Tom Brands is easily rated as one of the top intensity wrestlers this sport has ever seen. His work ethic has rarely, if ever, been matched on the mat. In college, Brands was a force for the Iowa Hawkeyes, capturing the "Gablesque" mentality of the sport by constantly attacking and putting pressure on his opponents. Tom Brands was a four time All-American and three time NCAA national champion in college. He built off his collegiate success and competed for the U.S. in freestyle. Brands won the Gold medal at both the World Championships in 1993 and at the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.He continues today as the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeye program to lead the new generation of Iowa wrestlers.
Spencer & Austin: Wrestletown, USA
Mar 13, 2024
Spencer Lee and Austin DeSanto wrestled in the Pennsylvania high school state finals as juniors and seniors, splitting the two matches. Spencer went to Iowa and DeSanto to Drexel. After getting kicked off the team at Drexel for behavioral issues, Spencer was the driving force in recruiting Austin to Iowa.
The two became best buddies and pushed each other to be great but both had to deal with adversity along the way.
Spencer faced immense pressure and scrutiny on top of being plagued with injury after injury. Austin dealt a number with emotional control issues.
Through a lot of hard work and dedication the duo were both able to overcome the obstacles in front of them and were able to help guide the Hawkeyes to their first NCAA team title in over a decade.
