Seventh heaven: Michael Kemerer announces return to Iowa wrestling

IOWA CITY - In entertaining fashion, Michael Kemerer announced that his Iowa wrestling career will continue.

The three-time All-American and 2021 NCAA runner-up had a little fun with the help of some teammates to reveal he will return for a seventh season.

Kemerer shared he would rejoin the Hawkeyes’ national championship team via video Wednesday on TikTok and Twitter. He is expected to fill the 174-pound spot again.

The humorous video opens with a scene from the movie “Tommy Boy” when David Spade is mocking Chris Farley for going to college for seven years, noting the ones that do that are doctors.

Cue a jump cut to a close-up of a lab coat with “Dr. Kemerer” on the breast. Kemerer is dressed as a doctor in a faux operating room with Max Murin on a table.

Kemerer asks for a scalpel, which is handed to him by teammate Cobe Siebrecht. He pulls the sheet from Murin, who sits up and turns to the camera. All three give a thumbs up with another teammate emerging from a curtain with thumbs up and a smile.

The video concludes with a photo of Kemerer, giving the Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd two thumbs up after the 2020 Penn State dual, and the message, “Grandpa Mike is returning for one more year!”

The 24-year-old received the “Grandpa Mike” moniker from teammates due to his age.

“Being the older guy, I hear a lot of jokes about it, but that’s cool,” Kemerer said during a weekly news conference in February. “It’s been cool, getting to help some of these younger guys along. Having the experience and wrestle a couple seasons in the lineup. Just having that experience and knowing what it’s like and trying to be better and help out my teammates.”

Kemerer, a graduate student, is a four-time All-American, placing third and fourth at 157 his first two seasons. His redshirt junior year was over before it began with a knee injury that required surgery. The state champion from Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa., petitioned and was granted medical hardship for the missed season.

He returned last season, earning first-team All-America honors from the National Wrestling Coaches Association when the NCAA tournament was canceled.

Kemerer won a Big Ten title in March and reached the NCAA finals with an 11-1 record during a shortened season that did not count against competitors’ eligibility. He is 86-8 all-time, including a 45-1 dual mark.

“He’s pretty adept at learning,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said of Kemerer during the season. “What can you say about the guy? His social life is intact. His academics are intact and he’s a wiz-bang on the mat.”

With Kemerer’s return, Iowa will bring back all seven All-Americans and 129 tournament points from its 24th NCAA title team.