Iowa City High’s Ben Kueter makes U20 men’s freestyle world team

Ben Kueter’s preseason soccer schedule might need to take a backseat to his wrestling obligations this yr.

Kueter, Iowa Metropolis Excessive’s star senior athlete, gained the U20 males’s freestyle world workforce trials on Saturday night in Ohio. He’ll signify the US on the U20 world championships, set for August 15-21 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Iowa soccer and wrestling recruit swept the best-of-three finals collection over Georgia native Noah Pettigrew at 97 kilograms (213 kilos). Kueter gained each matches handily, 5-0 within the first, 7-0 within the second, to safe his spot on the U20 world workforce.

Kueter is now the most recent native Iowan to qualify for USA Wrestling’s U20/Junior world workforce.

Tanner Sloan, an Alburnett native now at South Dakota State, made the 2019 workforce. Thomas Gilman made the Junior workforce in each 2013 and 2014. He attended Omaha’s Skutt Catholic, however is initially from Council Bluffs. Rachel Watters, from Ballard, made the Junior ladies’s freestyle world workforce thrice, in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Earlier than them, Matt McDonough, from Marion, certified in 2010. Jake Kerr, from Oskaloosa, certified in 2007. In 2001, Greene’s Tyler Nixt and Waverly-Shell Rock’s LeRoy Gardner each made the workforce — Nixt in freestyle, Gardner in Greco-Roman.

The checklist goes on, however Kueter joined uncommon air by qualifying for U20 world workforce whereas nonetheless in highschool — he turns 18 on Tuesday — which speaks to his preternatural expertise.

He’s a three-time Class 3A state champ for the Little Hawks with a 72-0 profession report. He’s thought-about the No. 6 general prospect within the 2023 class by MatScouts. He completed third eventually yr’s Cadet freestyle world workforce trials, second eventually summer season’s Junior freestyle nationwide match, and gained the U20 males’s freestyle nationwide title final month.

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Kueter can also be a budding soccer star, an all-state linebacker who’s nearing five-star status. He led the Little Hawks to the Class 5A state semifinals a yr in the past, when he racked up 41 tackles for loss, probably the most amongst all gamers on 11-player groups, and 11.5 sacks, probably the most in 5A.

Kueter has designs on turning into a fair rarer multi-sport star as soon as he enrolls at Iowa, which speaks to his elite mindset. He needs to shine on the gridiron at Kinnick Stadium within the fall, then dominate on the mat inside a packed Carver-Hawkeye Enviornment within the winter.

Time will inform if Kueter reaches these heights, however he at present has loads on his plate proper now.

He’ll return from Ohio to a baseball season nearing the midway mark. Metropolis Excessive is at present 13-3 general and ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by the Iowa Excessive Faculty Baseball Coaches Affiliation. The primary day of soccer follow for the 2022 highschool season is August 8 — precisely one week earlier than the beginning of the U20 world championships.

Kueter will alter his busy schedule to make this all work, as a result of he earned this journey to Bulgaria, and the correct to signify the purple, white, and blue.

How did the opposite Iowa wrestlers do on the U20 freestyle world workforce trials?

Kueter’s world workforce berth was the spotlight efficiency from the contingent of Iowa wrestlers who competed at USA Wrestling’s U20 males’s freestyle world workforce trials on Saturday.

This is a fast rundown of the notable outcomes from the others:

• Jack Thomsen — The Union grad who’s now at South Dakota State additionally made the best-of-three finals, at 74 kilos (163), however was swept by present Penn State wrestler Alex Facundo, 10-0 and 12-0. Thomsen gained his first three matches to make the finals, which included a 4-2 semifinal win over Waverly-Shell Rock’s Aiden Riggins (who completed 1-2).
• Nate Jesuroga — The rising-senior for Southeast Polk went 2-2 and completed fourth within the problem match at 57 kilos (125). Within the semifinals, he misplaced to Minnesota prep Jore Volk, 4-3. Volk went on to make the U20 world workforce.
• Hunter Garvin — The Stanford-bound senior from Iowa Metropolis West took second within the problem match at 70 kilos (154), narrowly lacking out on the best-of-three finals. Garvin took out South Dakota State’s Cael Swenson 10-0, then beat Iowa’s Caleb Rathjen 16-5 within the semifinals. Within the problem match finals, Garvin misplaced to Penn State recruit Levi Haines, 14-4.
• Paniro Johnson — The incoming Iowa State freshman was the 1-seed at 70 kilos, however misplaced his quarterfinal match to Rathjen (who completed 2-2). Johnson then gained three in a row within the wrestlebacks and in the end completed fourth within the problem match.

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and highschool sports activities for the Des Moines Register. Comply with him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.