Iowa Wrestling Weekend That Was: Final takeaways from 2024 NCAA Division I Championships

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships capped the college wrestling season. David Carr returned to the top and boosted Iowa State over rival Iowa. UNI’s Parker Keckeisen’s Snuggie got attention as he won his first title in dominant fashion. Iowa’s Drake Ayala reached the finals. This is the Wrestling Weekend That Was:

Iowa State’s resurrection

If David Carr hadn’t already cemented himself as one of Iowa State’s all-time greats, he did it Saturday night. Carr, the son of Cyclone three-time NCAA champion Nate Carr, was tagged as a cornerstone recruit when Iowa State landed him out of Perry High School in Massillon, Ohio. Then-first-year head coach Kevin Dresser could rebuild the program.

It took a few years, but Carr’s second national title highlighted Iowa State’s fourth-place finish. It put the exclamation mark on the Cyclones’ best NCAA team finish since getting third in 2010. When Dresser took over as the 2016-17 season closed, Iowa State tied for 57th and tied for 45th in his first official season in 2017-18. Five tournaments later (2020 was canceled), the Cyclones are a top-five team again.

Carr’s personal accomplishments are outstanding. He became Iowa State’s first five-time All-American, reaching the finals three times, placing third in 2022 and earning National Wrestling Coaches Association honors when the NCAA tournament was canceled in 2020.

Carr is the Cyclones’ 17th two-time NCAA champion and the first since Jake Varner won consecutive titles in 2009 and 2010. His title is the 71st individual crown in Iowa State history.

An impressive college career ends with a 120-5 overall record. Carr is tied for 15th on the Cyclones’ all-time wins list. He posted a .960 winning percentage, ranking fourth behind Cael Sanderson (1.000), Dan Gable (.990) and Tim Krieger (.967).

The title wasn’t easy. He defeated the Nos. 1, 2 and 5 seeds, facing four All-Americans en route to the 165-pound title.

Carr’s victory also catapulted the Cyclones passed the rival Iowa in the team standings (68 1/2-67) for the first time since 2007. Iowa State was second that season, while Iowa was eighth. Also, it was just the fourth time since 1989 that the Cyclones placed in front of the Hawkeyes.

Irregular Iowa season concludes

Iowa finished fifth in the team race for the first time since 2016, only 5 1/2 points back of second-place Cornell.

The season was a tough road for Iowa from the start. The Hawkeyes were hampered by suspensions when the NCAA received information from an illegal sports betting investigation. Four starters, including two All-Americans, from the previous season were unable to compete. The points from one would have been enough to move into second place.

The Hawkeyes took a “next man in” approach and tried to move onward.

“I don’t think our guys were rattled,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said in a post-tournament interview. “I think our guys handled it as well as you can handle that stuff.

“That’s what life is about, so you can talk about all that. You keep talking about it but they handled it well. They went forward with it.”

The Hawkeyes managed four All-Americans and graduate 141-pounder Real Woods and Jared Franek at 157. Sophomore NCAA runner-up Drake Ayala (125) and fourth-place 165-pounder Michael Caliendo return, along with NCAA qualifiers Caleb Rathjen, Patrick Kennedy and Bradley Hill. An infusion of talent with Gabe Arnold and possibly two-sport athlete Ben Kueter in the upper weights could provide a boost.

Iowa could use some help from the transfer portal again, which has rendered competitors like Woods, Franek, Caliendo and Brody Teske.

“It’s too early to talk about next year, evaluating this year,” Brands said.

Parker Keckeisen needs to be considered for Hodge

Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen powered his way to the 184-pound title, scoring bonus points in all five matches at the NCAA tournament. Keckeisen beat Dustin Plott, 14-5, in the finals, giving him three major decisions and two technical falls. In the season’s biggest tournament against the nation’s best wrestlers, Keckeisen outscored foes by a combined 75-17.

Keckeisen finished this season with a 31-0 record. He had 28 bonus-point victories, which equates to a 90.3 bonus win rate. That includes majoring the national runner-up twice in less than two weeks and beating him 12-6 the first meeting. With victories well in hand during the semifinals and finals, he was still attempting to score takedowns, which demonstrates his tenacity and stamina on the mat. His dominance throughout the year should plant him in the middle of the Hodge Trophy race.

Keckeisen is UNI’s first four-time Division I All-American and the program’s first four-time All-American in 42 years. He hasn’t finished lower than third. Keckeisen has said he plans to come back for his extra season of eligibility, so expect to see him vie for a second title next year.

Keckeisen is known as being one of the most humble and down-to-earth competitors. He even mentioned how UNI Coach Doug Schwab encourages wrestlers to be themselves on and off the mat. A self-described goofy person, he wears a Snuggie as a warmup. The furry, hooded garment meant for lounging stood out to announcers during the broadcast. It could become a fashion trend for wrestlers, trying to emulate Keckeisen’s success.

Crazy 125-pound division

The 125-pound weight class has been topsy-turvy all season. It seemed that upsets were rampant and parity was the theme throughout the year. The new No. 1 ranked guy appeared to get upset, regardless of name or school.

Well, the NCAA tournament didn’t bring that to a halt. In what was considered a wide-open division, the order of finish proved that to be true.

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8-3-12-10-2-15-5-23. Those numbers represent the seeds of the All-America performers. Arizona State’s No. 8 seed Richie Figueroa beat Iowa’s No. 3 Ayala for the title. There were as many double-digit seeds on the podium as single-digit seeds with Penn State’s top-seeded Braeden Davis and Purdue’s No. 4 seed and returning NCAA finalist Matt Ramos getting eliminated before the medal rounds.

South Dakota State’s Tanner Jordan placed eighth and was the No. 23 seed out of 33 in the field.

The only predictable thing about 125 this season was its unpredictability.

Penn State’s record performance

Penn State secured its 11th NCAA team title in the last 13 national tournaments. The Nittany Lions placed sixth in the finals and crowned four champions, scoring 172 1/2 points, beating the record of 170 set by Iowa in 1997 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

The Nittany Lions clinched the crown by the time Friday night was done. It was the first time that has occurred since Iowa won the 2010 championship.

Penn State also bested another Iowa record. The Nittany Lions posted the largest margin of victory, distancing themselves from the field by a whopping 100 points. It broke the old record of 73.75 set by Iowa in 1986.

Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks both won their fourth NCAA titles. Sanderson has coached Penn State to 38 NCAA individual titles since taking over for the 2009-10 season.

Kansas City was a good NCAA wrestling host

The response from fans and media who attended the national tournament at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., was overwhelmingly favorable. Some wrestling personalities like award-winning broadcaster Shane Sparks, who has worked with Big Ten Network, ESPN and the NCAA for television, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he’d like to see the tournament held there every year. He compared it to the NCAA Division I College World Series having a permanent home in Omaha, Neb.

The attendance over six sessions reached 93,768 fans. Each session surpassed 15,400 each session with Saturday’s sessions drawing 15,944 for the placing rounds and 15,950 for the championship matches.

College wrestling has looked for bigger venues, knowing that it could fill any venue (Minneapolis for example before COVID-19 canceled the 2020 NCAA Championships). The next two national tournaments are in Philadelphia and Cleveland. It will be interesting to see the cities and their respective arenas, or stadiums, when the next set of hosts are announced.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com