“He’s never wavered on his quest to be the best wrestler on the planet.” Spencer Lee leads the Hawkeyes into 2023

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - Spencer Lee’s goal is simple, and an ACL surgery isn’t gonna change it.

“You can say ‘great,’ ‘incredible,’ ‘tremendous,’ you can say all those adjectives over and over again,” said Tom Brands. “The bottom line about him is he’s never wavered on his quest to be the best wrestler on the planet.”

Lee has a shot to be Iowa’s first 4 time national champion.

“The next one’s always the most important one,” Lee said. “But for me it’s about wrestling as hard as I can and scoring as many points as I can and if i do that then titles will come.”

Outside of Lee, the Hawkeyes don’t return a national champion, but they do roster six All-Americans, including national runner up Jacob Warner.

“I don’t really look at it as there’s a target on my back or me putting targets on other people’s backs,” Warner said. “There’s only one goal in my eyes and that’s that’s to be at the top of the podium.”

Tom Brands says his veteran wrestlers won’t get restless even after coming close to a national title year after year. He says they’re always striving the best the best.

“If you’re not the best then you’re not the best. When you’re on that mission that carrot dangled in front of you it can be a catalyst,” Brands said. “It can keep you going and it’s addictive.”

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