Spencer Lee captivated Hawkeye fans last season once he was freed from his redshirt.

He finished that freshman year with a 22-2 record wrestling at 125 pounds, including a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, and of course, a gold medal at the NCAA Championships.

Now, through three duals into his sophomore campaign, it seems as if Lee hasn’t lost a step. Or a takedown.

In all three of his matches, Lee has picked up a technical fall, never failing to reach 18 points.

In Iowa’s 31-10 dual win over Princeton in the Hawkeyes’ home-opener on Nov. 16, it was more of the same.

Lee faced No. 14 Patrick Glory, his first ranked opponent of the season. The same results ensued — Lee finished with an 18-2 tech-fall victory that included 3 4-point near falls in the first period and 2 more back points in the second.

It was Lee’s first action in Carver-Hawkeye since winning a national title, and judging by the pops he got from the crowd when he stepped on the mat, it’s safe to say that Iowa fans are happy to have their star back.

“It was awesome,” Lee said. “Being back in my town, my city, we always said defend our town, defend our city. I went out there, wrestled as hard as I could, and just had a lot of fun.”

As Lee has been known to do, his fast start helped him take control early, and he kept his foot on the gas as the battle moved into the second period.

“That’s the plan, right?” Lee said about putting points on the board early. “Just go out there and score points. Focus on wrestling seven minutes the whole time.”

Lee’s impact on the mat transitioned into the other matches as well. While Lee got Iowa out to a 5-point lead with his tech fall, Austin DeSanto followed with a pin in 3:27 at 133 pounds, and Max Murin also stuck his opponent at 141.

DeSanto took tips from Lee’s match and applied them to his own, helping the Drexel transfer secure the pin after getting out to a 7-1 advantage in his first match in front of the Black and Gold crowd.

“You could see it in Spencer’s match, the kid was trying to roll; they’re big into those rolls,” DeSanto said. “We’ve drilled that a million times — be ultra-aware with everything and when they roll, stick them.”

The only points Lee surrendered in the match was from a reversal after Lee had already loaded the scoreboard with his 3 near falls and an opening takedown.

The points Glory scored on the reversal were the first points Lee surrendered this season. While it wasn’t a bright spot for his star 125-pounder, coach Tom Brands said he thinks there is plenty of good wrestling ahead of Lee.

“Spencer Lee was out, was out, and never exploded the leg back,” Brands said. “When you’re up 14-0 or whatever it is, maybe you don’t think you have to explode. His best wrestling’s in front of him, too.”