DeSanto

[Inthecircle]

Austin DeSanto in the future will go down as one of the greatest Hawkeye’s to not win a Big Ten or National Title.
His battles with autism and extra curricular outbursts on the mat will be forgotten.
He is really going to be missed. He was a guy who drew people to Carver. He was Iowa Style through and through, which has been rare to see in the last 10-15 years.
Kudos to Austin DeSanto for everything he gave to the Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling program.

 

[JEDN]

Excellent post !

 

[Grip220]

DeSanto is and always will be one of my favorite Hawks, titles or not he was a machine and a absolute pleasure to watch. I’m very excited to watch how the rest of his wrestling career plays out, either way if he is wrestling I am watching!

 

[Tcalumet]

DeSanto is and always will be one of my favorite Hawks, titles or not he was a machine and a absolute pleasure to watch. I’m very excited to watch how the rest of his wrestling career plays out, either way if he is wrestling I am watching!

The beatings he gave on the backside of the bracket at ncaa’s tell the story - guy took every match like it was Armageddon. Love it. Can you imagine running into desanto in the consi semi’s? No bueno.

 

[RPWinni0]

DeSanto is and always will be one of my favorite Hawks, titles or not he was a machine and a absolute pleasure to watch. I’m very excited to watch how the rest of his wrestling career plays out, either way if he is wrestling I am watching!

DeSanto was also one of my favorite Hawks. I think TnT need a lot of credit to get his emotions under control. His Senior year he became a very responsible winner or loser on the mat Control of autism is a difficult task.

 

[aije]

Although I don't know DeSanto personally, I read years ago while he was still back in here in PA that he is very good and patient in working with kids who are learning to wrestle and everyone who meets him away from the mat always seems to say how polite and respectful he is.

 

[sdvike]

Spencer Lee has the championships and watch alot of replays of his. Desanto is top notch ncaa wrestler but even better entertainer. I watch much more of Desanto replays, the poster child for Iowa style wrestling. If we had 10 Desantos in the lineup, we would be unstoppable.

 

[Gonzo Bloor]

Loved watching ADS. But I'll respectfully disagree with the OP about his struggles with autism being forgotten. They shouldn't be. It was a very real part of his experience at Iowa. I have a nephew with autism, ADS showed what can be achieved in the face of that very real challenge. And I agree with the earlier poster who mentioned the credit TnT deserve for helping ADS, being there for him, and helping him move ahead in his wrestling career in a way that was healthy and productive.

 

[Cali_Nittany]

Austin DeSanto in the future will go down as one of the greatest Hawkeye’s to not win a Big Ten or National Title.
His battles with autism and extra curricular outbursts on the mat will be forgotten.
He is really going to be missed. He was a guy who drew people to Carver. He was Iowa Style through and through, which has been rare to see in the last 10-15 years.
Kudos to Austin DeSanto for everything he gave to the Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling program.

Good post. I'll park this here. Excellent interview with ADS:

 

[jrod65]

@Cali_Nittany

You are coming back with some strong posts fresh outta purgatory. Welcome back!

 

[johnstownsteel]

@Cali_Nittany

You are coming back with some strong posts fresh outta purgatory. Welcome back!

Prison changes a man...

 

[Inthecircle]

Loved watching ADS. But I'll respectfully disagree with the OP about his struggles with autism being forgotten. They shouldn't be. It was a very real part of his experience at Iowa. I have a nephew with autism, ADS showed what can be achieved in the face of that very real challenge. And I agree with the earlier poster who mentioned the credit TnT deserve for helping ADS, being there for him, and helping him move ahead in his wrestling career in a way that was healthy and productive.

You hit the nail on the head with your views on what can be achieved with in the spectrum of Autism and how it shouldn’t be forgotten.
We have a nephew with autism as well.
My bride has worked with many autistic children, there struggles are real and can be conquered.
It’s pretty amazing what TNT did to help DeSanto. There were a lot of people on this blog who didn’t believe things would turn out as well as they have for AD
Kudos to the other coaches, staff and teammates for being there.

 

[Boro407]

Really going to miss Desanto.

Spencer and Desanto back to back was heaven.

 

[Spoons]

Going to miss him a lot! I have a nephew that is about as high as you can get on the autistic scale as you can be. He will probably never be able to function without supervision believe me I know what’s it’s like. Austin’s may not be as bad as my nephew but believe me it’s amazing how far he has come!

 

[Cali_Nittany]

Prison changes a man...

 

[SPOONER]

You hit the nail on the head with your views on what can be achieved with in the spectrum of Autism and how it shouldn’t be forgotten.
We have a nephew with autism as well.
My bride has worked with many autistic children, there struggles are real and can be conquered.
It’s pretty amazing what TNT did to help DeSanto. There were a lot of people on this blog who didn’t believe things would turn out as well as they have for AD
Kudos to the other coaches, staff and teammates for being there.

I’m old enough to remember when Desanto was going to injure Lee in the room and he’s behavior would only get worse at Iowa under the Brands’.

 

[blcoach80]

Last year's senior class was by far the best in the last decade for Iowa. Lee is great to watch because of his dominance and skill. Desanto was awesome because of his pace and relentlessness. He broke guys regularly. Eierman's funk was f@n to watch. Kem was so talented and technical. Those three plus the Bull were probably the best class ever at Iowa to never win any individual titles amost themselves throughout their careers.

 

[RPWinni0]

Going to miss him a lot! I have a nephew that is about as high as you can get on the autistic scale as you can be. He will probably never be able to function without supervision believe me I know what’s it’s like. Austin’s may not be as bad as my nephew but believe me it’s amazing how far he has come!

I have no basis for this opinion, but feel Spencer may have had some effect on ADS control of his Autism problem. They spent time in the room together and Lee's demeanor had to have an influence on him. The rest of the team also supported ADS through his career at Iowa.

 

[natchrlman]

DeSanto thrived in Iowa City….. TnT and that room were perfect for him….I’ve followed Iowa wrestling for 50 years and he’s one of my favorites too

 

[sdvike]

Early in his Hawk career he lost a close match to Gomez of ISU in Carver with some saying he lost track of score, riding time, clock at the end. Ever since then he ran up the score on everyone not in the top 5 including Gomez at the Nattys.

 

[IAChief32]

Prison changes a man...

Crawled through a river of shit just to end up in a cesspool

 

[texhawkeye]

So where is ADS now? Will he attempt wrestling for an Oly spot?

 

[Fan In Black]

that kid is everything I love about wrestling.

 

[Inthecircle]

So where is ADS now? Will he attempt wrestling for an Oly spot?

Good question. I can’t see him going down to 57kg, which of course would mean going up to 65kg. For an Olympic spot. Is Anyone else in the know? I think he’s a true 61kg. Like Colon and Gross.

 

[HawkFan1986]

I’ve debated sharing this as I’m not really the sharing type, but I guess if there’s any crowd that would appreciate it, it would be this crowd.

I was introduced to wrestling at a young age by my grandpa. Mom worked the weekend package at a local hospital and dad was always in the shop fixing someone’s car. So me, and my sisters would head over to grandpas. Every time wrestling was on tv, we would watch. Grandpa would tell me who it was wrestling and what they did. He’d say things like, have you ever heard of this Iowa wrestler, or watch this guy…he never gives up. It was a Hawkeye history lesson with grandpa not just a wrestling dual.

Well wrestling left PBS and and grandpa got older and didn’t see the need to pay for tv. So as life tends to go, the roles were reversed. The past ten years I’d be the teacher, and he’d be the student.

Grandpa was diagnosed with ALS about 4 years ago, the same year Austin debuted in the black and gold singlet. Grandpa and I loved him immediately, because he was like Brands, and Ironside…he never gave up. No matter what. That became our montra…be like Austin, never give up.

Grandpa fought the good fight, but with some things there’s just no winning. He passed away in May of that year.

I’ll never forget ADS. Thank you for all the memories on and off the mat.

I’ve said what I needed to say about ADS in his appreciation thread. He will always be special to me. I will root for his success in whatever he decides to do. You can’t teach drive like his. When you factor in all the obstacles he had to overcome, he’s a special young man.

 

[The Vak]

I loved watching him as much as any Hawkeye since Metcalf, which is a lot from me, because Metcalf is my personal favorite Hawkeye that I've watched. I'm going to miss him in the black and gold.

 

[IAChief32]

My wife (no pics) doesn’t know much about wrestling but I remember her reaction to ADS after he got off his back against Gomez when he pretty much ran after him on the mat. She was like: “Look at him go!!! He looks like Hank (our lab puppy) chasing a squirrel.” So his nickname in our house became Hank.

Even in a loss, he was exciting to watch. If all 20 wrestlers got after it in a dual like Desanto, this sport would be way easier to sell.

 

[artradley]

I felt that was a huge match for Austin - he had lost the match but dug inside and wrestled for the team to avoid the fall. I had little doubt he would win the next time those two met, because he had grown tremendously in those few seconds.

 

[heldyhawk]

I read this thread and kept trying to figure out if I missed something- Austin will go down as one of my favorite Hawkeye wrestlers. He inspired my son to want to wrestle, and after the 2021 championships he inisted we meet the bus back from St Louis with a sign he made saying how proud of Austin he was. Unless I'm missing something I'm glad ADS is still in Iowa City

 

[lonesomedove]

I have no basis for this opinion, but feel Spencer may have had some effect on ADS control of his Autism problem. They spent time in the room together and Lee's demeanor had to have an influence on him. The rest of the team also supported ADS through his career at Iowa.

Wasn’t Spencer instrumental in getting Austin to transfer to Iowa? I’m sure he had to convince TNT that he was worth the risk. I don’t believe he had any high major offers out of high school, not due to lack of ability but because he was thought to be a “problem”. We’ve been blessed to have Spencer and Austin take the mat back to back for these several years.

 

[PAHURDLER]

This is not at all meant to ruffle any feathers, but is it confirmed that Austin is autistic/on the spectrum? I know many have speculated in the past, and as I recall at least on the PSU boards many who suggested the possibility were chastised.

Many on here discuss it as though it is commonly accepted fact. I was just wondering if Austin has ever spoken about this or if it’s just something we kind of assumed and ran with.

Aside from the Micic episode and his several lapses in judgment in the heat of the moment, I have always admired ADS’s motor and his aggressiveness.

Thanks.

 

[aije]

This is not at all meant to ruffle any feathers, but is it confirmed that Austin is autistic/on the spectrum? I know many have speculated in the past, and as I recall at least on the PSU boards many who suggested the possibility were chastised.

Many on here discuss it as though it is commonly accepted fact. I was just wondering if Austin has ever spoken about this or if it’s just something we kind of assumed and ran with.

Aside from the Micic episode and his several lapses in judgment in the heat of the moment, I have always admired ADS’s motor and his aggressiveness.

Thanks.

Very interesting profile here from 2017.
https://www.pennlive.com/highschool...tunned-the-wrestling-world-then-did-it-again/

 

[el dub]

This is not at all meant to ruffle any feathers, but is it confirmed that Austin is autistic/on the spectrum? I know many have speculated in the past, and as I recall at least on the PSU boards many who suggested the possibility were chastised.

Many on here discuss it as though it is commonly accepted fact. I was just wondering if Austin has ever spoken about this or if it’s just something we kind of assumed and ran with.

Aside from the Micic episode and his several lapses in judgment in the heat of the moment, I have always admired ADS’s motor and his aggressiveness.

Thanks.

Nobody is making shite up.

This is not at all meant to ruffle any feathers, but is it confirmed that Austin is autistic/on the spectrum? I know many have speculated in the past, and as I recall at least on the PSU boards many who suggested the possibility were chastised.

Many on here discuss it as though it is commonly accepted fact. I was just wondering if Austin has ever spoken about this or if it’s just something we kind of assumed and ran…

You did initially ruffle my feathers with this question but I walked away and counted to 1000. Lol

Austin has been open about his challenges. That’s why we know.

 

[ChiPackHawk]

This is not at all meant to ruffle any feathers, but is it confirmed that Austin is autistic/on the spectrum? I know many have speculated in the past, and as I recall at least on the PSU boards many who suggested the possibility were chastised.

Many on here discuss it as though it is commonly accepted fact. I was just wondering if Austin has ever spoken about this or if it’s just something we kind of assumed and ran with.

Aside from the Micic episode and his several lapses in judgment in the heat of the moment, I have always admired ADS’s motor and his aggressiveness.

Thanks.

We are all on the spectrum - some of us just deal with life better than others. Simplistic but accurate.

 

[johnyt9]

We are all on the spectrum - some of us just deal with life better than others. Simplistic but accurate.

Thats quite the take on autism you've got there

 

[el dub]

We are all on the spectrum - some of us just deal with life better than others. Simplistic but accurate.

Not true but we do all deal with life in different ways.

 

[grapplefann]

We are all on the spectrum - some of us just deal with life better than others. Simplistic but accurate.

Over-simplistic. Some of us have much more to deal with. Credit goes to ADS.
TnT did a great job coaching ADS. Many more wrestlers could benefit from the coaching at Iowa.

 

[ChiPackHawk]

Thats quite the take on autism you've got there

It was intended to reflect a degree of lightness - but would you care to bet who knows more about autism than probably 95% of the people on this Board? I forget sometimes how many part-time experts actually show up here. Many think people with autism are all like Rain Man. They're not. Some can function with a little degree of support and others require essentially 24 hour care. The spectrum goes to each end. And yes, the reality of life is pretty high on the list of how those are able to function.

 

[ChiPackHawk]

Not true but we do all deal with life in different ways.

It actually is true.

 

[el dub]

It actually is true.

No, it’s not. Unless you consider zero symptoms or behaviors as “on the spectrum.”