Two weeks of Iowa wrestling have given Hawkeye fans a lot to be excited for and some things to be nervous about.
Meets against Iowa Central, Buffalo, North Dakota State, and Rider, as well as two open meets, have offered glimpses into the stronger and weaker points of Iowa’s wrestling team, and it’s shown that Iowa has potential — whether it’s returning All-Americans or show-stealing freshmen — but some weight classes need work.
The top returners
Undeniably, Iowa wrestling is good, and it has shown why. The Hawkeyes have won 35 of their 40 bouts this season and have scored bonus points in 27 of them. They have outscored their opponents a combined total of 154-18.
At the forefront of Iowa’s attack stands three-time All-American Brandon Sorensen. The 149-pound senior is ranked No. 2 nationally and has finished fourth, second, and third at the NCAA Championships the past three years. He holds a 104-13 record.
Besides Sorensen is sophomore Michael Kemerer. At 157 pounds, he has become a force for the Hawkeyes. The current No. 3-ranked Hawkeye placed third at last years’ NCAA Championships and runner-up in the Big Ten, and he finished his season 33-3.
“[Sorensen and Kemerer] are the leaders because of their credentials, and they bring the same kind of life into that room that everybody else does,” head coach Tom Brands said. “They might have a little bit of a different method, but they bring that same life.”
A strong supporting cast stands behind Sorensen and Kemerer. Iowa’s seventh-ranked heavyweight Sam Stoll is back from an ACL injury and has mostly dominated his opponents so far this season, even with a knee brace on. Tenth-ranked Cash Wilcke has been consistent at 197 pounds and placed eighth at the Big Ten Championships as a freshman last season, and Joey Gunther is another returning NCAA qualifier for Iowa; he wrestled well at 174 in Iowa’s first events.
The holes
Iowa’s roster is questionable at a number of weight classes.
With the loss of Thomas Gilman to graduation, Brands needs to fill a hole at 125. Iowa’s Justin Stickley was Brands’ first true freshman to compete since Nathan Burak in 2012. Stickley is 5-2 in the 125-pound weight class, losing to 17th-ranked Kyle Atkins of Buffalo and unranked Paul Bianchi of North Dakota State.
Senior Phillip Laux is seemingly the go-to guy at 133 this season. In the wake of Cory Clark’s historic year last year, the shoes to fill are big. Laux, who has competed in three of the four bouts this season, won all three and earned bonus points in each match, but he has yet to see his strongest competition.
Redshirt freshman Kaleb Young has held down the 165-pound position for the Hawkeyes this season, but the long-anticipated début of redshirt freshman Alex Marinelli is near, Brands says. Wrestling unattached last season, Marinelli posted a strong 13-2 record.
A bright future
Although the season is young, it’s never too early to talk about the future.
Two true freshmen have received plenty of attention leading into this season: Spencer Lee and Jacob Warner highlight a bright future for the Hawkeye program.
Lee, hailed as the best pound-for-pound recruit in his class, finished his high-school career 144-1 with three state championships and three world championships. The highly decorated 125-pounder is rehabbing a knee injury and will most likely wrestle unattached this season.
