Look back at IAwrestle All-Iowa Collegiate Rankings

With colleges starting to open up this Fall, let’s take a look BACK at our final 2021 All-Iowa Collegiate Rankings, with results mostly based straight from NCAA’s, NAIA’s, and JUCO’s.

Our 2021-22 All-Iowa Collegiate Rankings and team previews will be coming to Rokfin. 

125 

Topping our list is – you guessed it – Spencer Lee, the king of all kings!!! He is now a 3x NCAA Champion & certified legend after winning the title this year with zero acl’s.

Next up we have Teske and Terukina. Teske is in contention to AA next year after falling in the bloodround this year (after earning the fived seed at NCAA’s). Terukina was an NCAA qualifier as a true freshman; his upside is tantalizing to Dresser and co.

Justin Portillo is now a 4x AA in NAIA, with a chance at FIVE (typically impossible) next season. His overall track record for sure earns him the No. 4 spot at 125, ahead of all other lower-division Iowan schools.

Friddle (Coe) won D3’s. However, we must note that D3’s was very watered down this year after the official NCAA’s got cancelled. It was Friddle’s first year qualifying and thus first AA Status. I have some tough choices to make with D3 throughout these rankings, as their nationals was the only without the entire typical field (many eastern schools had no chance to go because of their institution). 

Following Friddle is Brady Kyner, who was runner-up to Friddle at D3’s. Kyner has always been in contention for a title and could very well get it next year if he keeps improving with the amazing Wartburg. Fun fact, he also earned a bid to compete at the senior world team trials coming up in a couple weeks – not an easy thing to do. 

Fun fact with D3 125: 6 out of the 8 All-Americans came from Iowa schools. SIX. In other words, Iowa owns D3. What’s even crazier is, next year, NCAA’s will revert back to their normal qualifying process, instead of leaving it “open” like this year. ALL Iowans (including another AA from North Central, IL, too) are in the same region in D3, which means at least THREE guys won’t be returning to nationals next season. Crazy. McChesney (Simpson) and Chavez (Luther) got 5th and 6th at D3’s, whereas Jared Hensley (Loras) and Chase Poston (Central) got 7th and 8th. Hensley and Poston sit just outside the All-Iowa rankings.  

Kaden Anderlik (Upper Iowa) was in an incredibly tough weight class for D2 regionals. The guy he lost to by a point to qualify for NCAA’s, Joe Arroyo (Wisc.-Parkside), got 3rd at both regionals AND NCAA’s for some perspective. He is right there. Anderlik has still proven he can beat AA’s with his track record.

We also have two solid JUCO AA’s in our ranks. Aiden Harris came from a really slow start of the season and showed out for Iowa Central, getting 4th at Juco’s even after losing in the very first round. Busitil of Indian Hills is getting his freshly-minted program on the board with his own AA status, where he earned 5th at Juco’s.

Lastly, we have NAIA bloodround finisher CaRon Watson ranking 11th All-Iowa, who only lost to the guys to get 3rd and 5th at NAIA’s. NAIA has had a ton of options at this weight (Lupton of Graceland, Shell of Morningside, etc.), and while Portillo has been at the top, the battle for 2nd in NAIA-Iowa has been steep. CaRon earns it for coming dang close to nagging AA status (lost 2-1 in bloodround).

A seriously loaded weight deserves some honorable mention, right? 

– Jared Hensely (Loras) – 7th D3

– Chase Poston (Central) – 8th D3

– Joe Lupton (Graceland) – NAIA Qualifier

– Evan Shell (Morningside) – NAIA Qualifier

– Clarence Lee-Green (NIACC) – JUCO Bloodround

– Nate Rizek (Iowa Western) – JUCO Bloodround

– Cade Hornback (Dubuque) – D3 Bloodround

– Byron Fleming (Buena Vista) – D3 Qualifier

133

Mr. Desanto leads 133, as he had a great performance at NCAA’s and got 3rd, losing to only Daton Fix. I cross my fingers that soon Desanto gets his NCAA title, one he continues to make leaps and bounds towards. 

Zach Redding didn’t place for ISU (went 0-2), and UNI didn’t qualify with Skudzlarcyk. UNI may have cost themselves here, as Skudz and Biscoglia are of equal talents, but since UNI mainly wrestled Biscoglia through the year, Skudz didn’t have enough matches to hope for a wild card.

Brock Henderson (Coe) brings a national title to Iowa!!! The North Linn High School native (2x State Champ) has gained an NCAA title to his collection of awing achievements.  

Also in that D3 bracket, Joe Pins (Wartburg) really strode at the end of the season and takes 3rd in a tough bracket, including beating Eron Haynes (NE Wesleyan) for 3rd, who recently himself beat D1 All-American Michael McGee (Arizona St.). Zach Thompson (Loras) had an awesome tournament to get 5th, and Shandon Akeo rounds out our Iowan AA’s at 133 with 7th. Watch Akeo’s crazy bloodround match with No. 4 Charlie Pickell (Augsburg), and then thank me later.

Carson Taylor performed as well as many Vikings did at NAIA’s, getting 4th and only losing to the set of Gimson twins (Indiana Tech). Bonus (literally), he pinned EVERY match he won. Wowza. Carson Taylor became a lot of firsts for the Vikings last year as a true freshman, and he dominated pretty much everybody the entire season. 

Also in NAIA, Taylor Vasquez was sooo close to AA’ing, and he even beat the 7 seed on the way. Look for Vasquez to AA next year for Morningside.

Our JUCO representative at this weight for Iowa is Caleb Meekins, who got 4th for Indian Hills. Indian Hills seems to have plenty of reps for being a first-year program. 

141

Jaydin Eierman… The Riddler. 

Eierman was a pick to win NCAA’s by many, especially after knocking off Nick Lee (Penn State) at Big 10’s. However, Lee shocked a lot of people when he turned things 180 degrees and beat Eierman in OT in the ’21 NCAA Finals. Eierman has now officially gone 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd at NCAA’s respectively. What comes next? The national title, of course.

Ian Parker dug himself a hole when he got upset by Colin Valdivez (Northwestern) first round, which set him up on the backside with 4x All-American Chad Red (Nebraska). Parker didn’t place, but he was the 7 seed for a reason. Ian Parker is on a mission, and while he hasn’t always done the best at the big show, his time will come. Parker’s pace and tenacity are like none other, and you can’t ignore that.

Kris Rumph was oh-so-close to a national title for Wartburg. This is his second time coming close to a national title, as he was all but set to win it in 2020 at 133 before NCAA’s was cancelled abruptly.

Brett Minor knocked off the returning Juco-Champ, Blake Gonzalez (NEO) in the quarters at nationals, and proceeded to make the finals for Iowa Central. In the semis, he beat fellow Iowa-Collegian Creighton Baughman of Iowa Western in an All-Iowa semi-showdown. Baughman also ended up dominating Gonzalez for 5th, being up 10-0 then pinning him – in other words, Baughman broke the returning champ.

Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) earned this ranking by pulling off AA status in arguably the deepest weight class in D2. The 141 bracket was nuts, and Murty proved a lot marching to 6th place.

In D3, our other All-Americans were Riley Wright – 5th (Coe), Jalen Schropp – 6th (Loras), and Tyler Dilfore – 8th (Luther). All three, plus Rumph and more, will be in the same D3 regional next season where only three can make it to NCAA’s. 

No NAIA All-American. Kendon Lee did not have his best performance for the Vikings and drops some spots because of it. He lost in the bloodround after earning the 2 seed at NAIA’s. His losses were to the eventual finalist Ryan Moore (Thomas More) in OT, then to the 5-seed Trent Leon (Reinhardt) on the backside, who headlocked Lee for the win (Leon has one of the best headlocks I’ve seen, to be fair). Tough going for Kendon Lee. 

Other 141 tidbits include Victor Guzman, who showed up for Indian Hills – after losing in the very first round to eventual champ Chinzorig Tsermaa (Northwest Tech.) he won FOUR straight to place, plus another to get 7th place. UNI didn’t qualify and didn’t look great after going with Basile over Drew Bennett and Colin Realbuto. Basile went 0-2 at Big 12’s, but he is young and looking to improve next year. He goes below Kendon Lee, who is a multiple-time national finalist (in Juco & NAIA), but above Schropp, the D3 6th-placer. 

149

Really interesting weight right here. Incredibly tough, yet we start out with 3 non-All-American’s. I wanted to put Mr. Gerke, THE national champion of Iowa-149, ahead of at least Jarrett Degen, but we will get to that…

Maximus Murin starts us off as a blood-round finisher for the Hawkeyes. Murin is tough-as-rocks. Murin has one of the highest drives I’ve seen – this man wants to win for the Hawks. Murin’s losses at nationals were to Lewallen (OK State) and Abas (Stanford), both eventual D1 All-American’s. To be honest, I don’t think he loses to Abas 4/5 times. Look for Murin to All-American next year. I’m personally betting on it. 

Next up we have Triston Lara for UNI. T-Lara didn’t place this year, but boy did he make jumps this season. He upset the 10-seed at nationals, Michael Van Brill (Rutgers), then lost a tight 9-8 battle to the 7-seed John Millner (App. State), before falling to Abas (Stanford) as well. Look for even more jumps for Lara next season, and possibly an All-American status. He’s beaten AA’s before… just sayin’!!!

Degen. Degen, Degen, Degen. … Degen. Such an interesting wrestler with such an interesting season. Degen has All-American’d before, but was not himself this season due to injuries. He qualified for NCAA’s though, where he ultimately went 0-2. His entire resume can’t be ignored though – plus, he still had some solid wins this season and no bad losses. I simply can’t have somebody as storied as Degen any lower. He and Lara were close, too. Injuries suck.

Josh Gerke got it done at D3 nationals this year for Coe. He is a national champion. This was Gerke’s first time qualifying for DIII’s and he had a loss to Zeke Smith (Loras) this season to make note of. Zeke Smith is great, but these are the reasons Gerke is below Degen. Gerke is such a specimen to watch, though, and I hope he continues next year for the Kohawks.

Who did Josh Gerke beat in the DIII Finals? That would be fellow-Iowan Brady Fritz of Wartburg, actually. Also placing in that bracket was previously-mentioned Zeke Smith (Loras), who got a solid 4th place in DIII’s. Solid trio in D3-Iowa. Gerke, Fritz, Zekey. 

In NAIA, Marty Margolis got upset on the front side but came back valiantly to get 3rd place for Grand View University. Also of Grand View, Trevor Anderson got 7th place, beating fellow-Iowan John Diener of Morningside in that placement match. Super pumped Diener got on the All-American stand, not only for him but for Morningside in general. 

So, not a bad trio at all for NAIA-Iowans (like in DIII). The Margolis/T.Anderson combo beats Fritz, though, and Diener slides right below Zeke Smith in All-Iowa ranks. 

WHICH trio would YOU take? DIII or NAIA? Gerke/Fritz/Zekey or Margolis/T.Anderson/Diener?

Eric Faught didn’t place at DII NCAA’s, but only lost to seeds 3 (Noah Hermosillo, Adams State) and 4 (Sam Turner, Nebraska-Kearney). Not a bad showing for a freshman with a TON of stock left to gain. Faught had a stellar freshman season and was nearly untouchable until NCAA’s.

In JUCO’s, Nathan Lendt came ready for Ellsworth and earned AA Status with an 8th place showing for the yellow-and-purple Panthers of northern Iowa (yes, UNI isn’t alone in those cat-egories). Phil Smith Jr. of Iowa Central had an amazing season, too, & ended with a bloodround finish at Juco’s.

Don’t forget about that guy Joe Eads, either. The ex-All-American for William Penn truly had a rough draw at NAIA’s, losing to eventual finalist Denver Stonecheck (Life) and then Grand View’s Trevor Anderson, who was the 3 seed coming in that got upset early at nationals. Eads still had an amazing season and has had unmatchable worth for William Penn throughout his career. 

157

Okay, super fun weight, so we’ve got a lot to talk about.

First of all. David Carr. D1 National Champion!!! We all knew he would get one; it was more a matter of when. Well, the time is now, and Carr is trying to become a legend. Buckle up, Iowa fans. We got a fun one.

But what’s this??? TWO more national champions. Iowa colleges killed it this year, and the state earns an additional two national championships in JUCO and D3. Let’s talk about them.

Isaiah Crosby is now a two-time national champion for Iowa Western, and he’s done it at two different weights – first 165, and now 157. Crosby might be one of the better JUCO wrestlers to come through in a while. I’m curious if he could get on the D1 stand like Kaleb Young.

David Hollingsworth (our second “David” national champ at this weight) murdered D3. He pinned fellow Iowan Brady Henderson (Coe) in the finals, who had an amazing nationals himself (with his brother Brock being the national champion at 133, they had a great brotherly run). Other at D3: Killian Perrigon got 5th for a rising Cornell College; Daniel Ruiz got 7th for Loras. Perrigon made the national semis and even upset the one seed on the way (ex-Iowan high-schooler Tristan Birt [Milikin]).

So, back over to D1. Kaleb Young earned AA status for the Hawkeyes. He got 7th. The grinder gets it done and really helped Iowa win the team title in D1 this year with his mental tenacity. UNI didn’t qualify, as Cayd Lara didn’t quite do enough this year. Look for Cayd to progress in a similar manner as his smaller-weighing brother Triston – before you know it, he will make jumps.

NAIA action was also SUPER interesting here. Gio Bonilla had one of the craziest finals-run ever. In a wild semi-finals, he went into overtime with the No. 2 seed. Then, he hurt his hamstring terribly in a scramble! This gives the other guy choice. His opponent chooses bottom and only needs to escape to win and has 45 seconds (still sudden death OT)… and Bonilla turns him instead with ONE leg. Gio was badly hurt for the finals, but what a heroic effort in trying to keep GVU winning national titles. Abbas also got 6th for GVU at the same weight.

Then we have Israel Casarez, who just got 8th for Graceland. Crazy part here is, he is actually joining the Vikings! Another plot twist. This gives GVU 3/8 of the returning AA’s at this weight (and that’s with some of those 8 not returning, too). GVU is taking over this weight in the NAIA, literally!

Next, Chase Luensman was the 4 seed at D2 NCAA’s for Upper Iowa, but failed to place after he was upset and pinned on the back-side. He has been impressive in D2 the last two years and just had a rough nationals. Look for him to get back on track next season. 

Andrew Gamble rounds out our rankings with Iowa Central. He had another heart-breaking nationals, losing in the bloodround for the second year in a row, AND to the guys who got 2nd and 3rd ultimately. He’s going to be hungry for more next season, JUST like the rest of these 157-pound Iowan studs.

165

Marinelli, Marinelli. He’s going to get his NCAA title one year. He got upset again as the No. 1 seed, losing to the man who Saved Stanford Wrestling with his eventual NCAA title, Shane Griffith. Marinelli is still king of this weight.

Next up we have another National Champion for Iowa!!! Christian Minto dominated in JUCO for NIACC and has something most people can only dream of – a collegiate national championship. He actually beat Keaton Geerts in the finals, who really busted through for Iowa Central. Otherwise, Fabian Padilla got 5th at the same weight for Iowa Western.

Our other D1 guys at this weight are Austin Yant and Isaac Judge for UNI and ISU respectively. Yant didn’t place in D1’s, but won two matches at the big show, whereas Judge didn’t qualify. Yant’s best win was the 16 seed from App. State, Will Formato, a man in which he majored. Judge went 0-2 and lost to two other guys who didn’t qualify at Big 12’s.

In D3, Zane Mulder had a great run to the national finals, but lost to ex-Iowan high-schooler Bradan Birt (Milikin). Since Mulder has more experience at this weight (Geerts cut down at the very last second), Mulder gets the nod at No. 4. The other two D3 AA’s were Gabe Fiser (4th), who got the nod late in the season for Loras; and Casey Allen, who got 5th for Cornell College!

In NAIA, the Grand View Vikings had two really good guys at nationals, but both had “off” tournaments. Caldwell was the No. 1 seed, but had to injury default to 8th place because of a concussion. Dalton Jensen has AA’d before (like Caldwell), but his injuries really tore him up this year. Both guys are still amazing, and hopefully they can regain some health next season. Chris Paulsen (Briar Cliff) pinned the 9 seed at nationals but failed to place. He wraps up our 165-pound weight class! 

174

3 National Champions and Kem isn’t one of them. 

NAIA, D3, and JUCO Champions ALL come from Iowa schools.

Kem-Dawg was a favorite to win D1’s, but was upset by Carter Starocci (Penn State) instead. Look for Dr. Kemerer to win the title next year. He’s still got to regarded as the best in Iowa. 

BOOM. Brennan Swafford. The Magician gets it done again and wins ANOTHER national title for Graceland… but what’s this??? Plot twist! He’s leaving Graceland… and heading to Iowa??? Iowa University. He’s joining Kem and the Hawkeyes next year! Wow. Huge move honestly. The thing about the Swafford’s is they are always chasing their dreams. Gotta respect Swafford transferring to the Hawks. 

And yet ANOTHER national champion is our D3 stud Kyle Briggs of the legendary Wartburg. I’m glad he finally got his title as he has always been right there in the hunting for it. He reigns king in D3 and third overall in a loaded weight for Iowa collegiately.

Anotherrrr national title in Iowa, this one belonging to JUCO-powerhouse Iowa Central’s Jose Rodriguez. He’s always been grinding too and finally gets a long-awaited national title. 

Now, this is a weight with a couple D1 guys pretty low. Both a very good yet failed to qualify for D1 NCAA’s. Runyon injury defaulted at Big 12’s completely and hoped for a wildcard, one in which he never got. Broderson went 0-2 in the same loaded conference bracket. These guys have to go below the national champs until further notice.

Otherwise, in D3, the always solid and consistent Jacob Krakow (Loras) got 3rd at nationals, whereas Tristan Westphal (Coe) got the AA status by placing 8th.

In NAIA, Casey Randles got upset at nationals on the front side to the guy Brennan Swafford beat in the finals, Asher Eichert of (Grand View key-rival) Life University, but then Randles marched valiantly back for 3rd place. Jonah Egli of Morningside pinned the eighth seed but sadly got pinned himself in the bloodround.

We round out our rankings with two studs. Massoma Endene (Iowa Lakes) turned a lot of heads this year late by gaining AA status in JUCO. He got 7th. Myron Crawford rounds us out over in D2 action for the Upper Iowa Peacocks. Both are great enough to earn a final All-Iowa Collegiate rankings! 

184

Parker Keckesien showed out at D1’s!!! He finishes the year ranked No. 1 in Iowa after he gets 3rd at NCAA’s, culminating in a win over Hunter Bolen (V-Tech), who was ranked 1 in D1 most of the year. Best part is Keckeisen is young and already showing he can win a national title at 184 for the Panthers. The Panthers own this weight. First Drew Foster, then Taylor Lujan… Now Parker Keckeisen???

Brands didn’t place, having a rough NCAA’s, but he is still legit in a wide-open weight. Colbray didn’t place either, but again, it’s hard placing in D1. For what it’s worth, Colbray only lost to Keckeisen on a stall point 2-1 at NCAA’s! Tight group here truthfully. And they are all blocking this next guy from gaining ground, too…

We have another National Champion!!! Shane Leigel won it for Loras and had a beautiful season altogether. He is still young, too, and looking to become a face of D3 and Loras history. However, the fact remains that Leigel lost to Colbray’s back-up (and stud) Tate Battani, who himself has since moved on to South Dakota State.

Interesting next in the rankings, as Iowa has TRIPLE 3rds for AA status, coming through in NAIA, D3, and JUCO. 

In NAIA, Benjamin Lee (GVU) got upset in the very first round, then marched all the way back (6 matches in a row) to get 3rd. Impressive. He beat Drew Sams (Graceland) for 4th. Exciting stuff for Sams finally getting it done too, after losing in the bloodround his first three tries in a row. Jenness (Northwestern) was the 11 seed and had a great season, but failed to AA ultimately.

In D3, Ira Kuehn of Luther is really turning some heads. He had an awesome D3’s; he went off to get 3rd. Ryan Schott (Coe) got 6th in the same bracket, beating previously ranked Griffin McBride of Central 16-13 to place. McBride barely sits out of the rankings in a really funky weight. Cael Krueger had a much better season for Wartburg, so he stays in the rankings at No. 11 despite not placing at D3’s either. Krueger also has his own personal win over McBride. 

In JUCO, Deron Pulliam earned the No. 1 seed for Indian Hills at nationals, and he ultimately got a respectable 3rd. Chase McCliesh had a great season for NIACC and has been very active in the off-season, particularly in Greco, where he has made the U23 national semi’s before. The Team Valley, Iowa raised-wrestler is certainly taking any opportunity to test his mettle. McCliesh nags the final spot in one of my favorite weights. 

197

Jacob Warner got 4th at D1 which is nothing to be ashamed of. His losses were to AJ Ferrari (OK State), who was the eventual champ, and Myles Amine (Michigan), who himself just earned a bronze medal at the Olympics.

Marucs Coleman got the nod over Yonger Bastida at Big 12’s. Ironically, Coleman’s wins at nationals were seemingly better than his losses. He lost to Lucas Davison (Northwestern) and Thomas Penola (Purdue), yet took out studs Nick Reenan (NC State) and even Jay Aiello (Virginia) who was ranked Top 5 most of the year.

Keegan Moore tried to bump up late in the season, but he literally just didn’t have enough experience, or any other words, matches. Him not having enough matches at 197 led to his ineligibility for a wild card to NCAA’s, even though he wrestled good enough all season to get one. Tough situation for Keegan Moore, and, even WORSE, now he is taking his talents to Oklahoma U. so we won’t see him again as an Iowan.

Jose Valdez was sneaky good all year and finally bursts through, all the way up to 4th. He made the JUCO Finals this year.

Ryg himself had a dandy NCAA’s over in D2. He got 3rd, losing only to eventual champ Ryan Vasbinder (ex-McKendree, now Michigan State), who was widely regarded as one of the best in D2.

In D3, Corn, Nielsen, and Don Phillips all earned AA Status, getting 4th, 7th, and 8th, respectively. The shock of the day, though, came when Donovan Corn pinned Kobe Woods in stunning fashion in the bloodround – 46 seconds was all it took. 

For JUCO, McFarland chose to bump up to 197 late for Iowa Western, and was upset on the front side by the eventual champ. He got 5th. Walton of Indian Hills actually lost to the one seed in the very first round, then came all the way back to get 7th. That’s called tenacity.  

Sadly no NAIA All-American at 197. Glise, Shanks, and Grape (Morningside) respectively had to face the 1, 2 and 3 seeds first round. Literally. Interesting that all 3 of our Iowa guys got that bad of front-side draws. Nonetheless, all 3 failed to win a match on the backside. 

Still a very open weight class for Iowa Collegiate Wrestling fans to tune into!

285

Tony Cassioppi got 3rd in D1’s, with his only loss coming to an Olympic Champion (Gable Steveson). If Steveson doesn’t return next season, look for Cass to win it all.

Gremmel shocked a lot of people when he made the semis at D1, earning 5th place. Not many people can AA in D1 but Gremmel did it. Isley didn’t place but is right there with the best (he beat Luffman [Ill.] who was ranked Top 8 most of the year).

Next we have two national champions, who are veryyyyy good but do not have the track records to be above Isley. Wriedt won in D3, while Williamson showed out to win JUCO. Congratulations to the two Natty Champs of the weight!!!

Following the two champs, we have two more National Finalists. Hagan made the NAIA finals, losing to legend and 3x NAIA Champ Brandon Reed (Lindsey Wilson). Pryor lost to Williamson in JUCO Finals.

Otherwise in D3, Reeves got a solid and respectable 3rd. Jordan Brandon very well could’ve been higher, but he medically forfeited to 6th place in D3, so the world may never know.

The last thing I really want to note here is the reemergence of Dillyn Miller, who had one of the most shocking upsets of the tourney when he took out the No. 1 seed Dan Baker (NEO) very early at nationals. Sadly, Miller still fell in the bloodround.