Iowa men’s wrestler Spencer Lee to undergo surgery, miss remainder of 2021-22 season
The fifth-year senior will have surgery to repair an ACL tear.
Iowa’s No. 1 ranked 125-pound Spencer Lee walks off the mat following a match during the first day of the National Collegiate Duals at Raider Arena at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, FL on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. Cassioppi won via injury default. The Hawkeyes defeated Central Michigan 44-0 and Lehigh 28-7.
January 1, 2022
Iowa men’s wrestling senior 125-pounder Spencer Lee will be out for the rest of the 2021-22 season. The three-time NCAA champion will have surgery to repair his two torn ACL’s.
Iowa Athletics confirmed that Lee will miss the remainder of the season on Saturday night.
“The University of Iowa wrestling program announced Saturday that senior Spencer Lee will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season,” the report stated. “The decision to have season-ending surgery was made collectively by Lee, his family, and the Iowa coaching staff and medical team.”
Lee damaged the ACL in his right knee in high school and had surgery to get it fixed at the time. Then, he retore the ligament in the 2019 NCAA Tournament and opted out of surgery.
Lee wrestled through the 2020-21 season with only one healthy ACL. That is, until he tore itin the 2021 Big Ten Tournament. He revealed he tore his left ACL after he won his third individual NCAA Championship at 125 pounds in St. Louis, Missouri.
The reigning NCAA champion once again decided to not have surgery in either of his knees in the 2021 offseason. Instead, he attempted rehabbing and strengthening the muscles around his knee to wrestle through the 2021-22 season.
“After I tore my [right] ACL in the 2019 NCAA finals there wasn’t time to have surgery and still qualify and prepare for the Olympic Trials, so I made the decision to pursue the path of rehabilitation,” Lee said in a statement posted to Twitter. “My knee came back remarkably fast and I was able to win U.S. Senior Nationals and qualify for the trials. Matter of fact, I competed at the U.S. Senior Nationals without any form of a brace and felt great. That experience showed me I could compete without surgery. It also influenced my decision to forego surgery and choose rehabilitation after injuring my [left] knee at the 2021 Big Ten Championship finals.
“Unfortunately, that knee has not responded in the same way,” the statement continued. “It was my goal to compete this year, for this team and with my teammates that I care so much about, but when I returned to competition it became clear I would not be able to perform as I did the prior year due to instability in both knees and extreme soreness during and after competition. As a result, my coaches, medical staff, and family believe the best course of action at this time is surgery, so that when I return I can compete to my full potential.”
— Spencer Lee (@LeeSpencerlee36) January 2, 2022
Lee did not specify if he would repair his ACL tears in both knees.
So far, the two-time Hodge Trophy winner wrestled sparingly throughout the first matches of the 2021-22 season. Lee did not appear in Iowa’s duals against Princeton, Army, or Iowa State.
Lee made his first — and only — appearances on the mat in the 2021 Rokfin Duals in Niceville, Florida, on Dec. 20-21. He went 3-0 in his three matches, outscoring his opponents, 31-1. On Dec. 28, he was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week for his performance at the duals.
Lee has not lost a match since the 2019 NCAA Championships, amassing 38 consecutive victories.
Lee will be eligible for a medical hardship waiver if he wants to return for the 2022-23 season. Waivers are given to student-athletes who compete in less than 30 percent of competitions in a season. Athletes also cannot compete past the midway point of the season.
Redshirt freshman Jesse Ybarra has wrestled at 125 pounds in Lee’s absence this season. Ybarra is 1-1 in matches, picking up his first-ever win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against Army’s Ryan Chauvin on Nov. 28, and falling to Iowa State’s Kysen Terukina in Ames on Dec. 5.
The Hawkeyes could also turn to true freshman Drake Ayala, who is 5-1 this season while competing unattached. Iowa also has 125-pounders Aaron Cashman and Charles Matthews on its roster.
Iowa men’s wrestling, the reigning team NCAA Champions, is 6-0 so far this season and will wrestle next on Jan. 7 against Minnesota at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
