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Our monthly newsletter is important because it’s one of the best ways to give you timely information about our team, upcoming events, and general happenings around the wrestling world. We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter, Gut Wrenches & Leg Laces!
CLUB UPDATE
Michael Caliendo is the U23 National Champion at 74kg!!
In route to his first Stop Sign, Caliendo beat Parker Kearns 10-0, Anthony White 13-0, Christopher Crawford 15-4, Braeden Scoles 8-4, Matthew Bianchi 10-9, and Ethan Birden 4-2. He then faced Daniel Cardenas in the best of three final. Dropping match one 15-8 and then winning two straight 7-2 and 14-6!! Caliendo scored 89 points in 9 matches.
Other Hawkeyes that competed this past weekend were Isaiah Fenton, Joey Cruz, Koye Grebel, Joey Kennedy, Sebastian Robles, Brody Sampson and Kael Voinovich. Voinovich (70kg) won 5 matches before falling in the semifinals to Minnesota’s Drew Roberts.
There were also a couple future hawks, Michael Mocco (125kg) and Bo Bassett (65kg) competed at the U20 World Team Trials last weekend in Geneva, OH. Both high school juniors brought home medals – Bassett silver and Mocco 4th.
Bassett advanced to the best of three finals by taking out Noah Nininger 14-4, Daniel Zepeda 14-2, and Aden Valencia 5-4. He faced Luke Stanich of Lehigh in the finals. Match I went to Stanich 10-0, Match II to Bassett 3-2, and the deciding Match III went Stanich’s way 3-2. Stanich will be starting his third season at Lehigh next fall. He was a true freshman All-American (5th place) at 125lbs and redshirted this past season.
Mocco beat Dean Bechtold 9-5, and Grant Stromberg 14-3 but fell to Koy Hopke in the semifinals and Coby Merrill in the bronze bout.
Checkout all the results here.
HAPPENING NOW
Spencer Lee (57kg) and Kennedy Blades (68kg) continue to prepare for Final X – the US Wrestling Senior World Team Trials, best-of-three Championship Series at all ten (X) weight classes to determine who will represent the United States at the UWW World Championships in September, in Zagreb, Croatia.
Final X is in Newark, NJ on Saturday, June 14, 2025. Tickets are on sale now for this World Team Trials. Take a look at all the Final X qualified athletes here. You can watch Final X in person (get tickets) or stream it live at flowrestling.org
Spencer will face Luke Lilledahl and Kennedy will wrestle Brooklyn Hays. Check out each match up here…
>>> LEE vs LILLEDAHL <<< >>> BLADES vs HAYS <<<
We want to celebrate one of our best HAWKEYES, Kaleb Young! Kaleb just recently obtained his PhD from the University of Iowa while being an active member of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. Kaleb’s impact on our team started in 2016 when he stepped on campus for the first time. He was a 3x All-American as an undergrad and then stepped into our club to help mentor the next generation of HAWKS! Read more about Kaleb in this University of Iowa 2025 Graduate Spotlight.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The next HWC event is SOLD OUT!! Like years past, our Riverside Golf Outing is a four (4) person scramble style tournament that awards the top three teams in three flights and is a fun and competitive playing experience!
All proceeds go to benefit our athletes here in WRESTLETOWN, USA!!
Riverside Golf Outing | Monday, June 23 — Blue Top Ridge Golf Course — Open Now!
Inner Circle Tailgate Party | September 2025 — Goschke Family Training Center — Coming Soon
Sporting Clays Shoot | Saturday, October 11 — Highland Hideaway Hunting — Open Now!
Thank you for helping us craft champions – on and off the mat! GO HAWKS!
Chad Beatty
Executive Director
HAWKEYE WRESTLING CLUB
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