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Iowa punches pair of Final X tickets during busy US Open

by: Tanner Lafever05/02/26TannerLafever

Following a busy week of wrestling at the 2026 U.S. Open Championships, athletes with Iowa ties left with plenty of hardware and a trio of titles.

Including Senior Freestyle championships from both Stephen Buchanan (men) and Everest Leydecker (women) – plus a U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials repeat victory by Leister Bowling IV – 20 different Hawkeyes reached the podium spanning six different divisions.

I got the chance to see most of them firsthand too – while assisting with USA Wrestling’s coverage of the event.

And with the wild, whirlwind of a week having since concluded, you can bet I’ve got thoughts on everything that went down in Las Vegas.

(After finally recovering from a post-tournament illness that was kicking my butt for a few days.)

So, buckle up and let’s get to it.

Because with 33(!) total Hawkeyes in action, there’s no shortage of stuff to talk about.

Tickets punched

The first and only place to begin is with Iowa’s pair of champions in the Senior Men’s/Women’s Freestyle divisions.

And in both instances, similar routes were taken to U.S. Open crowns.

At 97 kilograms, Stephen Buchanan bonus’d his way to the final – going 12-1 tech. fall, fall (2:02) and 10-0 tech. fall.

The last of those results came against reigning U20 World champion Justin Rademacher.

Meanwhile, Everest Leydecker (55kg) reached her own final in dominant fashion – sandwiching two shutout tech. falls around a first-period pin.

All that remained for the past/future Hawkeyes to punch their ticket to Final X was a championship final against a Senior World team veteran.

And in both instances, they got the job done in controlled fashion.

For Buchanan, Hayden Zillmer (seventh at 2022 Worlds) was the last test – one he’d ultimately pass with flying colors.

After an early feeling out period, the 2025 NCAA champ struck for a pair of takedowns before the break. From there, Buchanan saw out a 5-3 decision – earning himself a shot at five-time World/Olympic champion, Kyle Snyder, later this summer for a spot on Team USA.

As for Leydecker – the top pound-for-pound recruit in America – she too faced a wily veteran in her championship bout.

But Areana Villaescusa (fifth at 2024 Worlds) proved to be of minimal threat to the incoming Hawkeye, who extended the one-point gap from their lone previous meeting – a 2-1 match at last year’s U.S. Open.

Like Buchanan, Leydecker scored a pair of takedowns to close out the first period, then cruised from there.

With her 4-1 victory, the 18-year-old awaits the winner of the World Team Trials Challenge tournament in two weeks – and will be favored at Final X over whomever emerges.

Bowling goes back-to-back

Unlike several divisions in Vegas, U20 Greco-Roman had even more at stake than a U.S. Open title.

Instead, each of the 10 winners would earn themselves a spot on the 2026 U20 World team.

And for the second year in-a-row, (redshirting) Iowa freshman Leister Bowling IV made sure to count himself among them.

The Colorado native tore through the field, with no match being decided by fewer than four points.

In the best-of-three finals at 77kg, he swept Will Scherer by 9-1 tech. fall and 5-0 decision.

Next, in Bratislava, Slovakia, he’ll seek to improve upon last year’s fifth place finish at the U20 World Championships.

You can listen to a brief post-finals interview from Bowling below:

Spencer Lee falls in last-second shocker

The next two most significant stories for Iowa probably came in the form of a pair of runners up.

On the men’s side of things, Spencer Lee fell in a dramatic, last-second final to Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl.

Up until that point, Lee had steamrolled through the field at 57kg, winning his opening, quarterfinal and semifinal bouts in 92, 54 and 45 seconds respectively.

And he seemed on his way to another comprehensive win in the final, building a 4-0 lead at the break while thoroughly controlling the action.

But momentum turned midway through the second, when Lee – driving for his fourth step out of the match – appeared to tweak his arm/elbow.

Upon taking some extended injury time, he returned to action, where not long after Lilledahl attempted (and converted) his first shot of the match.

The lead now just 4-3, Lilledahl could go ahead with any additional point during the final minute. And after a late restart with just 0:12 left, Lilledahl hit a desperation headlock to beat the buzzer.

How much did Lee’s arm injury play into the eventual surprising result? We can’t know for sure.

But if asked, I’d imagine he’s more upset with the trio of single leg attacks he ‘only’ converted for step outs in the first period – never giving himself an opportunity in par terre, where he’s arguably the best in the world.

Quite frankly, I’m not sure what to make of this result – which until the late pivot looked an awful lot like the Final X series between the two last year, swept by Lee via controlled 7-2 and 6-0 decisions.

Now it’s Lilledahl who sits in Final X. And if Lee wants his shot at a rematch, he’ll first have to navigate World Team Trials later this month.

Kilty can’t continue early pace in battle of World teamers

In many ways, Macey Kilty’s final at 62kg reflected similar elements to Lee’s.

The two-time World medalist led returning World teamer Adaugo Nwachukwu 4-1 after a controlled first period – dominating pace/position to the tune of three step out points.

But the momentum flipped just after the break when Nwachukwu sidestepped a shot by Kilty for a quick go-behind. Two gut wrenches later and the Iowa alum suddenly trailed 7-4.

Despite her continued forward pressure, Kilty couldn’t string together enough points to fully overcome the deficit. And the 10-8 defeat now leaves her needing to win World Team Trials to reach Final X.

Despite the unsatisfactory result, this feels like a matchup Kilty can certainly flip in her favor.

Make some minor adjustments on the edge – where the Hawkeye constantly drove Nwachukwu – and eliminate the big six-point sequence and I feel like Iowa fans should like her chances in a rematch.

But first, Kilty still must get there.

Prominent placers (men’s edition)

In addition to Buchanan/Lee, five other Iowa men’s wrestlers reached the podium in Senior division competition.

  • 57kg – Brody Teske, fifth
  • 60kg (Greco-Roman) – Dean Peterson, seventh
  • 61kg – Austin DeSanto, fourth
  • 79kg – Patrick Kennedy, third
  • 125kg – Tony Cassioppi, third

Starting with Brody Teske, the 2024 grad impressively nabbed fifth place at 57kg despite not having competed at a major tournament in two years.

Teske reached the quarterfinals before losing via fall, then later won a wild 13-12 consolation match which also secured his berth at World Team Trials.

Meanwhile, fresh off his bloodround finish at NCAAs, Dean Peterson would not be denied a spot on the podium this time – placing seventh in the Greco-Roman division.

For Austin DeSanto, the top tier in a loaded 61kg field remains a tough nut to crack.

Amidst his fourth-place finish, he lost 3-0 and 5-0 to recent NCAA finalists Ben Davino (Ohio State) and Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State).

In his fourth other contested matches, DeSanto outscored his opponents 41-0 – the longest bout lasting a mere 1:08.

As for Patrick Kennedy, he carried the momentum from his career-best NCAA finish into a strong showing at 79kg.

PK’s lone defeat came in the semifinals to eventual champion (and previous World teamer) Chance Marsteller, 6-0. But he’d respond the following morning with arguably his best win of the tournament, prevailing in a thriller over returning U20 World silver medalist, William Henckel (Penn State).

Former Iowa heavyweight Tony Cassioppi had a similar route to third, with his lone loss also coming to eventual champion Wyatt Hendrickson, 12-2 in the quarterfinals.

The four-time NCAA All-American (and current Wisconsin assistant coach) would battle back for third – albeit with his final two wins coming via medical forfeit.

Prominent placers (women’s edition)

Moving over to Senior Freestyle action for the women, Iowa put seven other wrestlers on the podium along with Leydecker/Kilty:

  • 50kg – Felicity Taylor (third), Rianne Murphy (eighth)
  • 53kg – Isabella Gonzales (seventh)
  • 62kg – Bella Williams (eighth)
  • 65kg – Reese Larramendy (third)
  • 68kg – Nora Akpan (fourth)
  • 76kg – Naomi Simon (fifth)

For Taylor and Larramendy, their lone defeat both came in the semifinals to the eventual champion – Taylor’s a 3-1 decision and Larramendy’s an 10-0 tech. fall to back-to-back Olympian (and two-time World silver medalist) Kayla Miracle.

Besides those results, both Hawkeyes were excellent.

Taylor picked up no fewer than four high-caliber wins amidst the deepest bracket of the tournament. And Larramendy won via either tech. fall or pin in each of her three contested matches – including one against a familiar foe:

I’ll highlight Nora Akpan (fourth at 68kg) more later, which leaves fellow semifinalist Naomi Simon (76kg) up next.

Two weeks after placing a disappointing fifth at U20 World Team Trials, Simon equaled that placement against a Senior-level field. And in so doing, I thought she looked much more like the athlete who was a force as a freshman in 2025 before redshirting this past season.

Simon faced former World teamer (and eventual U.S. Open champion) Dymond Guilford in the 76kg semifinals. And while an early eight-point deficit more or less sealed the outcome, Simon adjusted well and controlled her fair of the action from there in an 8-1 decision.

Similarly, Isabella Gonzales (seventh at 53kg) matched her recent U20 finish as well.

And like Simon, I thought Gonzales showed noticeable improvement last weekend.

The true freshman reached the quarterfinals with consecutive bonus-point victories – where she fell victim to this crazy leg lace by Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hildebrandt:

(I watched Gonzales leave the mat with a smile on her face – as if to suggest an appreciation for the mere opportunity to wrestle such a legend.)

Hardly content, Gonzales got revenge for her U20 quarterfinal loss – quickly pinning Libby Roberts in just 0:49 – then nearly completed a seven-point comeback against Senior-level regular Elena Ivaldi.

(I think a big breakthrough is coming at some point for the still 18-year-old Californian.)

Meanwhile, eighth-place finishers Rianne Murphy (50kg) and Bella Williams (62kg) also lost to the eventual champion in their respective brackets before fighting back through the consolations.

During Murphy’s run, she quickly teched recent NCAA #1 seed Heather Crull (McKendree) for the second time in the month of April.

Looking to the future (men’s edition)

Beyond the veterans/graduates, it was a mixed bag for some names that could litter future Iowa lineups.

Most immediate among them was Harvey Ludington, in line to start for the Hawkeyes at 197 next season.

Ludington wrestled in the Senior Freestyle division, going 2-2 at 92kg. And like so many others, he too, lost to an eventual champion.

Facing Michael Macchiavello in the Round of 16, Ludington struck first on an early step out and only trailed 1-1 on criteria at the break. And though he’d eventually lose via 8-1 decision, I thought there were some positive takeaways for the true freshman.

Another upper weight entry was incoming freshman David Calkins Jr – who DNP’d in Greco-Roman Senior competition a day after placing fourth in U20s.

As for the U20 freestylers, only Michael Mocco (fifth at 125kg) placed out of eight Iowa entries.

The talented young heavyweight mostly cruised to the semifinals, where he ran into future Cy-Hawk rival Coby Merrill.

(Two days earlier, Merrill had reached the Senior division semifinals by knocking off 2024 Olympian Mason Parris, 8-1.)

And though Mocco scored the lone takedown of the bout, Merrill’s bruising, step-out exclusive strategy proved too much in an 8-2 defeat.

Later that session, Mocco dropped a 7-3 consolation semi to high school rival (and Lehigh commit) Dean Bechtold before responding for an 8-0 win in his fifth-place bout.

Meanwhile, four more Iowa commits, two current Hawkeyes and one greyshirt weren’t nearly as successful.

  • 57kg – Keyan Hernandez (DNP)
  • 61kg – Paul Kenny (DNP), Anthony Lavezzola (DNP), Shamus Regan (DNP)
  • 65kg – Dawson Youngblut (DNP)
  • 70kg – Bobby Duffy (DNP)
  • 74kg – Claudio Torres (DNP)

Former U17 World champion Paul Kenny may’ve been the biggest surprise of the bunch, but fellow top-40 2027 commits Dawson Youngblut and Shamus Regan were notable as well.

2026 signee Bobby Duffy also took an earlier-than-hoped-for exit, though not without all five of his matches being decided by (first-period) pin/tech. fall.

Looking to the future (women’s edition)

Iowa youngsters found more success on the women’s side of the ledger.

In addition to Leydecker’s title performance, late-bloomer Nora Akpan also turned heads with a fourth-place finish in the Senior division.

The Minnesota native advanced as far as the semifinals at 68kg during her Senior-level debut.

Over two days of action she not only beat, but teched/pinned three college All-Americans. And she was going blow-for-blow with NAIA national champion (and #1 seed) Latifah McBryde before getting stepped over and pinned on a gut wrench attempt midway through the second period.

Akpan’s stock continues to go in one direction this spring – UP.

Fellow 2026 signee Taylor Whiting also made a quarterfinal run – knocking off a collegiate national champion in the process:

Though she ultimately wouldn’t place at 53kg, it was yet another promising sign for the incoming lightweight.

Iowa teammates Harlee Hiller (53kg) and Cali Leng (55kg) wouldn’t place either, with each taking their first loss to the eventual champion at the weight – the latter’s to Leydecker.

103-pound NCAA champion Val Solorio (competing up seven-plus pounds at 50kg) also didn’t place but wrestled two barnburners in the consolations – including a come-from-behind pin of high school superstar Jaclyn Bouzakis, who’d teched Solorio at an open tournament during the college season.

And finally, Iowa’s first Class of 2026 signee, Madison Nieuwenhuis, was also in action courtesy of the Girls National High School Recruiting Showcase.

Competing at 105 pounds, I was admittedly surprised when she lost 9-4 in the Round of 16 to an unseeded foe.

However, that opponent went on to reach the finals, and Nieuwenhuis rattled off six consecutive consolation victories to place third.

So, it was hardly a lackluster performance by the future Hawkeye after all.

Short time

With the U.S. Open now in the rearview mirror, the next major freestyle events aren’t far off.

The first will take place just down the street in Coralville, as five Iowa wrestlers will compete for Team USA as part of the Senior Pan-American Championships from May 7-10.

A week later, the aforementioned Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament takes place in Louisville, KY.

Among 91 qualified athletes in the Women’s Freestyle division are the following Hawkeyes:

  • 50kg – Val Solorio, Felicity Taylor
  • 53kg – Brianna Gonzalez, Isabella Gonzales
  • 62kg – Macey Kilty
  • 65kg – Reese Larramendy

*Nora Akpan, Marlynne Deede and Naomi Simon are also qualified via non-WTT weights.

As for Men’s Freestyle, six Hawkeyes could be in the mix among as many as 100 total qualifiers:

  • 57kg – Spencer Lee, Brody Teske
  • 61kg – Austin DeSanto
  • 74kg – Michael Caliendo
  • 125kg – Tony Cassioppi

*Patrick Kennedy is also qualified via a non-WTT weight.

Until then, stay tuned to Hawkeye Report for additional Iowa wrestling coverage – and as always, thanks for reading!

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