Hawkeyes’ Wrestler Sacrifices College Football Career After Iowa’s Commitment to NCAA Win Over Penn State

When you excel in two different things, making the decision to let one of them go can be a hard choice. However, if the need of the hour demands it, rising to the occasion can also be a move that can make or break an athlete. With the Iowa Hawkeyes making significant strides and aiming to challenge Penn State in the upcoming wrestling season, one of their standout two-sport athletes is determined to contribute his skills to the program’s ambitious goals.

Ben Kueter has made a name for himself as both a linebacker and a 285lb wrestler with the Hawkeyes. While he went on to become a wrestling Redshirt for the 2023-24 season, Kueter still managed to nab a 2-1 record against ranked opponents. However, now, it looks like the four-time state wrestling title winner is fixated on adding more to his wrestling resume.

In his recent post on X, Ben announced his choice to take a temporary hiatus from football to focus on wrestling for the upcoming season. Captioned, “Surrounded by the best! My family And I are excited for the future,” the post elaborates that the Iowa City native will be seen more frequently on the mat this season than in recent years. After thanking his football fraternity for their love and support over the years, Ben dropped the big reveal. “I would like to announce that I will be transitioning to just wrestling for the next 10 months in order to win a World title, NCAA title, and a NCAA team title,” wrote Kueter in his official statement.

At last week’s U20 World Team Trials, Kueter secured his spot in the national team which will be heading to Spain in September. The event will be taking place in between the football season, and justifiably, the chance to bag an international title is making Ben brace up. While he admitted that these goals would require him to focus all his attention on wrestling for the time being, this is by no means the end of his journey as a linebacker for the Hawkeyes’ football team.

Kueter’s intentions seem to have other Iowans excited as well. Moments after Ben’s big reveal, Hawkeyes’ star wrestler Spencer Lee also took to Instagram to share the news and emphasized how he’s looking forward to sharing the mat with the young Turk. However, considering how the Hawkeyes camp is shaping up, Ben is likely to be in good company.

Iowa Hawkeyes has been planning behind closed doors

Over the past months, Iowa has been putting in a lot of work to make sure their roster for the upcoming season is stacked. Coach Brands has been scurrying to jostle out commitments from the nation’s top-ranked wrestlers. While the prospect of seeing AJ Ferrari finally represent the Hawkeyes is a titillating prospect for all Iowa fans, there have been developments on other fronts, that could also help the team to up its game significantly in its goal to usurp Penn State and Cael Sanderson’s elite status among the country’s wrestling brethren.

Only days ago, fans were elated as Iowa unveiled the latest addition to its infrastructural arsenal: the whooping $31 million Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center. The new center is being projected as a place where new stars will be made and legacies will be created in the coming days. While fans are still dubious about its impact on the overall wrestling performance of the program, only time will tell if David Taylor and Cael Sanderson are en route to face stronger contention from Iowa in the 2024-25 season.