Iowa wrestling held its media day for the 2022-23 season at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday.

Head coach Tom Brands first spoke in the Feller Club Room, followed by wrestlers answering questions for the media in the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex.

Iowa’s 125-pound three-time NCAA champion and two-time Big Ten champion spoke to members of the media after a season-ending ACL surgery at the beginning of 2022. Brands spoke about Lee’s character and unique journey at Iowa.

“He’s resilient and he is incredibly focused on the next thing to get himself on the mat,” Brands said. “He’s never wavered from that mission. That’s a great testament. And you can say great, incredible, tremendous. You can say all those adjectives over and over and over again. The bottom line about him is he’s never wavered in his quest to be the best wrestler on the planet, and that’s still the case.”

Iowa returns to the mat for the 2022-23 season after placing third in the NCAA tournament and the Big Ten Champions, and losing seniors Alex Marinelli, Michael Kemerer, Austin DeSanto, Jaydin Eierman, and Kaleb Young.

Iowa wrestles Cal Baptist on Nov. 13.

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Jerod Ringwald

Iowa’s 125-pound Spencer Lee poses for a portrait during Iowa Wrestling Media Day in the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. Lee is a three-time NCAA Champion and a two-time Big Ten Champion. The University of Iowa announced at the end of 2021 that Lee would undergo ACL surgery to repair his two torn ACLs, ending his 2021-22 season.