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Iowa Wrestling Notebook

by:Tanner Lafever•01/16/25•

TannerLafever

Spencer Lee
Hawkeye legend Spencer Lee is set for a busy January/February in his post-Olympics return. (Photo Credit: Tony Rotundo)

Well, hello there good people – and welcome back to this latest, greatest edition of the ‘Iowa wrestling notebook.’

It’s only been some 207 days since my last entry, but as the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Or perhaps now is just a great time to update folks on a few recent developments pertaining to Hawkeyes past/present/future.

Either way, the wait is over. So, let’s get right to it.

Spencer Lee returns to the mat for busy January/February

The biggest name and needle-mover in Iowa wrestling continues to be Spencer Lee.

And after a triumphant, albeit slightly melancholy silver-medal winning performance at the Paris Olympics, Lee is set to make a major return to international competition.

This Saturday (Jan. 18), the three-time NCAA champion will compete at the 51st annual Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France.

Located in Nice, France, the tournament includes Greco-Roman and men’s/women’s freestyle disciplines. Lee will join a contingent of Americans in action – competing at his traditional 57-kilogram weight class.

All qualifying rounds through the final will be wrestled that Saturday, from 4:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (CT).

Just 18 days later, Lee travels ‘across the pond’ to compete once again – this time in Croatia.

There, on Wednesday, February 5th (3:00 a.m. – 1:30 pm. CT), he’ll wrestle a Ranking Series tournament at the Zagreb Open.

As a ‘Ranking Series’ event, his results will help Lee compile points toward seeding at future major tournaments – including the 2025 World Championships.

Finally (and perhaps most excitingly), the Iowa legend will conclude a busy 5.5 weeks back on home soil in the heart of Hawkeye country.

On Monday, Lee joined FloWrestling Radio Live to announce a tantalizing matchup against arguably the brightest young star in men’s international wrestling.

20-year-old Masanosuke Ono (Japan) burst onto the scene last year, winning both U20 and Senior World titles at 61 kilograms over the span of two months.

At the latter, Ono demolished a field that included reigning World champion Vito Arujau (USA) and three-time World/Olympic champion Zavur Uguev (Russia).

Lee/Ono headlines an as-of-yet-to-be-fully-announced card that already includes five different World/Olympic medalists.

Hosted in the Hawkeye’s backyard at Xtream Arena in Coralville on February 26th, Iowa wrestling fans won’t want to miss this event.

NCAA votes in favor of adding women’s wrestling as 91st championship sport

For the better part of the past year, Wednesday had been a much-anticipated occasion for women’s college wrestling.

Entering this week’s 2025 NCAA Convention in Nashville (Tenn.) as the lead story – it awaited votes from Divisions I, II and III on a recommendation to make women’s wrestling an official NCAA championship sport.

The first of those votes passed on Wednesday:

Should Divisions II and III follow (as expected) later this week, women’s wrestling would contest its first NCAA Championship next season – in the process becoming the 91st such sport to do so.

For those who may be wondering how this alters the current status quo, a brief explainer:

  • Currently, a coalition of wrestling organizations holds a year-end ‘national championship’ event – the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) – which includes all NCAA women’s programs (Divisions I, II and III).
  • It functions in essentially the exact same role as folks are used to seeing with the men’s NCAA Championships each March, and it was where the Iowa women’s program won its first national team title last year.
  • Adding an official NCAA designation to the event moving forward does not lend any more legitimacy to the competition itself, but rather provides additional funding, publicity and (hopefully) motivation for more schools to invest in the sport – especially at the D1 level.

Arguably the greatest benefit of women’s wrestling having its own official NCAA championship is that it helps to further normalize the sport for future programs and participants who may still be reticent to get started.

For similar reasons, girls high school participation numbers are soaring. 45 states have now sanctioned the sport, and more than 64 thousand girls participated in 2023-24.

Perhaps as exciting as anything – this still feels like just the beginning.

Hawkeye women going international

Joining Spencer Lee and Team USA at next month’s Zagreb Open will be a trio of star Iowa women.

Kennedy Blades, Macey Kilty and Kylie Welker will all compete in Croatia on either February 7th or 8th (Fri/Sat).

(Top right) Blades, Kilty and Welker at Team USA camp in early-January.

Both Blades and Welker competed in this event a year ago, taking bronze and fifth place respectively at 76 kilograms. It’s yet to be confirmed which weight class(es) the three Hawkeyes will contest next month.

Competition each day will run from 3:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. CT, seven hours ahead of local time back in Iowa City.

You can also check out the featurette below from the trio’s recent trip to Colorado Springs for a Team USA women’s freestyle camp:

Full interviews for each are also available on USA Wrestling’s YouTube channel.

Closing tidbits

Here are a few final Iowa wrestling nuggets before I send you on your way.

Last week, USA Wrestling – in conjunction with the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and FloWrestling – published its latest batch of national girls high school rankings.

Of note:

  • Both of Iowa’s 2025 signees – Isabella Gonzales (120) and Sam Sachs (130) – are ranked #1 at their respective weight classes.
  • Gonzales also sits at #3 in the pound-for-pound rankings (regardless of age/weight), while Sachs is #11.

On the men’s side, Iowa also has a pair of top-ranked prospects signed in the Class of 2025.

In fact, Leo DeLuca (#1 at 120 pounds, #18 P4P) just made his long-awaited return from injury this past weekend. Meanwhile, Harvey Ludington (#1 at 190, #20 P4P) continues to roll through his senior season after committing in mid-December.

And last but not least, Spencer Lee is now a Hall of Famer.

This certainly won’t be the final such honor of Lee’s incredible (ongoing) career.

That said, it’s got to feel good to be recognized and appreciated back home where it all began.

*On Thursday afternoon it was announced that Austin DeSanto would be competing on the Lee/Ono ‘undercard’ on February 26th. The four-time Hawkeye All-American will rekindle an old college rivalry with Seth Gross – a past NCAA champion and 2022 Senior World team member.

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