(This story was updated to add new information.)
Classes are in session at college campuses across the United States, including at the University of Iowa. With that came the release of updated rosters for the Hawkeyes men’s and women’s wrestling programs.
There is a handful of notable items in those rosters, from weight changes to an extra year of eligibility for a returning national finalist for the Hawkeye programs.
It’s important to remember that the upcoming season is still a couple of months away, and many of the weights could be (and maybe even are likely to be) subject to change, but there are nonetheless some intriguing things to monitor.
Here are three interesting nuggets from the Iowa men’s and women’s wrestling rosters:
Transfer Jordan Williams listed with new weight, Dean Peterson back to 125 pounds
When rosters were released on Aug. 27, there was a bit of a sticker shock with these two, particularly Peterson who was initially listed at 133 pounds. The weights listed on Iowa’s roster were provided by the coaching staff, according to an Iowa spokesperson. However, Peterson’s weight has since changed from 133 to 125 on the most up-to-date roster as of Sept. 2.
That sort of flip is why the current roster as it stands with weights shouldn’t be taken too seriously in the month of September. Lots can change for guys between now and then, whether it be injury, a need at another weight or anything of that nature between now and the first duals to come in the late fall.
In the last year alone, we’ve seen Kale Peterson listed at 133/141 pounds at the initial roster release, but he wrestled his first event at 125 pounds. Two years ago, Patrick Kennedy was listed at 165 but upped to 174 from his first dual to fill a need in the lineup and has since stuck there. To say the obvious, much will change between now vs. November and especially between now and the postseason in March.
Williams to 157 pounds was the other most notable weight listed on the initial roster. He has competed at 149 for his entire career, but with Jacori Teemer graduated, there’s a hole to be filled at the weight. Additionally, Victor Voinovich and Miguel Estrada were listed as both “149/157.”
The easiest way to sum this up is that these guys at 149 and 157 seem interchangeable to an extent. It is easy to foresee that the staff will let these wrestlers sort out who goes where based on their preference and performance. As always, injuries or other unforeseen events could dictate where they go throughout the year. Expect those two weights to be up for debate for a bit.
The updated men’s roster can be viewed on hawkeyesports.com.
CJ Torres and Paolo Ciatto to gray-shirt for 2025-26
A couple of freshmen were not listed in the updated men’s roster. Torres’ father Claudio Torres told the Register that his son would be using a gray-shirt for the season, and Ciatto confirmed to the Register that he would be doing the same. Essentially they will be delaying their official adds to the roster and preserving their five-year eligibility clock (four years of competition and a redshirt year). The most recent example of this is when Cody Chittum did this for one season when he was committed to the Hawkeyes before winding up at Iowa State, but retained his full eligibility after that.
Torres is ranked No. 5 in the country at 165 pounds in the Class of 2025 and was a late flip this spring from Virginia Tech, while Ciatto is unranked nationally.
Three-time NCWWC finalist Jaycee Foeller receives fifth year of eligibility, will compete for the Iowa women
Coach Clarissa Chun confirmed to the Des Moines Register that Foeller will be competing for the Hawkeyes this season. Foeller is able to do so from the blanket waiver for an additional year of eligibility for athletes who were running out of eligibility following the 2024-25 season and had collegiate seasons outside of the NCAA’s purview such as the NAIA or NJCAA (junior college). Foeller competed in one season for Central Methodist University in 2022-23 under the NAIA.
This is a massive keep for Iowa for the upcoming season. Foeller is a three-time NCWWC runner-up, twice with the Hawkeyes and once as a freshman with McKendree in 2022. After going through senior day celebrations last year, it was projected that Iowa would need a new wrestler at 207 pounds, perhaps Katja Osteen or Samantha Calkins, who remain on the roster. But the Hawkeyes will instead bring back a national title contender at the weight.
Going into the first season of the NCAA era and moving to just 10 starters and one at each weight like the men, the Hawkeyes will have some tough choices to make at each postseason starting spot. With Foeller back, 207 pounds doesn’t seem to be one of those.
The updated women’s roster can be viewed on hawkeyesports.com.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Hawk Central: Iowa wrestling releases updated rosters for 2025-26 men’s and women’s seasons
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Hawk Central
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