Spencer Lee

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Spencer Lee
Personal information
Full name Spencer Richard Lee
Nationality United States America
Born (1998-10-14) October 14, 1998 (age 26)[1]
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight 125 lb (57 kg)
Sport
Country United States American
Sport Wrestling
Event(s) Freestyle and folkstyle
Club Hawkeye WC
Young Guns WC
Coached by Tom Brands
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  United States
US National Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Fort Worth (SN) 57 kg
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016 Mâcon 50 kg
Gold medal – first place 2015 Salvador 50 kg
Cadet World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Snina 50 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Iowa Hawkeyes
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
NCAA logo.svg
Gold medal – first place 2021 St. Louis 125 lb
Gold medal – first place 2019 Pittsburgh 125 lb
Gold medal – first place 2018 Cleveland 125 lb
Big Ten Championships

Big Ten Conference logo (2012).svg
Gold medal – first place 2023 Ann Arbor 125 lb
Gold medal – first place 2021 State College 125 lb
Gold medal – first place 2020 Piscataway 125 lb
Silver medal – second place 2019 Minneapolis 125 lb
Bronze medal – third place 2018 East Lansing 125 lb

Spencer Richard Lee (born October 14, 1998) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms (125 pounds).[2] In freestyle, he was the 2019 US national champion and a three-time age-group world champion, once as a cadet and twice as a junior.[3] As a folkstyle wrestler, Lee has won the James E. Sullivan Award and the Dan Hodge Trophy twice, as well as being a three-time NCAA Division I national champion and a two-time Big Ten Conference champion out of the University of Iowa.[4] He was also the top-recruit as a high school wrestler at the time of his commitment.[5] Lee is often considered one of the most dominant athletes in college athletics.[6][7]

Folkstyle career

Background

Lee was born in Denver, Colorado but grew up in Saegertown, Pennsylvania. He moved again to Murrysville, Pennsylvania, where he attended Franklin Regional High School.[1]

High school

In Lee's freshman year he ended the season undefeated with a record of 49–0 and a state title at 113 pounds. As a sophomore, he also ended the season with a similar 48–0 record and a state championship now at 120 pounds. As a junior in high school, he also competed at 120 pounds, posting a perfect 12–0 record and winning state again, making him a three-time PIAA champion. As a senior, he also stayed undefeated during regular-season, competing at 132 pounds and eventually 126 pounds. Going into the state finals, Lee was the pound for pound top-ranked high school wrestler and was undefeated, posting a 144–0 record in his high school career.[8] At the finals, Lee faced the same wrestler he had beaten by technical fall at the previous year's state finals, and later Iowa teammate, Austin DeSanto. With Lee up 5–4, DeSanto secured a last-second takedown, winning 6–5 and pulling arguably the biggest upset in high school wrestling.[9][10]

As the top recruit in the country, Lee had offers from many Division I colleges, and chose the University of Iowa.[11]

College

2017–2018

Lee chose not to redshirt his first year and competed as a true freshman instead. He had immediate success, posting a 14–1 record in the regular season. He placed third at the Big Ten Conference Championships and competed at the NCAA championships.[12] At the national tournament, Lee looked dominant, winning by technical fall 18–0 in his first two bouts in less than six minutes combined. After that, he pinned both Big 12 champion Nick Piccininni and former NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello, reaching the finals. At the finals, he faced Nick Suriano, who had been undefeated in 2017–2018. Lee defeated Suriano 5–1. This result earned him the NCAA championship at 125 pounds as a true freshman, the first for the University of Iowa since Lincoln McIlravy in 1993.[13]

2018–2019

Lee posted an overall record of 23–3, placed second at the Big Ten Championships and competed at the NCAA championships as a sophomore.[14] At the Nationals, Lee was as dominant as the previous year, winning by technical fall (18-0) in his first bout, major decision (10-1) in the second, and fall in the third. In his next two bouts, he defeated three-time Big 12 champion Nick Piccininni and ACC runner-up Jack Mueller, winning the NCAA championship at 125 pounds. Lee outscored opponents 55–7 in five matches at the NCAA Championships.[15]

2019–2020

In his junior year, Lee had the option to take an Olympic redshirt, but chose instead to help Iowa to win an NCAA title, though he would still compete in freestyle.[16] During regular season, he compiled a record of 15–0 with 14 bringing bonus points. At the Big Ten tournament, Lee dominated his way to the finals, winning by fall inside 3 minutes in his first bout and by technical superiority (19-3) in the semifinals, making his way to the final. In the final, Lee defeated second-ranked Devin Schroder of Purdue University, via major decision (16-2) and qualified for the NCAA championships.[17] Lee was the #1 seed and a big favorite to win the championship, however, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making Lee and all the qualifiers unable to compete.[18][19] Overall, Lee remained undefeated with a record of 18–0 through the season and outscored his opponents 234–18.[20] Due to this, Lee received the prestigious Dan Hodge Trophy as the best collegiate wrestler of the season and was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.[21] In April, Lee received the prestigious James E. Sullivan Award as the most outstanding athlete in the United States of America.[22]

2020–2021

In October 2020, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to winter athletes due to the last season being cut short, giving Lee the possibility of becoming a four-time NCAA champion.[23] During regular season, Lee racked up an undefeated 4–0 record, with all of his victories coming via fall in the first period.[24] On February 8, it was announced that the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling team had suspended all team related activities during regular season due to COVID-19 results.[25] During post-season, Lee claimed his second back-to-back Big Ten Conference championship, earning a dominant technical fall over Devin Schroder in the finale.[26] Afterwards, he was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year for the second straight time.[27] At the NCAA championships, Lee continued his dominance and made his way to the finals with all of his four victories coming with high-scoring bonus points.[28][29] In the finale, he faced the third seed from Arizona State Brandon Courtney, whom he was unable to get bonus points out off despite dominating him and not allowing him to score any points of his own, claiming his third NCAA title.[30] Lee later revealed he had torn his left ACL eight days before the tournament to match a torn right ACL suffered in the second period of the 2019 NCAA final against Mueller, but competed anyway and was successful by dominating the opposition.[31] After the season, Lee was named the Dan Hodge Trophy winner (shared with heavyweight Gable Steveson) for the second straight season.[32]

2021–2022

Lee continues to have a year left of eligibility, as granted by the NCAA, despite competing as a senior in the season prior.[23] He was announced to be the first Sino Global Capital athlete under a NIL deal.[33] He achieved a 3–0 record at the start of the season before being pulled out of it due to requiring surgery in both of his knees after recurring injuries, lending Lee eligibility to return next year.[34]

2022-2023

Matt Ramos of Purdue defeated Lee with a fall in the NCAA semifinals. Lee went on to forfeit his remaining tournament matches ending his collegiate career.

Freestyle career

Age-group

Lee was a highly successful age-group wrestler.[35] In 2013, he made the US Cadet World Team by winning the US National title, notably defeating eventual NCAA champion Austin O' Connor and eventual '14 Youth Olympic silver medalist Daton Fix, and went on to place seventh at the World Championships.[36] In 2014, he once again made the US Cadet World Team and went on to dominate the opposition at the World Championships, tech'ing and pinning his way to becoming a Cadet World Champion.[37] In 2015, Lee moved up from 50 kilograms to 54 kilograms for the US Cadet National Championships, however, he was stopped twice by Daton Fix, losing his chance at the spot.[38]

After failing to make the team, the 16-year-old Lee went back to 50 kilograms and made the US Junior World Team, tech'ing every opponent at the World Team Trials.[39] At the World Championships, Lee showed no struggle in the junior level, once again tech'ing his way to becoming now a Junior World Champion.[40][41] In 2016, Lee started off by winning the US Open, followed up making his fourth US World Team and represented the US at the Junior World Championships once again. In his last age-group showdown, Lee dominated the field on his way to the finals, before facing Kurshid Parpiev from Kyrgyzstan. In the finale, Lee went a full six-minute match for the first time in the junior level, and was forced to dig deep as his opponent held the lead after the first round, but Lee was able to scored eleven points of his own against Parpiev's five in the second period to edge the gold medal and become a two-time Junior World Champion.[42]

Senior level

2019

After more than three years of inactivity in freestyle, with his last showdown coming from his gold medal performance at the '16 Junior World Championships, the 21-year-old Lee registered to make his senior level debut at the Senior Nationals in December.[43] In his first three senior matches, Lee outscored his opponents 30–0, including a flawless victory over NCAA champion Darian Cruz, to advance to the semifinals,[44] where he faced the freshly crowned Junior World Championship silver medalist Vito Arujau, and despite making it more competitive, Arujau scoring four points, he was also shut down by Lee's ability and surrendered to a 14–4 technical fall.[45] In the finale, Lee faced NCAA champion and four-time Big Ten Conference Champion Nathan Tomasello, whom he was also able to defeat with a lopsided decision, claiming the US National Championship.[46]

2020–2021

The 2019 NCAA and US National champion, Lee was scheduled to compete at the US Olympic Team Trials on April 4 at State College, Pennsylvania.[47] However, the event was postponed for 2021 along with the Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving all the qualifiers unable to compete until the next year.[48] In his only match of the year, Lee pinned four–time DI All-American Zach Sanders on November 1 at the HWC Open I.[49][50]

After claiming his third NCAA title in March 20, 2021, Lee's participation at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials was put on doubt after he revealed he had torn his left ACL, leaving him with no properly functioning ACLs since his right one had already been torn earlier in his career.[31] On March 26, Lee announced that he had taken the decision of withdrawing from the Olympic Trials in order to properly recover from his injuries.[51]

Freestyle record

Senior Freestyle Matches
Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location
Win 6–0 United States Zach Sanders Fall November 1, 2020 HWC Showdown Open

United States Iowa City, Iowa
2019 US Nationals 1st at 57 kg
Win 5–0 United States Nathan Tomasello 8–2 December 20–22, 2019 2019 Senior Nationals - US Olympic Trials Qualifier

United States Fort Worth, Texas
Win 4–0 United States Vitali Arujau TF 14–4
Win 3–0 United States Darian Cruz TF 10–0
Win 2–0 United States Shane Kim TF 10–0
Win 1–0 United States Jacob Moran TF 10–0

NCAA record

NCAA Division I Record
Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event
Start of 2022–2023 Season (senior extra-year)
End of 2021–2022 Season (senior extra-year)
Win 78–5 Jakob Camacho 6–1 December 21, 2021 North Carolina State - Iowa Dual
Win 77–5 Jaret Lane MD 8–0 December 20, 2021 Lehigh - Iowa Dual
Win 76–5 Brock Bergelin TF 17–0 Central Michigan - Iowa Dual
Start of 2021-2022 Season (senior extra-year)
End of 2020-2021 Season (senior year)
2021 NCAA Championships 1st at 125 lbs
Win 75–5 Brandon Courtney 7–0 March 18–20, 2021 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win 74–5 Drew Hildebrandt MD 11–0
Win 73–5 Devin Schroder MD 10–2
Win 72–5 Killian Cardinale MD 15–5
Win 71–5 Patrick McCormick TF 17–1
2021 Big Ten Conference 1st at 125 lbs
Win 70–5 Devin Schroder TF 21–3 March 6–7, 2021 2021 Big Ten Conference Championships
Win 69–5 Rayvon Foley Fall
Win 68–5 Dylan Ragusin TF 19–4
Win 67–5 Brady Koontz Fall February 7, 2021 Iowa - Ohio State Dual
Win 66–5 Justin Cardani Fall January 31, 2021 Iowa - Illinois Dual
Win 65–5 Patrick McKee Fall January 22, 2021 Iowa - Minnesota Dual
Win 64–5 Liam Cronin Fall January 15, 2021 Nebraska - Iowa Dual
Start of 2020-2021 Season (senior year)
End of 2019-2020 Season (junior year)
2020 Big Ten Conference 1st at 125 lbs
Win 63–5 Devin Schroder MD 16–2 March 8, 2020 2020 Big Ten Conference Championships
Win 62–5 Jack Medley TF 19–3
Win 61–5 Nicolas Aguilar Fall
Win 60–5 Nick Piccininni MD 12–3 February 23, 2020 Oklahoma State - Iowa Dual
Win 59–5 Forfeit FF February 15, 2020 Minnesota - Iowa Dual
Win 58–5 Jack Medley 8–1 February 8, 2020 Iowa - Michigan Dual
Win 57–5 Logan Griffin Fall February 2, 2020 Iowa - Michigan State Dual
Win 56–5 Brandon Meredith TF 16–1 January 31, 2020 Penn State - Iowa Dual
Win 55–5 Hunter Lucas TF 18–0 January 24, 2020 Ohio State - Iowa Dual
Win 54–5 Alex Thomsen TF 18–0 January 18, 2020 Nebraska - Iowa Dual
Win 53–5 Devin Schroder TF 15–0 January 12, 2020 Iowa - Purdue Dual
Win 52–5 Liam Cronin TF 15–0 January 10, 2020 Iowa - Indiana Dual
2019 Midlands Championships 5th at 125 lbs
Win 51–5 Connor Ryan Fall December 29, 2019 2019 Mindlands Invitational Championships
Win 50–5 Christian Moody Fall
Win 49–5 Liam Cronin Fall
Win 48–5 Michael Cullen TF 16–0 December 1, 2019 Wisconsin - Iowa Dual
Win 47–5 Alex Mackall TF 17–2 November 24, 2019 Iowa - Iowa State Dual
Win 46–5 Fabian Gutierrez MD 16–5 November 17, 2019 Chattanooga - Iowa Dual
Start of 2019-2020 Season (junior year)
End of 2018-2019 Season (sophomore year)
2019 NCAA Championships 1st at 125 lbs
Win 45–5 Jack Mueller 5–0 March 23, 2019 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win 44–5 Nick Piccininni 11–4
Win 43–5 Sean Russell Fall
Win 42–5 Sean Fausz MD 10–1
Win 41–5 Bryce West TF 18–0
2019 Big Ten Conference 2nd at 125 lbs
Loss 40–5 Sebastian Rivera 4–6 Mar 10, 2019 2019 Big Ten Championships
Win 40–4 Sean Russell MD 8–0
Win 39–4 Elijah Oliver Fall
Loss 38–4 Nick Piccininni Fall Feb 24, 2019 Iowa - Oklahoma State Dual
Win 38–3 Ethan Rotondo Fall Feb 17, 2019 Iowa - Wisconsin Dual
Win 37–3 Elijah Oliver Fall February 15, 2019 Indiana - Iowa Dual
Win 36–3 Brandon Cray Fall February 8, 2019 Maryland - Iowa Dual
Win 35–3 Zeke Moisey MD 18–4 February 3, 2019 Iowa - Nebraska Dual
Win 34–3 Travis Piotrowski Fall Jan 25, 2019 Iowa - Illinois Dual
Win 33–3 Nick DeNora Fall January 18, 2019 Rutgers - Iowa Dual
Win 32–3 Sean Russell 4–0 January 13, 2019 Iowa - Minnesota Dual
2018 Midlands Championships 2nd at 125 lbs
Loss 31–3 Sebastian Rivera 3–7 December 29, 2018 2018 Mindlands Invitational Championships
Win 31–2 Pat Glory 12–6
Win 30–2 Drew Hildebrandt TF 18–0
Win 29–2 Bryce West TF 17–0
Win 28–2 Malik Heinselman Fall
Win 27–2 Luke Resnick TF 15–0 December 8, 2018 Lehigh - Iowa Dual
Win 26–2 Alex Mackall MD 13–4 December 1, 2018 Iowa State - Iowa Dual
Win 25–2 Pat Glory TF 18–2 November 16, 2018 Princeton - Iowa Dual
Win 24–2 Alejandro Hernandez-Figueroa TF 18–0 November 9, 2018 Iowa - CSU Bakersfield Dual
Win 23–2 Tomas Gutierrez TF 16–0 November 9, 2018 Iowa - Kenn State Dual
Start of 2018-2019 Season (sophomore year)
End of 2017-2018 Season (freshman year)
2018 NCAA Championships 1st at 125 lbs
Win 22–2 Nick Suriano 5–1 March 17, 2018 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win 21–2 Nathan Tomasello Fall
Win 20–2 Nick Piccininni Fall
Win 19–2 Luke Welch TF 18–0
Win 18–2 Alonzo Allen TF 18–0
2018 Big Ten Conference 3rd at 125 lbs
Win 17–2 Luke Welch TF 16–0 Mar 3, 2018 2018 Big Ten Championships
Win 16–2 Sebastian Rivera MD 12–0
Loss 15–2 Nathan Tomasello 1–2
Win 15–1 Rayvon Foley Fall
Win 14–1 Sinjin Briggs Fall Feb 18, 2018 Iowa - Iowa State Dual
Win 13–1 Carson Kuhn Fall Feb 10, 2018 Iowa - Penn State Dual
Win 12–1 Sebastian Rivera 7–4 February 4, 2018 Northwestern - Iowa Dual
Win 11–1 Ethan Lizak TF 15–0 February 2, 2018 Minnesota - Iowa Dual
Win 10–1 Drew Mattin TF 15–0 Jan 27, 2018 Michigan - Iowa Dual
Win 9–1 Nathan Tomasello 3–2 Jan 21, 2018 Iowa - Ohio State Dual
Win 8–1 Nick Piccininni 10–5 January 14, 2018 Oklahoma State - Iowa Dual
Win 7–1 Rayvon Foley Fall January 5, 2018 Michigan State - Iowa Dual
2017 Midlands Championships 6th at 125 lbs
Loss 6–1 Ronnie Bresser 1–3 December 29, 2017 2017 Midlands Invitational Championships
Win 6–0 Sean Russell TF 15–0
Win 5–0 Travis Piotrowski TF 17–2
Win 4–0 Killian Cardinale Fall
2017 UNI Open 1st at 125 lbs
Win 3–0 Skyler Petry Fall December 9, 2017 2017 UNI Open Tournament
Win 2–0 Johnny Jimenez Fall
Win 1–0 Dack Punke TF 16–0
Start of 2017-2018 Season (freshman year)

Stats

Season Year School Rank Weigh Class Record Win Bonus
2023 Senior++ University of Iowa 125
2022 Senior+ DNQ 3–0 100.00% 66.67%
2021 Senior #1 (1st) 12–0 100.00% 91.67%
2020 Junior #1 (COVID) 18–0 100.00% 88.89%
2019 Sophomore #3 (1st) 23–3 88.46% 73.08%
2018 Freshman #3 (1st) 22–2 91.67% 75.00%
Career 75–5 93.75% 80.00%

[52]

References

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  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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