Ben Kueter discusses return to mat for Iowa in win over Wisconsin, Braxton Amos

Iowa heavyweight Ben Kueter returned to the mat Friday night in the Hawkeyes’ 23-12 win over Wisconsin and earned a top 10 victory. No. 5 Kueter, who hasn’t wrestled since November, beat No. 9 Braxton Amos of the Badgers 4-1 in sudden victory, announcing his return with authority.

Now 3-1 on the season, the much heralded recruit is showing why he was one of the best heavyweights in his class. If he keeps wrestling at this weight, he could be a problem for the rest of the country.

“Yeah, I felt good, especially being back in Carver,” Kueter said post-match. “It’s always a good feeling being Carver. But yeah, felt good. I’ve been training hard, and kind of had a sour taste in my mouth (from) that last match I had. So just been working hard.”

Kueter is just 3-1 this season, only losing to No. 1 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) 11-4. He does have another ranked win, 2-0 over Pitt’s Dayton Pitzer, who’s currently No. 17. 

“I mean, I told the coaches the other day … this is the best I’ve ever felt, physically and like mentally, at this time of the year, and that’s good,” Kueter said. “But I mean, you got to keep feeling that way, and keep thinking the right things and making sure everything’s good … I think I just wake up every day trying to get better. And I yeah, I mean, we had some time off, off the mat, I guess, competing wise, but been able to train pretty hard this last month, get ready for this Big Ten season, and then Big Tens, and then nationals.”

Kueter is 23-10 in his career and finished 20-9 as a redshirt freshman last season. He was an All-American (8th place) at heavyweight in 2025.

Box Score: No. 4 Iowa 23, No. 18 Wisconsin 12
197 – #28 Wyatt Ingham (W) dec. Harvey Ludington (I), 10-8
285 – #5 Ben Kueter (I) dec. #9 Braxton Amos (W), 4-1 SV1
125 – #11 Nicolar Rivera (W) dec. Keyan Hernandez (I), 11-4
133 – #14 Zan Fugitt (W) dec. #3 Drake Ayala (I), 6-5
141 – Kale Petersen (I) dec. Carson Exferd (W), 8-3
149 – #17 Joseph Zargo (W) #7 Ryder Block (I), 9-6 SV1
157 – #12 Jordan Williams (I) dec. #25 Luke Mechler (W), 4-2
165 – #3 Michael Caliendo (I) tech. fall #26 Cody Goebel (W), 21-6
174 – #3 Patrick Kennedy (I) major dec. Luke Condon (W), 14-3
184 – #1 Angelo Ferrari (I) tech. fall Caleb Dennee (W), 19-4