Iowa women’s wrestling reaps rewards of Macey Kilty’s eventual change of heart

CORALVILE — Macey Kilty remembers Clarissa Chun “chirping in my ear” a couple years ago as the Iowa women’s wrestling coach assembled her initial roster.

“Hey, you could come to Iowa, you could come to Iowa,” Kilty remembers Chun telling her.

Kilty “overlooked” collegiate wrestling, though, as she continued to train independently in her pursuit of the Olympics and other goals. That was until a couple years later when they were both at a summer training camp.

“I was like, ‘Hey, do you think I still have any eligibility?’” Kilty said. “We both were kind of like, ‘Are you serious? Are you joking?’”

Kilty’s change of heart — no joke — was a key part of the Hawkeyes’ success in as they repeated as NCWWC national champions in 2024-25.

The Stratford, Wis., native was 23-0 going into this week’s NCWWC national championships and then won her first four matches via tech falls. She did not even surrender a point until the championship round, when she bested North Central’s Bella Mir via a 7-2 decision to clinch the Hawkeyes’ team title.

It’s no wonder that Chun “always wanted to get to work with her on a consistent basis.”

“I’ve always had a liking and a connection with her, working with her in the development system,” Chun said. “I knew she had great coaches she was working with and was doing it unconventionally.”

Kilty has faced excellent internal competition at Iowa — “something that’s really special in our room” — as she shared a weight class with 2024 national champion (and 2025 third-place finisher) Reese Larramendy.

“We all want to win,” Kilty said. “Being able to go into the wrestling room, though, and push each other, go with each other — it’s uncomfortable, but I think that’s what brings out the best of us in competition.”

Kilty’s one year with the Hawkeyes is particularly unique as she finally can compete on an all-women team for the first time in her wrestling career.

The last time she truly participated on any team — men’s or women’s — was her freshman year of high school as she competed against boys.

“I think that’s something that’s truly, really special, especially with how women’s wrestling is growing,” Kilty said.

Simply “being a part of a team” — along with the friendships that come with that — has been Kilty’s favorite part of her year with the Hawkeyes.

“It’s cool to see how our team comes together through the wins and the losses,” Kilty said. “That’s what really shows our team. It’s not the wins and the losses. Those are awesome, and they come with the fruits of our labor. But really it’s all of us coming together at the end of a tournament. That’s the stuff I’m going to remember.”

Before going to Iowa, Kilty “felt like my identity was in wrestling.” Now, it’s more than that.

“Going to school, meeting really cool people, meeting really cool people outside of wrestling,” Kilty said. “I’m just truly grateful to be a part of this program this year.”

As for Chun’s first attempt at convincing Kilty to become a Hawkeye, she did not push too hard in the recruitment.

“It’s not everyone,” Chun said. “I’m never going to try to convince someone it’s for them if they’re not ready for it.”

Fortunately for both Kilty and the back-to-back national champion Hawkeyes, she still had a year of eligibility remaining when she did finally feel ready.

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