Tom Brands, Spencer Lee earn Big Ten Wrestling honors
For the second year in a row, Brands was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and Lee was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.
Ryan Adams for the Daily Iowan
Iowa’s Spencer Lee works for back points against Purdue’s Devin Schroder during the finals of the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, PA on Sunday, March 8, 2021. Lee won the match with a tech fall 21-3. Ryan Adams/The Daily Iowan)
March 7, 2021
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — For the second year in a row, Iowa head coach Tom Brands is the Big Ten Wrestling Coach of the Year and 125-pounder Spencer Lee is the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.
The top-ranked Hawkeye wrestling team dominated the 2021 conference meet and won its 37th Big Ten title in program history. This is Iowa’s second-straight year winning the conference championship.
Lee was one of four individual champions for Iowa, along with Jaydin Eierman (141 pounds), Alex Marinelli (165), and Michael Kemerer (174). Austin DeSanto (133) and Kaleb Young (157) finished in second place after losing in their final matches. Jacob Warner (197) and Tony Cassioppi (285) finished in third, while Nelson Brands (184) finished in fourth.
Max Murin (149) was the only Hawkeye to not place.
Iowa finished with 159.5 team points. Second-place Penn State earned 124 points.
This is Brands’ fifth time earning Big Ten Coach of the Year honors.