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Williams' title leads Iowa at U23 Nationals/U20 World Team Trials

by: Tanner Lafever06/01/26TannerLafever

A busy weekend for Iowa men’s wrestling concluded on Sunday at the U23 Nationals and U20 World Team Trials.

And among 13 current/future Hawkeyes to compete, none was more successful than U23 national champion Jordan Williams.

Williams – who remains in the transfer portal and has yet to indicate what he’ll do with his final year of collegiate eligibility – went 8-0 at 70 kilograms, punctuated by a best-of-three finals sweep of Rutgers commit Brandt Harer.

Along with Joey Cruz (third at 57kg), they were Iowa’s lone placers out of 10 total U23 entries.

Meanwhile, the U20 WTT Challenge Tournament produced top eight finishers amongst all three Hawkeye signees/commits:

  • Michael Mocco (second at 125kg)
  • Paul Kenny (fourth at 57kg)
  • Dawson Youngblut (eighth at 65kg)

Now, with the action on the mat in the rearview mirror, it’s time to recap the journey that was.

Williams wins in wildly entertaining fashion

One thing you can say about most Jordan Williams matches (of any style):

They won’t lack entertainment value.

Whether it was big throws (and quick pins) or wild scrambles, the redshirt junior was must-watch as he navigated his way through the field at 70kg this weekend.

Along the way, Williams teched/pinned three of his first four opponents – the other being a back-and-forth bout against Penn State reserve Connor Pierce:

On Day Two, a 3-2 quarterfinal win gave way to an 8-1 semifinal triumph over Gavin Drexler – a 2025 All-American for North Dakota State.

That set up a best-of-three final against the aforementioned Brandt Harer – the 10th-ranked overall prospect in the 2026 recruiting class.

Williams took match one, 9-3, buoyed by a pair of creative exposures just before the first-period buzzer:

In match two, Harer got on the board first with an early takedown. But Williams would respond with a slick duck-under and a blast double from space which held up in a 4-2 decision.

(The full two-match series is available HERE on YouTube.)

With the title, Williams earned a spot on the U23 Pan-Am team for the United States – which will compete in Lima, Peru on June 11-13.

A place on the U23 World Team, however, remains in question, as selection criteria states that first dibs on the spot goes to top-four Senior National Team finisher Landon Robideau – this year’s 157-pound NCAA champion for Oklahoma State.

Williams met with the media following his finals victory, sharing a few thoughts on a busy/instructive summer:

Cruz, Hernadez and Ludington reach U23 quarters

Iowa’s three other deepest runs at U23 Nationals came from Joey Cruz, Keyan Hernandez and Harvey Ludington – each of whom won their first three matches to reach the quarterfinals.

Cruz (57kg) arrived there via three-consecutive tech. falls, then punched his semifinal ticket with a 5-0 win over 2026 NCAA qualifier Tyler Chappell (Pittsburgh).

In the semis, Cruz fell to two-time Oklahoma State All-American Troy Spratley, 11-0, but rebounded nicely for back-to-back wins to place third.

(Spratley didn’t allow a point for the entire tournament.)

Meanwhile, fellow 57kg’er Hernandez teched Ayden Smith (12-1) in the Round of 32 – who qualified for NCAAs at Rutgers last season and now looks to be Iowa State’s presumptive starter after transferring to Ames.

Keyan Hernandez celebrates after a victory at 57kg. (Photo by © 2026 Sam Janicki/USA Wrestling)

A 3-1 quarterfinal loss to 2026 NCAA qualifier Mack Mauger (Missouri) ended his championship bracket run. And a subsequent consolation defeat left Hernandez one win shy of the podium.

As for Ludington, a tech. fall, an 0:18 pin and a 13-5 decision preceded his match in the quarterfinals.

In the quarters – facing two-year Southern Illinois-Edwardsville starter Nick Nosler – Ludington surrendered the lone takedown of the match with just 0:17 remaining to lose 4-3.

Iowa’s presumptive starter at 197 pounds next season then faced the unenviable consolation draw of 2025 Pittsburgh All-American Mac Stout. And after six minutes, he (like Hernandez) was eliminated one win shy of the podium, falling 7-0 to Stout.

U20 breakdown

Flipping to the U20 World Team Trials portion of proceedings, all three Iowa recruits managed to place – but none was able to emerge from the Challenge Tournament bracket.

2026 signee Michael Mocco came closest, reaching the final at 125kg courtesy of quick tech. falls over Northern Iowa commit Ashton Honnold (11-0) and Cornell freshman Jay Henderson (10-0).

There, fellow high school heavyweight Dreshaun Ross – a Fort Dodge native and Oklahoma State signee – would stymie Mocco’s run.

A 1-0 deficit at the break quickly turned into an 11-0 tech. fall as Ross flipped a second-period switch.

The future Cowboy went on to make the U20 World Team. Meanwhile, Mocco’s next chance at payback will likely have to wait until he and Ross cross paths as collegians.

As for the lightest end of the weight class spectrum, 2027 pledge Paul Kenny made it as far as the 57kg semifinals. But he was unable to overcome top-ranked Penn State commit Grey Burnett – falling via 6-1 decision in a bout that was nip and tuck until the final minute.

Kenny battled back to the third-place match – including his second win of the day over seventh-ranked Oklahoma commit Mikey Ruiz.

That preceded an insane third-place bout against 2027 UNI commit Hayden Schwab (ranked #5 in the country).

In a match that featured 25 combined points – including a would-be early 10-0 tech. fall for Kenny that was overturned upon a challenge – Schwab, the son of UNI head coach (and former Hawkeye) Doug Schwab, completed the comeback with a go-ahead takedown/pin with 0:14 remaining.

Iowa’s final commit in action was in-state 2027 prospect Dawson Youngblut.

The Don Bosco product took eighth at 65kg – including an 11-2 win over Purdue freshman Isaiah Schaefer (whom he’d lost to 10-0 at last month’s US Open.)

Rounding out the rest + Bowling takes Greco silver in Croatia

Out of the six remaining Iowa entries of the weekend (all in the U23 division), none advanced beyond Day 1.

Anthony Lavezzola (61kg), Isaiah Fenton (74kg), Claudio Torres (74kg), Joseph Kennedy (79kg), Tyrel Miller (86kg) and Brody Sampson (92kg) combined for a 10-12 overall record.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, one more Hawkeye was in action on Sunday.

Competing in Porec, Croatia at the 2026 Trophy Adriatic, redshirt freshman Leister Bowling IV took silver in the U20 Greco-Roman division.                        

Bowling, a Colorado native, won via 5-1 and 5-2 decisions to reach the final at 77kg – the latter over 2025 U17 European champion Giorgi Gogelashvili (Georgia).

A 7-5 finals loss to Hristo Valentinov (Bulgaria) meant that Bowling would have to share the honor of highest US placer at the event.

Later this summer in Bratislava, Slovakia (August 16-23) Bowling will compete at his second consecutive U20 World Championships – where he placed fifth in 2025.

Short time

The conclusion this weekend’s action leaves just one major summer event left to determine Team USA’s 2026 World Team(s).

That’ll take place at Final X on June 19th – featuring several past/present members of the Iowa men’s and women’s programs.

Of course, there will still be plenty of international action over the next few months – plus the July staple that is Fargo. And we surely won’t lack other storylines/subplots in between those events as well.

So, stay tuned here at Hawkeye Report for coverage of it all, and as always thanks for reading!

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