In an event card bringing the world’s best freestyle wrestlers to Coralville, Iowa, Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee fell to Japanese World Champion Masanosuke Ono at Xtream Arena on Wednesday.
The match, years in the making, came as the main event of FloWrestling Night in America — a card of freestyle wrestling bringing top talent to “Wrestletown, USA.” Included in the mix was top-ranked 2026 recruit and Hawkeye commit Bo Bassett, not wrestling but present for a meet-and-greet with his future fanbase.
RELATED: Spencer Lee returns to Iowa for match, expands impact on wrestling world
A rather uneventful final match, Ono won with three push-out points to Lee’s two caution points. Still, four thousand wrestling fans showed out to see the display of championship-level wrestling throughout the night.
“I need to find a way to get to my offense,” Lee said after the match. “I think I respected him too much with all the hype around him, not putting him down. He beat me. I’ll take the loss.”
Former Hawkeye and four-time All-American Austin DeSanto got a homecoming too, wrestling NCAA Champion Seth Gross at 62 kilograms. While DeSanto beat Gross, 5-4, at the 2023 U.S. Open, he went scoreless in a 10-0 technical fall loss this time around.
Masanosuke Ono def. Spencer Lee, 3-2, @ 59.5 kilograms
Ono struck first with a pair of strong one-point step-outs, clearly a physical match for the Olympic runner-up. Lee found little opening to shoot, Ono defending a single-leg shot and pushing a third step-out for a 3-0 lead after one.
“Yes, just enjoy,” Ono said when asked if he had fun through the night. “I weigh in, wake up, recovery, warming up — everything is fun, so enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.”
Iowa head coach Tom Brands gave the officials some flack for their scoring, but nothing came to fruition for the former Hawkeye in the first minute until a caution point put him down two. He escaped an Ono ankle pick but needed more offense with a minute left.
Ono ducked and dodged well, but Lee found nothing but one more caution point in the 3-2 loss.
“I just want to apologize again, not for losing — it’s more for being boring,” Lee told The Daily Iowan. “I’m thankful that [the fans] came out. I’m thankful that people want to see me still. I’m thankful that fans still look forward to watching me wrestle.”
David Carr def. Daichi Takatani, 10-7, @ 76 kilograms
Carr, a two-time NCAA champion at Iowa State, got a good ovation from the crowd with his entrance — as did Takatani, who represented Japan and won silver at the 2024 Olympics, with a backflip upon reaching the mat. Scoreless to start, Carr worked a single-leg takedown into a gator roll for six points and another ovation.
“I was surprised how many Hawkeye fans are cheering and giving me high-fives, but I think when your goal is to represent the USA, I think they like cheering for that guy,” Carr said. “And that’s the goal … This type of event is really cool for wrestling.”
Takatani got two back with a double-leg shot but still sat behind four with the second period beginning. Carr worked four points with a takedown and exposure before Takatani did the same to him for a 10-6 Carr lead with the final two minutes, in which Takatani took a minute to find a one-point step-out. Defending shots from then on, Carr walked away with the 10-7 win.
Zahid Valencia def. Trent Hidlay, 5-0, @ 92 kilograms
Valencia was one of the most talented wrestlers on the card, two NCAA titles at Arizona State and a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade to his name. Wrestling five-time All-American Trent Hidlay, Valencia’s shifty grappling worked a 3-0 advantage for the first period.
Valencia physically more dominant, he sped the pace up but scored just one takedown as Hidlay held his own. So Valencia secured the 5-0 win.
Austin Gomez def. Bryce Andonian, 11-0, @ 72 kilograms
In a battle of two-time All-Americans, Andonian at Virginia Tech and Gomez most notably at Iowa State and Wisconsin as well as a 2024 Olympian for Mexico, this match started with an exchange of unfinished shots.
Gomez, on the clock, scored first with two points in an otherwise scoreless period from both sides. A power attack in the second rewarded his effortful wrestling and earned him two more points — followed by a step-out for a 5-0 lead, pair of takedowns for a 9-0 lead, and ultimate 11-0 finish.
Seth Gross def. Austin DeSanto, 10-0, @ 62 kilograms
The former Hawkeye’s well-known aggression created some physicality early, but Gross got on the board first with a pair of step-out points. A heightened sequence at the end left DeSanto scoreless after one.
Still unable to complete a finish, DeSanto found his shots blocked again and again by Gross’ conservatism. Two exposures from Gross while tied up on the mat put him up six, and a takedown ended the match with Gross’ 10-0 technical fall.
Nate Jackson def. Kennedy Monday, 11-7, @ 86 kilograms
Jackson, a two-time All-American at Indiana and the fifth-ranked 97-kilogram wrestler in the domestic men’s freestyle wrestling ranking, secured the first takedown of what was a rather exciting match. But he gave up an acrobatic four-point feet-to-back maneuver to Monday for a 4-2 Monday lead.
In a high-scoring first period, Jackson bounced back with a step-out and takedown of his own before another step-out point made it 7-5 in his favor. His counter upped the score to 9-5. And while Monday kept it close with a two-point takedown to pull within two, Jackson’s two-point counter with seconds left sealed the 11-7 win.
Zeltzin Hernandez def. Amanda Martinez, 8-2, @ 57 kilograms
Martinez starting low to the mat, she defended Hernandez’s single- and double-leg shots although Hernandez — a 2024 U23 Pan-American champion — remained firmly on offense.
She finally found a feet-to-back takedown for four points to start the second period and shot again, blocked by Martinez’s defense. But Martinez, the all-time leader in career victories at North Central College, twice fell under a shot with under a minute left in the match for Hernandez’s 8-2 win.
Melanie Jimenez def. Xochitl Mota-Pettis, 7-1, @ 62 kilograms
Defense marked the start of the match between three-straight U20 Pan-American champion Jimenez of Mexico and Senior Pan-American champion Mota-Pettis of the United States. Deadlocked at 1-1, Jimenez’s takedown gave a 3-1 advantage for the second.
Jimenez found four points and a 7-1 lead upon sprawling Mota-Pettis onto her back amid an aggressive shot into a takedown. With the latter unable to score any further, Jimenez finished the win.
Jay Aiello def. Marcus Coleman, 12-1, @ 97 kilograms
Aiello, a one-time All-American at Virginia and U20 World Team member, jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead with two takedowns in the first period despite sacrificing a reversal point in the mix.
Defending the single-leg well, Aiello found another two points through a strong flip into an exposure. With two more points coming from offense on the edge, Aiello’s 10-1 lead became a 12-1 win with a final takedown.
Nathan Tomasello def. Daniel DeShazer, 7-0, @ 62 kilograms
Tomasello — an NCAA champion in 2015 and four-time Big Ten champion at Ohio State — opened the main card chasing Division II stud DeShazer down into a two-point takedown. An added shot clock violation made the only points of the first period.
So Tomasello held a 3-0 lead to start the second. He finished a takedown at the very edge of the mat to open the period and make it 5-0 — then 7-0 with a single-leg takedown too for a comfortable win.