Iowa
Iowa’s Ben Kueter, Patrick Kennedy win national freestyle titles
Ben Kueter won a world championship his senior year at Iowa City High.
University of Iowa wrestling’s heavyweight, and dual-sport athlete, has earned a chance for another.
Kueter posted a 5-0 record, sweeping a best-of-3 series with Virginia Tech’s Jimmie Mullen to win the 125-kilogram men’s freestyle title at USA Wrestling’s U20 World Team Trials on Saturday at Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy won the U23 79-kilogram freestyle title, while former Iowa City West prep Hunter Garvin and University of Northern Iowa’s Wyatt Voelker made the Greco-Roman U23 national team.
Kueter earned 5-4 and 5-3 victories to secure a spot to compete in the age-level World Championships sept. 2-8 at Pontevedra, Spain.
“I was joking with my coach,” Kueter said in a post-match interview with USA Wrestling. “I don’t remember the last time I wrestled five matches in a day. It’s funny. (Iowa assistant coach Ryan) Morningstar, he coaches us in Junior Duals. I think that was the last time I wrestled five matches in a day. It’s a good three years ago.”
Kueter, who was 3-1 for the Hawkeyes in his redshirt season, opened with a 10-0 technical superiority over Indiana’s Connor Barket and outscored his first three foes by a combined, 29-9. He beat Mullen in the first two bouts, avoiding a winner-take-all finale.
“It felt good,” Kueter said. “I think my first match was my slowest and sluggish. After that I just kept getting better. My composure was better.”
Kueter also plays linebacker for Iowa football. The World Championships conflicts with the Iowa-Iowa State football game on Sept. 7, according to flowrestling.com’s Andy Hamilton. Kueter was able to train and compete at Worlds in 2022 and returned to play for the Little Hawks’ football team. He has hopes it will work with the Hawkeyes but will trust the football and wrestling staffs to make the best decision.
“It might be a little different this year,” Kueter said. “Maybe I can’t go. Just talk to the coaches but the football coaches are all about wrestling and the wrestling coaches are all for football.
“At the end of the day, they’re going to make it work. I’m there to compete for the University of Iowa.”
Kennedy went 7-0 to win the 79-kg title. He blanked Cornell University’s Julian Ramirez, of Spartan Combat Regional Training Center, 10-0, in two straight matches of the best-of-3 series.
Kennedy scorched the competition, outscoring his opponents, 75-4, overall. He said Iowa Coach Tom Brands preaches a lifestyle to help look back and be able to accept with the results. Kennedy was.
“I feel satisfied with how I competed,” Kennedy said. “So, it was good.”
Interestingly, Kennedy wasn’t expecting to compete until a conversation with Iowa NCAA finalist and Hawkeye Wrestling Club member Jacob Warner. Kennedy was considering an international tournament when Warner expressed his regret not getting to compete in a past U23 tournament due to injury.
“That was kind of the turning point,” Kennedy said. “It’s never hard for me to be in the room and be around the guys but sometimes you need expert advice, and Jacob Warner has expert advice.”
Garvin, a three-time state champion and four-time finalist for West and an All-American for Stanford in March, won Greco-Roman and Freestyle titles. He earned the 77-kg spot on the U.S. National Team, competing at the U23 Pan American Championships on June 21-22 in Colombia.
Garvin swept Brendon Abdon, of Arkansas RTC, recording a pin in the first match and ending it with an 8-4 decision.
“I love it,” said Garvin, who added a freestyle national crown. “I’m out there having fun. I’m having a blast. I love that I’m just trying to put on a show for people, my teammates, friends, loved ones or whoever just watching.”
Garvin was joined by Voelker, a former West Delaware two-time state champion, who competed at the U20 World Championships in 2023. Voelker beat New York Athletic Club’s Michael Altomer, 7-5 and 8-0, for the 97-kg spot.
UNI’s Cory Land and John Gunderson and Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson won age-level titles. Johnson claimed the U23 70-kg championship in freestyle.
Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com
As Iowa women’s basketball signee McKenna Woliczko prepares to transition her game from the high school level to the collegiate ranks, she expressed her excitement for her freshman season in the fall during a recent interview with The Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow.
Although nearly every program in the nation has been affected in some way by the NCAA transfer portal, some fans had a natural concern that the Hawkeyes’ five departures could affect Woliczko’s trust in the direction of the program.
Fortunately for Iowa, the 6-foot-2 native of San Bruno, Calif., immediately put those worries to rest by reaffirming her eagerness to begin her Iowa career and to meet whoever the program brings in to fill its vacant roster spots.
“All the girls are great. I’m just as excited to come in as I was before,” Woliczko said. “People are going to leave, but we’re going to get some people. I’m really excited to see who we get.”
As Woliczko was authoring a record performance in the 2026 Nike Hoop Summit game, the Hawkeyes were in the midst of pouncing in the transfer portal. Woliczko registered a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds as Iowa landed All-SEC first-teamer Dani Carnegie out of the transfer portal to bolster its backcourt.
In a coincidental roommate switch as a result of Addie Deal and Teagan Mallegni entering the transfer portal, Woliczko will spend her first year in Iowa City with junior Ava Heiden and sophomore Layla Hays in an apartment near Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
While Woliczko mentioned that she has some nerves entering her freshman year at Iowa, she also stated that she’s thankful for the program’s all-encompassing support and is excited about the experience.
“I’m obviously really nervous. Just taking that next step, not only just living by myself but also the basketball aspect, the social aspect, all of it,” Woliczko said. “I’m just really excited to feel that new support, and having that new (basketball) family will be so awesome. … I’m so excited to experience that.”
Woliczko arrives as head coach Jan Jensen’s highest-ranked signee in her two years in charge and the program’s highest-ranked signee since Caitlin Clark in 2020.
In her 21 games played during her senior campaign, Woliczko averaged 20.2 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 69% from the floor, 81% from the free-throw line, and 40% from 3-point range. For her career, she posted averages of 21.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game on 63% shooting.
https://x.com/StavrosForever/status/2038736820976939Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa women’s basketball was facing just six returning players for the upcoming season, but on Saturday they landed a big transfer.
Georgia’s Dani Carnegie is heading to Iowa City, she announced on social media. Carnegie was a First Team All-SEC guard with the Georgia Bulldogs.
She averaged 17.8 points per game at UGA. She was also a teammate with Chit-Chat Wright at Georgia Tech in their freshman seasons.
She’ll have two years of eligibility remaining with Iowa.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team is going to look a lot different during the 2026-27 season than it did at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
Gone are the five seniors who were on the roster: Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson, Nate Heise, Dominick Nelson and Eric Mulder. Cade Kelderman, a junior guard, entered his name into the transfer portal along with Mason Williams.
Milan Momcilovic currently has his name in the 2026 NBA Draft, putting his future up in the air for a few more weeks. However, head coach T.J. Otzelberger can rest a little easier knowing some of his core rotation is coming back. Included in that group now is Killyan Toure.
As shared by François Nyam via Jonathan Givony of Draft Express on X, the talented guard will be returning to Ames for his sophomore season.
Will Killyan Toure return to Iowa State for sophomore season?
Toure was a surprise member of the starting five for the duration of his freshman season with the Cyclones. Many people predicted that spot would go to Jamarion Batemon, the highest-rated recruit the program landed in the Class of 2025, but it was Toure who earned the trust of the coaching staff.
It was easy to see why this was the case early on. He was a ready-made high-level defender right out of the gate. His tenacious effort on that end of the court enabled Iowa State to deploy Lipsey in a more rovering role at times, playing the passing lanes and creating turnovers.
The senior was very impressed with what Toure brought to the court, giving him a ton of praise for his efforts on the defensive end.
A high-floor player because of his ability on defense, the Frenchman could truly breakout as a sophomore if he can find a rhythm offensively. His confidence seemed to wane during the season, as he hit the proverbial freshman wall.
NEWS: Killyan Touré will return to Iowa State for his sophomore season, François Nyam tells DraftExpress.
The 6’3, 19-year-old French guard started 37 games for the Cyclones, playing an important role in their 29-8 record and Sweet 16 appearance with his stifling defense. pic.twitter.com/XdS1L9XL9z
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 11, 2026
Toure shot only 38.7% from the field overall during Big 12 play and 23.8% from 3-point range, leading to his minutes being scaled back slightly as Otzelberger sought more offense for the lineup.
However, that confidence on offense did start to come back during the Big 12 tournament and in the NCAA tournament.
Over the final four games of his freshman campaign, Toure averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 30.5 minutes per game. He shot an impressive 55% from the field and 50% from 3-point range, knocking down 5-of-10 attempts.
Securing his return is a big win for Iowa State basketball. He has an incredibly high ceiling and is built to take the torch from Lipsey as the tone setter on the court.
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