After dismantling three opponents at the Journeyman Duals last weekend, the Iowa women’s wrestling team looks to keep the momentum going as they make the 90-minute trek to Des Moines for the Grand View Open.
The event will be hosted by Grand View University and will feature 53 teams in the field, marking Iowa’s largest tournament they have competed in this season. Wrestling begin at 9:00 a.m. local time at the Johnson Wellness Center.
This marks the last regular season event of the year before the 2025 NCWWC Region VII Championships on Feb. 22 in Indianola, Iowa, an event that determines which wrestlers will earn spots at the ensuing national championships on March 7-8 in Coralville. Head coach Clarissa Chun said that she will take 22 athletes to the Grand View Open, the most Iowa has ever brought this season.
“I look forward to end their season strong heading into regionals,” Chun said.
Other than giving some other wrestlers opportunities to show their skills outside of the practice facility, Chun is using this to help narrow a decision on which wrestlers she will take for postseason play.
“Out of the 22 only 15 can go to regionals,” Chun said. “It will be a test for us. Some weights we are going to have to take a look at and see who is going to be a part of that 15. We still aren’t fully 100 percent sure yet.”
Chun said that having this surplus of talent can be both a good and bad problem. On one hand, Chun and her coaching staff have a lot of great women with tremendous abilities who look to make a difference in postseason competition. However, given the roster limitations, not everyone can be included in the final stages of the year.
“It gives us a lot of information on where they are at this moment on Saturday,” Chun said. “We understand that anything can happen leading up to regionals at any given moment. We see it not only on our team but on other teams across the nation.”
Even with Chun taking just 15 wrestlers to compete in regionals, she emphasizes the need for her squad to remain competitive and locked in at all times. Injuries, sickness, or switching wrestlers out for a better matchup will force all athletes on the roster to be ready if their name is called.
Looking at the competition this weekend, the Hawkeyes will see a slew of ranked teams and talented individual wrestlers competing independently. Highlighting the board are Life University, McKendree University, and Wartburg College, all opponents Iowa has seen this season at one moment or another.
“We have some elite high school girls coming in, top NAIA teams, and NCAA teams that will be there,” Chun said. “I think there will be a couple of Olympians from Nigeria that just joined William Penn, so that will be a fun and interesting test.”
Up next
After wrapping up at the Grand View Open, the Iowa women’s wrestling team will have a handful of weeks to prepare for the NCWWC Regionals. The Hawkeyes took home six champions in last year’s regional and look to maintain that same success this season.