Iowa football recruit Cody Fox fights through injury with pin in state wrestling tournament

DES MOINES — Top-seeded heavyweight Cody Fox of East Buchanan made sure his first-round state wrestling tournament match would be anything but close. Fox — a four-star Iowa football recruit who sustained a severe knee injury in the Tri-Rivers Conference meet last week — won by fall in his only bout on the first day of the Class 1A tournament Wednesday.

He wrestled with a torn meniscus and bone bruise, so he’s in obvious pain, but doctors told him competing at state won’t make the injury worse. That’s all the tough-minded senior needed to hear.

“My main goal is to just stay on top,” said Fox, a two-time state medalist at heavyweight. “Get it done and over with. Obviously there’s gonna be some situations where it’s maybe gonna get a little more sore than others, but just gotta wrestle through it.”

Fox said he’ll have surgery after the tournament and he’s expected to make a full recovery.

“Hoping for the best,” he added.

Same goes for state, where Fox is seeking to get off the mat quickly — and with his arm raised all the way to the finals. His next match is Thursday against Wilton’s Alex Kaufmann in the quarterfinals.

“Just gonna be painful,” he said. “Just got to wrestle through it.”

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