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Iowa wrestling weekend preview: A (Soldier) Salute to 2024

by:Tanner Lafever•about 22 hours•

TannerLafever

Soldier Salute logo
More than 50 Hawkeye wrestlers will compete this weekend at the third annual Soldier Salute tournament.

Thanks to Iowa wrestling, the best Christmas gift of this holiday season might yet to be ‘unwrapped.’

I’m talking, of course, about the upcoming Soldier Salute tournament.

Hosted just down the block at Xtream Arena in Coralville, this Sunday/Monday (Dec. 29-30) will be the lone instance all season that Hawkeye fans can watch both Iowa wrestling programs compete side by side.

The top-ranked Iowa women’s team and the #2 Iowa men are worth the price of admission all on their own. But they’ll be joined by a pair of talented fields that figure to offer viewers plenty of compelling action over two days.

Per a pair of Friday releases, here’s who you can expect in action for the Hawkeyes this weekend:

A whopping 22 of Clarissa Chun’s pupils are scheduled to take the mat for the undefeated Iowa women’s team.

Among them are several notable inclusions – in addition to the usual (ridiculous) firepower:

  • At 103 pounds, reigning NCWWC finalist Sterling Dias returns to competition (from injury) for the first time since opening weekend.
  • Lilly Luft (138) makes her season debut, having last donned the Iowa singlet in March when she earned NCWWC All-American honors (fifth).
  • Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades makes her third appearance as a Hawkeye – competing at 160.

Meanwhile, Tom Brands’ second-ranked men’s team is entering 29 athletes of its own.

Of interest:

  • Both #8 Nelson Brands (174) and #28 Ryder Block (141) will miss the tournament – seemingly for health-related reasons – which presents an opportunity for Patrick Kennedy and Cullan Schriever to make a strong impression at those respective weight classes.
  • #6 Gabe Arnold and superstar freshman Angelo Ferrari are both entered in what could be a dynamite bracket at 184.

What to watch for (women’s team edition)

Joining #1 Iowa in the women’s field (according to TrackWrestling) are nine other college programs from around the country (and/or continent).

#14 Dubuque will be the lone member amongst them to come from the NCAA ranks.

The headliner competition is undoubtedly NAIA’s top-ranked Life University (GA), who returns to the event for a third-consecutive year. In doing so, they’ll continue to build upon a budding rivalry with Iowa.

Back in early November, the Hawkeyes traveled south for a ‘battle of the birds’, defeating the Eagles 30-14 in a road dual. A day later, the teams ran into one another on numerous occasions in an open tournament setting.

Life will be accompanied in the field by the likes of #5 William Penn (IA) and #7 Indiana Tech – along with a few other ranked NAIA programs.

And rounding things out from a team perspective are two schools that almost couldn’t be further apart.

From Roseburg, Oregon, Umpqua Community College sends its third-ranked NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) squad nearly two thousand miles to test itself in Wrestletown, USA.

And from the northeast, Brock University appears set to send a small contingent of its own.

Located in Ontario – yes, that Ontario – the Canadian University is the alma mater of Iowa assistant coach Tonya Verbeek.

The six-time World/Olympic medalist has previously both competed and coached at Brock.

Now, it appears her former school – the 11-time Canadian national champions (incl. 2023-24) – will trek some 730 miles to compete against her current one.

Per Track, several club programs may also be sending athletes to the Soldier Salute – which is open to all junior/senior high school women as well as post-collegians.

Depending on who shows, that could spice up this already compelling tournament even more.

What to watch for (men’s team edition)

On the men’s side of the ledger, it’s a bit foggy as to exactly which teams will/won’t be contending with the #2 Hawkeyes.

The Soldier Salute website lists 11 other teams (incl. the Naval Academy Preparatory School) set to join Iowa. But TrackWrestling lists another 11 beyond that.

I don’t want to bog folks down with the minutiae of what may or may not come to fruition. So, instead I’ll stick to the teams listed on both sites – with one caveat:

This tournament will get a whole lot deeper if even just a few of those 11 additional teams – many of them from power conferences – send wrestlers this weekend.

Back to what we do know, the following programs are expected to be represented in some form or fashion – all of whom happen to have competed at this event a year ago:

(team rankings from the latest NWCA Coaches’ Poll)

  • #4 Nebraska
  • #7 Minnesota
  • #10 Northern Iowa (UNI)
  • #13 Iowa State
  • #14 South Dakota State
  • #19 Missouri
  • #23 North Carolina
  • Bellarmine (KY)
  • Navy
  • Naval Academy Preparatory School
  • Wyoming

It’s important to note that none of Nebraska, UNI, Iowa State or Missouri sent what you’d consider to be their full ‘A-Team’ in 2023.

That said, there were a few starters as well as talented redshirting athletes from among that quartet. A similar showing this year would certainly offer up some intriguing opponents for the Hawkeyes. And any increase would only raise the floor/ceiling of what the Soldier Salute can be as a burgeoning holiday tournament.

What to watch for (women’s individuals)

By my count, there could be as many as 43 top-10 ranked NCAA/NAIA athletes in the women’s field this weekend. That figure includes 12 Hawkeyes – each ranked #7 or higher.

It also omits another 16 NAIA wrestlers ranked between 11th and 20th, plus everyone else from the Junior College, Canadian and/or non-collegiate ranks.

Point being, there should be great matchups everywhere you look.

103, 110, 117, and 138 pounds could all be chock-full of high-end talent, including favored/contending Hawkeyes.

But my gaze immediately turns to perhaps the ‘shallowest’ field – at 145 – in hopes of seeing a rematch to an all-time barnburner from last year’s final.

NCAA #1 Reese Larramendy and NAIA #1 Jamilah McBryde (Life) put a combined 42(!) points on the board some 363 days ago at Xtream Arena. The absolute slugfest was tied at 20-apiece in the final moments, with Larramendy trailing on criteria.

The Hawkeye got in on a shot and appeared ready to secure the winning score only for McBryde to counter her to her back for the fall with just two seconds remaining.

And while Larramendy owns two other wins (13-5 and 12-4) in their series surrounding that electric defeat, I’d gladly watch the two returning national champions square off again in Coralville in hopes that ‘lightning’ might strike the same matchup twice.

Depending on seeding, that potential bout could be preceded/succeeded by one against another Hawkeye, two-time Senior World medalist Macey Kilty.

(Doesn’t this all sound pretty great?)

Meanwhile, I mentioned in the intro that Kennedy Blades is set to don an Iowa singlet for just the third time in her brief college career.

In doing so, she might face one of the few collegiate opponents who could give her a challenge – NAIA #1 Latifah McBryde (Life).

What to watch for (men’s individuals)

Switching back to the men, there projects to be anywhere from 4-6 ranked athletes at all 10 weight classes.

(And again, that’s only including the programs purported to be in attendance by two separate sources.)

Lower and/or unranked Hawkeyes figure to have plenty of opportunities to make their name(s) at 125 and 141 pounds. Those two weights continue to be the biggest question marks in Iowa’s lineup entering the New Year.

Elsewhere in the field, top-10 matchups could be in play at 149, 165, 184 and 197 depending upon how things shake out.

Nowhere might that be more the case than at 184 – especially if the reigning NCAA champion makes an appearance.

UNI’s Parker Keckeisen – ranked #2 nationally behind Penn State four-timer Carter Starocci – blitzed his way to an undefeated season a year ago. If he’s among the Panther contingent in Coralville this weekend, he could join three other top-seven-ranked wrestlers in the bracket.

Among them, #6 Gabe Arnold could have multiple opportunities to pick up the highest-caliber win(s) of his young Hawkeye career. And so too, could Angelo Ferrari.

Now, presuming Iowa ultimately wants to redshirt Ferrari this season, I share the train of thought with others that it’s unlikely we see Ferrari and Arnold wrestle one another this weekend.

Of course, there’s every chance the two don’t cross paths at all. But if they do, why create an unnecessary ‘controversy’ if you know you plan on redshirting Ferrari?

Then again, I’m not Tom Brands and I don’t coach the Iowa wrestling team. So, who knows?

It’s also notable that the biggest star of the weekend is unlikely to be a Hawkeye.

That’s because Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson will be among a full Minnesota lineup expected to compete this Sunday/Monday.

How to watch

My strongest recommendation would be for Iowa fans to head over to watch this weekend’s action in person. Tickets are still available, ranging from $18/day or $30 for the entire tournament.

As I mentioned previously, the Soldier Salute marks the lone opportunity on the Iowa wrestling calendar to watch both programs compete side-by-side.

If you can’t make it to Coralville, however, the event will be livestreamed in full via B1G+ (subscription required.

Earlier this week, the Big Ten Network announced its coverage plans for the tournament. Among them, BTN broadcasting duo Shane Sparks and Tim Johnson will call the action – including whip-around coverage of the best moments across all 10 mats.

Iowa fans can also follow both days (and four sessions) of wrestling via the Hawkeye Radio Network. The usual pairing of Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will be on the mic, which you can find on either your radio at AM 800 KXIC or streaming online via the Iowa Hawkeyes YouTube channel.

As for the schedule itself, here’s the two-day breakdown (all times Central):

Sunday, December 29th

Session 1:

  • 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Session 2:

  • 3:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Monday, December 30th

Session 3:

  • 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Session 4:

  • 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

And don’t worry, if for some reason you can’t tune in via audio/visual means I’ll also have boots on the ground at Xtream Arena providing wall-to-wall coverage on my social media feed.

(That said, I’d urge you to utilize me as a last resort – if only for the sake of quality haha.)

Short time

That’s going to wrap it up for this latest Iowa wrestling weekend preview.

I know it’s been a minute since the last big event on the mat – especially for the men’s program. That said, I hope you’re all as ready as I am to dive headlong back into the action.

This will be my first time attending the Soldier Salute in person, as a spectator or media member. I’m incredibly excited to see if it lives up to and/or surpasses the high expectations I have going in.

Here’s hoping all of you guys out there had an awesome Christmas, and as always, thanks for reading.

Be sure to check back in throughout the weekend for coverage – including daily recaps. But most importantly, enjoy the heck out of a whole bunch of Iowa wrestling.

Talk to you again soon!

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