Iowa Wrestling Weekend That Was: Hawkeyes begin to lock down highly-touted talent for women’s wrestling program

The puzzle pieces are starting to come together and we’re getting a picture of the future of Iowa women’s wrestling. UNI said goodbye to the West Gym. A former Western Dubuque prep won on Senior Day. The ostseason began for Class 1A and 2A: Don Bosco rolled, Alburnett earned gold in the Wrestling Weekend That Was.

Iowa womwn’s wrestling collects more commits

Just a couple days after Clarissa Chun signed her first recruit — Kylie Welker, the nation’s No. 1 pound-for-pound recruit from Wisconsin — she added a couple more notable names to the budding program. A significant commitment came from Bettendorf senior Ella Schmit, who becomes the first to join the Hawkeye women’s program from the Hawkeye state.

Schmit has been one of the state’s marquee competitors. She is a three-time Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association girls’ state wrestling champion, earning the Ms. Dan Gable Wrestler of the Year award in 2021. Schmit, a freestyle All-American in Fargo, N.D., qualified for the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 3A state tournament last season, going 1-2 in Des Moines and finishing with a 16-5 record at 106 pounds for the Bulldogs.

“It’s been my dream ever since I was little,” Schmit told Flowrestling’s Andy Hamilton. “I’m excited I finally get to live it out.”

Schmit wasn’t the only get after the high-profile signing of Welker. Chun received a commitment from Reese Larramendy on Sunday. Larramendy, originally from Nevada, wrestles for national power Wyoming Seminary Prep School in Kingston, Pa. She earned a silver medal at the U15 World Championships in 2019 and is currently ranked first at 144 pounds by Flowrestling.com.

Chun has attracted some of the nation’s strongest female competitors to the first NCAA Division I Power-5 program. The exact effect Iowa hoped when it named Chun as its first head coach. The plan is coming together.

ISU, UNI streaks continue

Iowa State and Northern Iowa maintained their winning ways in the Big 12, setting up a big showdown Friday at McLeod Center in Cedar Falls.

UNI handled Air Force, 31-6, and West Virginia, 31-10. The Panthers extended their win streak to six straight duals, improving to 7-5 overall and 6-2 in the conference. UNI freshman John Gunderson made his home debut after coming out of redshirt the previous weekend for the Oklahoma tour.

The Wisconsin state champion from Baraboo High School posted two bonus-point victories. Gunderson majored Air Force’s Kayne Hutchison, 18-5, and blanked West Virginia’s Jackson Moomau for an 8-0 major decision.

Former Lisbon four-time state champion Cael Happel joined All-American Parker Keckeisen with two dominant wins. Happel scored 10 total takedowns in a 13-4 major decision over the Falcons’ Cody Phippen and a pin of the Mountaineers’ Caleb Rea. Happel owned a 12-4 lead when he notched the fall. Keckeisen won by technical fall and major.

The Cyclones also beat up Air Force and West Virginia. They increased their win streak to 11 in a row, which is the second-longest active win streak in the country, second only to Penn State’s 27 straight that dates back to February 2020.

Iowa State won eight matches and thrashed the Mountaineers, 31-9. Kysen Terukina provided a big win for Iowa State, beating No. 5 Killian Cardinale, 6-5. It is his second win over a top-10 foe in the last two weekends. The Cyclones followed with a 27-12 victory over Air Force. Marcus Coleman had two pins during the weekend for Iowa State.

The Cyclones are 13-1 overall and 6-0 in the Big 12.

Max Lyon roars on Senior Day

Former Western Dubuque prep Max Lyon was successful for Purdue’s Senior Day on Sunday. Lyon, ranked 30th, recorded a 4-3 decision over Minnesota’s No. 22 Isaiah Salazar at 184 pounds, helping the Boilermakers to an 18-14 victory over the Golden Gophers. The win snapped Purdue’s 12-dual losing streak to Minnesota.

Lyon surrendered the first takedown to fall behind but used an escape, a takedown late in the second and a third-period escape for his 10th victory of the season.

Dominant Don Bosco

Class 1A Don Bosco dominated its way to a sectional title at BGM in Brooklyn. The Dons scored 321 points and advanced all 14 wrestlers to Saturday’s district at Jesup. Don Bosco claimed 13 individual titles.

Alburnett Pirates claim gold

Alburnett won a team title at its Class 1A sectional hosted by Wilton. The Pirates received titles from Preston Klostermann (120), Brody Neighbor (132), Carson Klostermann (145) and 152-pounder Gunnar Keeney.

The Pirates tallied 227 points, topping runner-up Wilton by nine points.