Michael Kemerer is no stranger to success. The senior is a two-time All-American, a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient, and a three-time letter winner.

This season, Kemerer appears to be on track to become a three-time All-American. The Murrysville, Pennsylvania, native is a legitimate national championship contender, ranked first in the nation at 174-pounds.

Despite all his career accolades, Kemerer’s success this season has come as a bit of a surprise. Kemerer sat out all of 2018-19 following surgeries on both his knee and shoulder.

On top of the injuries, Kemerer moved up two weight classes to solidify Iowa’s 2019-20 lineup at 174-pounds. He previously competed at 157-pounds for the Hawkeyes.

Kemerer never showed signs of nagging injuries during the season. In fact, he won his first four matches of the year via technical fall twice, major decision once, and fall once.

Kemerer also hasn’t seemed to be at any sort of a disadvantage having moved up two weight classes. He’s defeated some of the nation’s best at the weight: No. 2 Mark Hall, No. 4 Dylan Lydy, No. 7 Mike Labriola, No. 8 Kaleb Romero, and No. 13 Joe Smith. Kemerer even bested No. 6 Devin Skatzka by pin in 2:52. In total, Kemerer has defeated eight ranked foes in his weight class this season.

Kemerer now faces his largest hurdle of the season. Postseason wrestling will undoubtedly test his durability and merit as the No. 1 wrestler at 174-pounds. Given the way the season has gone for Kemerer to this point, he will likely handle the adversity and put a final exclamation point on what has been a storybook season for him.