyle competition, but I think the bones are there for Endene to succeed in an Iowa singlet – and that’s before he spends an entire offseason in a room with coaches and especially training partners better than anything he’s ever experienced.

It’s also worth noting Endene could be much better sized for 197 pounds than he is for 97kg (~214 pounds). Both Laird and Houghton had wrestled at heavyweight as collegians and, to my estimation, used their size/length to their advantage in several positions.

Bottom line: I remain incredibly intrigued by the newest addition to the Iowa program.

U20 Roundup

Six other Hawkeyes were also in action out in Vegas – five of them from the 2024-25 roster.

Among them, redshirt freshman Brody Sampson (92kg) had the best weekend.

The Huxley, Iowa native won twice before falling to the consolations. From there, three-consecutive victories ensured his spot on the podium – where he’d ultimately finish eighth.

Dru Ayala (57kg), Koye Grebel (70kg) and Joseph Kennedy (74kg) all won their openers before dropping to the backside. It was Kennedy who stayed alive longest thereafter, winning three additional matches before his run came to an end.

Anthony Lavezzola (57kg) went 0-2, his second bout a 20-11 shootout loss.

Meanwhile, 2025 commit Tyrel Miller (86kg) – ranked 71st in the senior class – started 2-0 before back-to-back defeats ended his tournament.

Short time

There you have it, folks.

This recap finally closes out a busy (extended) weekend of Iowa wrestling coverage.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my story on the Hawkeye women – winners of three Senior titles.

As I wrote there, the next probable opportunity to catch Hawkeyes in competition will be in a few weeks.

The Senior Pan-American Championships will run from May 8-11 in Mexico – with Spencer Lee potentially on the mat. A week later, World Team Trials are in Louisville, marking the final chance to qualify for Final X (this June).

Thank you as always to everyone for reading/following along here at Hawkeye Report.

I wasn’t physically in Vegas last week, but it felt somewhat like it after several long days in a row. That said, the energy of Iowa athletes/fans never ceases to ease my ability to soldier through any discomfort.

So, thank you again. And I’ll talk to you guys real soon – potentially with some recruiting news that just might pique your interest.

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