Former Iowa men’s wrestlers Kaleb Young and Alex Marinelli have a newfound talent off the mat.

The pair swapped their singlets for headsets and commentated two of the Hawkeyes’ duals earlier this season on BTN+.

“A lot of people who go to school for broadcasting, they’d probably kill to do something like that,” Marinelli told KCRG. “But I fell into it being a wrestler here at Iowa.”

Young and Marinelli came to Iowa in 2016-17 and were a part of the Hawkeyes’ 2021 national championship squad.

Young finished his college career as a three-time All-American at 157 pounds. Marinelli was the Hawkeyes’ 22nd four-time All-American and eighth four-time Big Ten Champion at 165 pounds.

After graduating, Young and Marinelli joined the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. The wrestling club was created in 1973 to provide post-collegiate athletes the training and resources they need to compete and succeed at the world and Olympic levels.

The Hawkeye Wrestling Club is coached by Dan Dennis, who was a two-time All-American for Iowa at 133 pounds from 2005-10 and a member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.

Apart from the high level competition opportunities the club offers, Young enjoys training alongside those on the Iowa men’s wrestling squad and acting as a role model.

“You’re kind of an extension of the coaching staff when you’re in the club,” Young said to The Daily Iowan. “You’re in the room to train for yourself, but you’re also training with the guys on the team and being a mentor for them, so I enjoy that. I like seeing guys on the team progress and get better.”

Young and Marinelli’s continued involvement in the Iowa wrestling program led Iowa’s Associate Director of Athletic Communications James Allan to ask them if they were interested in calling the duals.

While BTN+ streams are typically reserved for the Big Ten Network’s StudentU productions, former Iowa wrestlers Nathan Burak, who is currently on the Hawkeye Wrestling Club roster, and Alex Meyer have also called a few of the Hawkeyes’ duals.

Young and Marinelli’s broadcasting debut was on Nov. 13 in Iowa’s season opener against Cal Baptist. The Hawkeyes dominated the Lancers, 42-3.

The pair put the headset back on for Iowa’s dual against then-No. 21 Penn on Nov. 26. The Hawkeyes downed the Quakers, 26-11.

Young and Marinelli connected while training with each other for the past seven years, and they frequently hang out off the mat.

This connection allowed them to feel no need for preparation or a specific strategy to follow during the call — they “just go for it.”

“I don’t stress out about it or get nervous or anything,” Young said. “… Marinelli is one of my best friends. We spend a lot of time together, and we kind of have the same understanding of the sport. We have the same mindset when it comes to wrestling, so it’s easy to talk about it together and we agree on pretty much everything.”

Young and Marinelli do not follow the traditional roles of play-by-play and color commentator throughout the broadcasts, but it has worked for the listening crowd so far.

Young and Marinelli will call their final dual of Iowa’s season on BTN+ against Illinois on Jan. 6, 2023, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“They’re awesome,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said in a press conference. “They’re in our Hawkeye Wrestling Club, which is a very important aspect of our program. A lot of times on that telecast, when it’s a stream, it’s not as expert oriented, and those two guys are good experts. I’ve heard they’ve done a good job, and I think the people that are listening like it, so good for them and good for us.”