The #1 ranked Iowa wrestling team suffered a huge blow when news broke that 3x NCAA Champion Spencer Lee would miss the rest of the season.

Fortunately for the Hawks, the team has a deep bench. Coach Brands had two studs waiting in the wings for the opportunity to step in and fill the hole Mr. Lee left.  While Spencer left some big shoes to fill, both Drake Ayala, and Jesse Ybarra are more than qualified to lead the team into battle.

As of today, it looks like the starting spot at 125 belongs to true freshman sensation Drake Ayala from Fort Dodge. Drake is someone I have followed since he was in junior high and I can say without a doubt that he is the Real Deal. Drake was a 3x state champion, in high school, and dating back to his youth wrestling days has claimed a whopping 15 Iowa state titles!

As great as Drake is, its still heart breaking to lose Spencer Lee from the line up. Spencer was almost a guaranteed 25 points at the NCAA tournament. Many so called experts, have predicted that losing these points gives Penn State an insurmountable advantage. In this article, I will show you this is simply not the case.

Iowa still has a strong case for 10 All-Americans:

Best Case Scenario  for the NCAA tournament

125 Ayala finishes 4th and scores 16.5

133 Desanto finishes 3rd and scores 19.5 points

141 Eierman finishes 1st and scores 25 points

149 Murin finishes 7th and scores 8 points

157 Young finishes 7th and scores 8 points

165 Marinelli finishes 1st and scores 25 points

174 Kemerer finishes 1st and scores 25 points

184 Assad finishes 6th and scores 12 points

197 Warner finishes 4th and scores 14 points

HWT Cassioppi finishes 2nd and scores 19 points

Total of 172 points.

A more realistic scenario:

125 Ayala 11 points 7th place
133 Desanto 19.5 points 3rd place
141 Eierman 21.5 points 2nd place
149 Murin 2 points round of 12
157 Young 2 points round of 12
165 Marinelli 19.5 points 3rd place
174 Kemerer 20 points 2nd place
184 Assad 10 points 7th place
197 Warner 9 points 7th place
HWT Cassioppi 16 points 3rd place
Total 130.5
While the second scenario seems much more realistic for this team. It’s very possible for Iowa to finish somewhere between the two. At 157 Kaleb Young is a 3x all-american, so it seems more than a little pausable that he reaches the podium one last time. Alex Marinelli has been the best 165lb wrestler in the country the last couple years. So its very possible for him to finish on top of the award stands for his senior year. 141 and 174 are both more than capable of winning the gold as well.
When you stop and take a closer look at the numbers and talent, its easy to see this team has the potential to bring home another national title!