We are only 37 days away from the 2025-26 home opener!
The season schedule came out last week and we have 6 home/6 away duals and most certainly the toughest schedule in the nation. The path to a national championship is Simple… Not Easy. The pre-season rankings show that we’re currently ranked #3 and we will face 9 ranked teams in the top 25 and 7 teams in the top 10, including the #1, #2, #4, #5, #8, #9, #10, #23 and #25 ranked teams.
We share these rankings to show you what we’re up against… Lets line’em up and knock’em down! One dual at a time—One match at a time—One point at a time! Check out our full schedule below or on the University of Iowa website.
Nov. 6 Bellarmine (Iowa City, IA)
Nov. 15-16 National Duals (BOK Center – Tulsa, OK)
Nov. 21 Pitt #22 (Iowa City, IA)
Nov. 30 Iowa State #4 (Lames, IA)
Dec. 12 Uncivil War – Journeymen Duals with Utah Valley & Chattanooga (Hannibal, MO)
Jan. 3-4 Soldier Salute (Xtream Arena – Coralville, IA)
Jan. 9 Wisconsin #25 (Iowa City, IA)
Jan. 16 Penn State #1 (Iowa City, IA)
Jan. 16 HWC Arctic Plunge!! Following the PSU dual
Jan. 23 Nebraska #2 (Lincoln, NE)
Jan. 30 Minnesota #10 (Iowa City, IA)
Feb. 6 Ohio State #5 (Columbus, OH)
Feb. 8 Michigan State (East Lansing, MI)
Feb. 13 Michigan #9 (Iowa City, IA)
Feb. 15 Purdue #23 (West Lafayette, IN)
Feb. 22 Oklahoma State #8 (Stillwater, OK)
March 7-8 B1G Championships (PSU – College Park, PA)
March 19-21 NCAA Championships (Cleveland, OH)
**Bold indicates HOME event**
At their first World Championships – Lee, Voinovich, Blades gain valuable experience. 🌎 🥉 Kennedy Blades (68kg) 🐤 💪🏽 is a World bronze medalist while Victor Voinovich (70kg), and Spencer Lee (57kg) go 1-1 at their UWW World Championships debut in Zagreb, Croatia.
Anyone that has ever strived for greatness and came up short knows how bad it hurts. And some even know that it’s not an acute pain but a deep ache that stays with you.
Whenever our athletes are faced with advertising we want to make sure their pain morphs into power and they all become more resilient people in the process. All three of them were great competitors, even though it didn’t go their way.
The journey to this World Championships has been incredibly challenging and that didn’t end once we got to Croatia, in-fact it only got harder. All three of our athletes had World Medalist’s early in their brackets and couldn’t overcome the challenges they faced this time around but we have faith that they will.
We are constantly trying to help our athletes build an edge, achieve their goals, and develop into their full potential. That process takes time and continuous dedication to their crafts. We are so thankful for our donors and fans for supporting us, even when we come up a bit short of our goals.
VOINOVICH – 70KG. Victor Voinovich won his first round match against Mohammed Kareem (IRQ) 4-0 but then lost the following round to Arman Andreasyan (ARM) 1-4. Andreasyan is a World Bronze Medalist and three-time medalist, including gold, at the European Wrestling Championships. Andreasyan went on to lose the semifinal match, eliminating Voinovich from the tournament.
70kg Podium…
GOLD — Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (Japan)
SILVER — Tulga Tumur Ochir (Mongolia)
BRONZE — Kaipanov Nurkozha (Kazakhstan)
BRONZE — Akmataliev Ernazar Kubatbekovich (Kyrgyzstan)
LEE – 57KG. Spencer Lee won his first round match against Yusuf Demir (TUK) 10-0. Spencer then fell to Arsen Harutyunyan (ARM) 3-14. Harutyunyan is a two-time European Champion and a two-time U23 World Champion at 61kg. He is now a three-time World Bronze Medalist 2021, 2022, 2025.
Harutyunyan then lost the following round, eliminating Spencer from his first World Championships. Harutyunyan was winning the bout when he got thrown to his back and pinned by Chongsong Han (PRK) at the 5:25 mark. Han went on to win his first World Title.
57kg Podium…
GOLD — Chongsong Han (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)
SILVER — Bekzat Almaz Uulu (Kyrgyzstan)
BRONZE — Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia)
BRONZE — Abdullaev Gulomjon (Uzbekistan)
BLADES – 68KG. Blades powered through her first round match opponent, Radhika Radhika (IND) 11-0. The next round, Kennedy lost to the 2024 World Champion and 2022 World Silver Medalist, Ami Ishii (JPN) 1-12. Ishii won again and advanced to the World final — pulling Kennedy back into the repechage matches.
The next morning, Kennedy defeated Manola Skobelska (UKR) 9-2 in the first repechage match setting her up to battle Buse Cavusoglu Tosun (TUR) an Olympic bronze medalist and 2022 World champion. Kennedy dominated 12-1 to bring home a bronze medal and her second world medal in back-to-back years!
68kg Podium…
GOLD — Ami Ishii (Japan)
SILVER — Yuliana Vasileva Yaneva (Bulgaria)
BRONZE — Kennedy Blades (United States of America)
BRONZE — Long Jia (China)
The next competition for our Clubmen is the Bill Farrell Memorial International, November 7-8 at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. Watch out for Austin DeSanto (61kg) to return to the mat and Steven Buchanan (97kg) to make his freestyle debut!!
We just hosted 11 top level recruits and 250+ fans at our Inner Circle Open Practice & Tailgate Party last Saturday! Thank you to everyone that attended! And man did we get to watch some scrappin’!
If you were there, you might have seen some of our recruits — Amato, Borge, B. Cassioppi, R. Cassioppi, Crosson, Dhabolt, Fullhart, Grajeda, Regan, Vandermark, Youngblut — and their families. You also got to check out all of our new faces and your favorite veterans! What an awesome morning before kickoff! WRESTLETOWN, USA is no doubt in Iowa City, Iowa!!!
Reminder to our Inner Circle Members, you now have access to our new Inner Circle Hub that houses our online Community Center, Private Inner Circle Events, Inner Circle Store, HWC Supporter lists, Inner Circle News, and Photo Galleries. Not an INNER CIRCLE Member — sign up now!
For the past 2 seasons SingleSpeed Brewing Co and the HWC have collaborated to bring you GABLE, a crisp golden lager. This collaboration joins two organizations that loves wrestling! Try GABLE at our Pre-Match Socials, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena during a dual, and grab a case for yourself at a local grocery store! Portions of the proceeds benefit our Hawkeye Wrestlers!
Our annual Sporting Clays Trap Shoot event is only 10 days away, on Saturday, October 11. Come support the Athletes, Coaches, and Staff of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club while hitting an abundance of clays at one of the most scenic ranges in Eastern Iowa! Hope to see you there!
And we have a date for our infamous Arctic Plunge!!! Mark your calendars — Friday, January 16 , 2026 — we’re going to Blow it Out of the Water again this year because of you!! Sign up to jump NOW and get a head start on the competition!! Here’s a look back at last year’s event!
We also have our complete Pre-Match Social Schedule! Our goal is to create an atmosphere where our community can grow and enjoy Hawkeye Wrestling together. Our social events are open to the public and free of charge! Guests can win raffle prizes, meet Hawkeye legends, and enjoy drink specials before each-and-every home dual this season!
Inner Circle Tailgate Party | Saturday, September 27 — Goschke Family Training Center — Open Now!
Sporting Clays Shoot | Saturday, October 11 — Highland Hideaway Hunting — Open Now!
Pre-Match Socials | Before Every Home Dual — Area Bars & Restaurants — Scheduled!
GIVING Tuesday | Tuesday, December 2 — Online Giving Campaign — Open Now!
2026 Arctic Plunge | Friday, January 16 — Brown Deer Golf Course — Open Now!
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