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Spencer Lee headlines star-studded Wednesday event in Coralville

by:Tanner Lafever•02/25/25•

TannerLafever

Spencer Lee
For the first time in two years, Hawkeye fans in the Iowa City/Coralville area will get to see Spencer Lee compete in their own backyard again on Wednesday night. (Photo Credit: Tony Rotundo/Wrestlers Are Warriors)

For the first time since February 2023, Iowa wrestling fans will get the chance to watch Hawkeye hero Spencer Lee compete in their own backyard.

(And he won’t be alone.)

On Wednesday night at Xtream Arena in Coralville – not two miles from his old stomping grounds at Carver-Hawkeye Arena – Lee headlines ‘FloWrestling Night in America’ as part of a 10-match main card.

He’ll be joined by a plethora of other highly credentialed wrestlers (both domestic and international).

World/Olympic medalists? Check.

NCAA stars of yesteryear? Check.

And perhaps of greatest interest to Iowa fans, Lee’s old ‘tag-team partner’ – Austin DeSanto – will be taking the mat as well.

(For a full bout order/breakdown, check out this link.)

As for the opponents for the two Hawkeye alums, buckle up.

Lee will close the evening against Japanese sensation Masanosuke Ono – a 2024 World Champion. Meanwhile, DeSanto is set to renew an ongoing rivalry with 2018 NCAA champion, Seth Gross.

I’ll get into a bit more about each of the key figures involved in Wednesday’s event from an Iowa perspective – then let folks know how/when to watch should be an awesome night of scrapping in the heart of Wrestletown, USA.

Lee vs Ono – a battle of lightweight dynamos

Look, you guys don’t exactly need me to run through Spencer Lee’s credentials again.

So, we’ll keep it brief for any newcomers out there:

  • 3x age-level World Champion
  • 3x NCAA champion
  • 2024 Olympic silver medalist (57kg)
  • all-around point-scoring machine

Last summer Lee fulfilled (part of) a lifelong dream by making his first Olympic team, ultimately falling just short of his biggest goal by losing 4-2 in the gold medal match to another Japanese star – Rei Higuchi.

Now, he takes aim toward the next Olympic cycle – leading to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

But rather than wait until the 2025 World Championships later this year, why not test yourself against the very best right here and now? At least that seems like Lee’s mindset with Wednesday’s matchup.

How so? Well, because Masanosuke Ono is arguably the brightest young men’s wrestling star in the world right now.

Last September, Ono made his first Under-20 World team and subsequently steamrolled to a title at 61 kilograms – outscoring four opponents by a combined margin of 38-2.

Then, not even two months later, he did pretty much the same thing – on the senior level.

In five matches, Ono scored 55 points while allowing just two. In the process he crushed 2020 Olympic champion/two-time World champion Zavur Uguev (Russia) and 2023 World champion Vito Arujau (USA).

Now he’ll match wits with Spencer Lee in a bout the international wrestling community is dying to see.

Aside from Wednesday’s intrigue, there’s also talk Ono may drop down to 57 kilograms (~125.7 pounds) for his upcoming international pursuits. That’d be a change from his recent dominance at 61kg (~134.5 pounds) and line him up squarely with Lee at future major tournaments.

*Wednesday’s bout will be contested at a ‘catch weight’ of 59.5kg (~131.2 pounds).

DeSanto vs Gross – Part Five

Meanwhile, the other Hawkeye-related match of Wednesday is actually a two-parter.

Iowa fans are plenty familiar with Austin DeSanto’s career in the Black & Gold singlet.

His relentless pressure and blistering pace made him appointment viewing every time he stepped onto the mat. And his results (four-time All-American) played no small part in Iowa performing as the best team in the country for back-to-back seasons (incl. a 2021 NCAA team title).

His opponent tomorrow night – Seth Gross – was actually a Hawkeye himself once upon a time. But a winding (and ultimately excellent) career took him away from Iowa City to the likes of South Dakota State and Wisconsin to conclude his collegiate eligibility.

As an SDSU Jackrabbit, Gross was a 2017 NCAA runner up to Iowa’s Cory Clark before winning a title of his own in 2018. But it wasn’t until a move to Wisconsin that he’d lock horns with DeSanto.

The pair met three times during the 2019-20 season – led off by DeSanto upsetting the top-ranked Badger at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Gross would get his revenge twice in the proceeding months via a pair of tightly contested rematches at The Midlands and the Big Ten Championships.

Fast-forward three whole years and they finally met again, this time with DeSanto coming out on top at the 2023 US Open.

The outcome was even more impressive considering the year prior Gross had represented the United States at the World Championships, taking fifth place.

So, Wednesday will serve as a ‘rubber match’ of sorts between these two, at least for now. And we as a wrestling audience are all the better off for it.

How to watch

For Iowa fans sitting at home, Wednesday night’s event will be livestreamed exclusively on FloWrestling (subscription required).

Action begins at 6:30 p.m. (CT) with a trio of ‘undercard’ high school matches, followed by the ‘main card’ at 7:00 p.m.

DeSanto/Gross will be match 6/10 on the main card. Shortly thereafter, Spencer Lee and Masanosuke Ono will close out the night in a clash of titans.

Meanwhile, tickets are still available if you’d like to attend this event in person. The link below should point folks in the right direction:

I’ll also have boots on the ground covering things live if you want to give me a follow on social media.

One more thing

If somehow you weren’t already convinced to attend/tune in to Wednesday’s night’s event, perhaps you might be tempted by a chance to meet (potentially) the next ‘Spencer Lee-type’ wrestler for the Hawkeyes.

Top-ranked 2026 recruit, Bo Bassett – fresh off his recent commitment to Iowa – will be in the house to mingle with fans of his future college destination.

It also sounds like he’ll be hopping on the mic to lend some commentary during the DeSanto/Gross match as well.

If Sunday’s Iowa/Oklahoma State dual was the ‘main course’ on this week’s wrestling menu then Lee/Ono, DeSanto/Gross and a Bo Bassett special appearance should make for one heck of a ‘dessert’ for Hawkeye fans.

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