By Courtney Baumann
At the end of last season, Iowa wrestling fans were left with a lot of questions surrounding the 157-pound weight class.
Edwin Cooper Jr., a senior who occupied the spot throughout 2015-16, graduated. Four other wrestlers wrestled at the weight, but their experience was limited. Logan Thomsen looked promising, finishing the season with a 21-7 record, but he transferred to Wartburg.
Then Michael Kemerer appeared as the starter earlier this season, and he’s posted a perfect record ever since.
Kemerer, a redshirt freshman, began his career at Iowa as a 149-pounder. He spent all of last season in the weight class, where he was 24-2 with 6 pins, 5 technical falls, and 8 major decisions. However, staying at 149 would mean being stuck behind two-time All-American Brandon Sorensen for another two years. Instead, he moved into the open spot at 157.
“This off-season I focused on getting better, getting stronger, just treating it the same as far as improving my wrestling every day. I started to step on the scale, weigh a little more, and started realize this might be the better option for me,” Kemerer said at Iowa’s media day. “It was kind of a gradual thing, but once I made the decision, I made the decision all in.”
Kemerer started the season ranked, then worked his way up to the No. 2 spot in the country — he and Thomas Gilman are the only two Hawkeyes to be ranked either 1st or 2nd nationally.
He is the only first redshirt freshman at Iowa to win his first 19 matches since two-time NCAA champion Matt McDonough did so seven years ago. Eleven of those wins have been by bonus points, and four were over ranked opponents.
The Murrysville, Pennsylvania, native has proven himself to be one of the leaders in the wrestling room while being surrounded by five All-Americans.
One is Sammy Brooks, who has been impressed with Kemerer’s work ethic and approach to his wrestling.
“The dude’s freaking awesome. He never stops attacking, and he’s strong as a bull,” Brooks said. “He’s the epitome of the fact that you don’t have to be an older guy to be a leader. He does everything right, and he’s a great wrestler. He’s somebody you can look at even as a redshirt freshman to help lead the team.”
Kemerer’s toughest match so far this season will come Friday night when Penn State travels to Carver-Hawkeye for the first time since Dec. 21, 2013. He will square off with No. 1 Jason Nolf, who was the runner-up at nationals last year.
The two know each other, having wrestled in the same clubs back in Pennsylvania, and it is not the first time they have competed — although it is the first time at the college level.
“We’ve wrestled in the same clubs since we were probably 7 years old,” Kemerer said. “The competitive side of me says it doesn’t matter, it’s another opponent, another competitor … But it’s pretty cool to see that 13 years later, we’re still wrestling.”
It will be the first 1-2 matchup the Hawkeyes have seen all season, and Iowa head coach Tom Brands said the numbers add fuel to the fire and make it a more exciting match.
“Even if your approach is the same, there’s just going to be a little more octane. There’s going to be a little more to it; they’re going to give it a little bit more,” Brands said. “It probably makes it more fun, it makes it more interesting or compelling for the fans, but it makes it more fun for [the wrestlers], too.
“This is what you live for. You don’t shy from those matches, you live for those matches … every indication is that our guy is ready to go.”
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