Iowa Women's Wrestling - 2024 Media Day Observations
On a crisp, gorgeous morning in Iowa City the latest Iowa women’s wrestling season (unofficially) got underway with the 2024 edition of team media day.
I was in attendance at Carver-Hawkeye Arena – and later at the new Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center – to take in all the sights and sounds as the 2024-25 Hawkeyes prepare to pursue another bevy of team and individual titles.
The vibes were those of a loose, confident group. And as I’ll detail both below and in the days/weeks ahead there’s plenty of justification for them.
If you weren’t already aware, this team is loaded for bear and ready to take on all comers once again.
Here’s a few of my initial takeaways from my morning spent around the Hawkeyes:
Clarrisa Chun takes the podium focused on improvement, confident results will follow
Just shy of three years since officially being announced as the first head coach in the history of the Iowa women’s wrestling program, Clarrisa Chun addressed the media on Tuesday with a clarity and conviction that speaks to a team which isn’t about to rest on its laurels as the 2024-25 season gets underway in just a few weeks.
(You can watch today’s press conference with Coach Chun in its entirety below)
Yes, even a program that swept both national championship events in its inaugural season of competition.
Even a program that returns four individual national champions, two other finalists, nine All-Americans and adds on top of that both the best recruiting and transfer classes in the country.
Asked what this year’s team can do for an encore following National Duals and team titles last season, Chun said the following:
“How can we continue to get better and do the same (win titles). You know, I think nothing really changes in that regard…I really try to have our women not think about the outcome. Yes, we want to win. That’s definitely the goal. That’s what we talk about, is winning those matches, national duals, national championships. But at the end of the day let’s just get better at wrestling.”
Given how good this team and these athletes have already proven to be at the whole ‘wrestling’ thing, the simple goal of improvement going forward sure feels like a solid recipe for a lot more winning to get done in the near future.
Two notable injuries amidst an otherwise (knocks on wood) healthy roster
Both before and during its inaugural 2023-24 season Iowa dealt with several significant injuries to All-American and/or national champion-caliber athletes.
Almost miraculously, the Hawkeyes were able to overcome a trio of injuries of the dreaded ‘season-ending’ variety to prevail by the narrowest of margins over North Central (IL) at both the National Duals and NCWWCs.
Thanks to another year of recruiting Iowa is likely even better this time around and unquestionably deeper than it was a season ago.
That’s good because the team will be without a pair of high-caliber wrestlers in 2024-25 due to ailments incurred within the past 6-7 months.
Sophomore Haley Ward entered last year’s national tournament as the #4 seed at 170 pounds – having put together an excellent season while arguably wrestling up a weight from her most natural fit in the lineup.
An injury suffered during a surprising 0-2 performance at NCWWCs will keep Ward off the mat this season. Thankfully, not only does the Missouri native have a redshirt available, but teammate Rose Cassioppi – the younger sister of former men’s heavyweight, Tony – comes off her own redshirt season during which she qualified for the US Olympic Team Trials at 76 kilograms (~167.6 pounds).
Cassioppi is projected to compete at 160 pounds this year (the 155- and 170-pound classes have now shifted to 160 and 180 respectively), and I think she’s more than capable of reaching the national finals – where a match with a fellow Hawkeye would likely await.
Meanwhile, in another cruel twist of fate redshirt sophomore Nyla Valencia will be forced to postpone her Hawkeye debut once again.
The California native tore her ACL in April of 2023 while competing at the US Open. Then this summer she suffered a similar injury to her other knee while training in Colorado for the Under-20 Pan-American Championships.
In between those injuries Valencia qualified for and competed at the US Olympic Trials this past April just weeks after being cleared to return to live wrestling.
Also a past U23 World teamer and two-time U20 World Team Trials runner up, it continues to be my belief that Valencia is arguably the best lightweight wrestler in the country on the collegiate scene when healthy.
On the ‘bright side’, even in her absence Iowa returns the reigning NCWWC champion at 109 (now 110) pounds – redshirt sophomore Ava Bayless.
Not only that, but the Hawkeyes add two incoming freshmen to the mix with immense prep credentials to their names in Rianne Murphy and Val Solorio.
Solorio actually defeated Bayless (10-1) in a wrestle-off match this past weekend according to Flo’s Kyle Klingman.
So, in short, Iowa should also be able to cope with Valencia’s absence quite capably this season – as much as it stinks for fans to not get to see her take the mat for the second time in as many years.
(Another) international ‘flavor’ in the thick of preseason
Around this part of the calendar in 2023 the Hawkeyes had just finished up a week-plus ‘training camp’ of sorts with members of the Ukrainian women’s national team.
Iowa City was among several stops made by the Ukrainians in the US as part of a ‘barnstorming’ trip of sorts as they tried to prep for an Olympic year despite all the turmoil going on back on their home soil.
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Chun touted the relationships and connections forged during their time together as well as the obvious benefits of the high caliber training that the experience brought to the Iowa room.
“On that (Ukrainian) team, one of them eventually became an Olympic (silver) medalist and one made it to the bronze medal round. So that high level, right? That opportunity that our women got to get their hands on. We don’t have to travel overseas to get those international feels,” said the Hawkeye head coach.
In fact, the international influx has happened again in 2024 – this time courtesy of our Canadian neighbors to the north.
Thanks to connections with Iowa women’s wrestling assistant coach Tonya Verbeek – a Canadian herself and the former head coach of the Canadian men’s and women’s national teams – the Hawkeyes are reaping the benefits of another unique preseason training setup.
Coach Chun praised this latest ‘international experience’ saying, “They’ve got a few people training for U23 Worlds and non-Olympic World Championships, just like we have a few on our team training for that. So, it’s a great opportunity to collaborate and work together and push each other to get better.”
Current Hawkeyes Skye Realin (59 kilograms), Macey Kilty (62kg) and Kylie Welker (72kg) will compete at the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania starting next Wednesday (October 23rd).
Both Kilty and Welker will then remain in Tirana where they’ll compete at the Senior World Championships held less than a week later (October 29-30).
“This team is insane.”
Just as they were a year ago – before the Iowa women’s wrestling program had even won a single match, much less a national title – all eyes will be on the Hawkeyes in 2024-25.
And in talking with various athletes today they certainly believe they’ve got the team in place to thrive under any sort of scrutiny or expectations placed upon them.
“This team is insane,” says returning national champion Kylie Welker of the group that adds a star-studded freshmen class to the mix – not to mention a pair of World/Olympic silver medalists in Macey Kilty and Kennedy Blades:
One of those two silver medalists – Kennedy Blades – comes fresh off the Paris Games to join a group that she wants to make history with in her first season in Iowa City.
In reference to Iowa’s increased appeal to her joining the team after it had won a title in Year 1, the Chicago native’s mindset was both a clear and ambitious one:
“Coach, I want to be on that roster when we win the next championship, or when we break the record for having 10 champs (one at every weight class).”
“We’re trying to win every single championship – because I don’t think that’s ever really happened, let alone with the guys (program), so we’re going to really try to do that this year.”
As good as these Hawkeyes appear to be, 10 national champions would still be a monumental task to even approach much less accomplish.
Then again, I can’t summarily dismiss the notion as I sit here now either. And that should probably tell you just how loaded this Iowa team is.
Short time
Be sure to check back in over the coming days as I’ll be publishing more Iowa women’s wrestling content from Media Day and in preview of the season ahead.
This truly is an incredible collection of talent that’s set to don the Black & Gold singlet(s) – not to mention an equally stellar coaching staff to boot.
I can’t predict how the entire season will ultimately play out, but I do feel confident in saying this:
You’re not going to want to miss seeing this Hawkeye team in action if you can help it.
