*** Official Spencer Lee appreciation thread ***

[artradley]

Great wrestler, great kid, great teammate, great representative of our school. The best part of winter these last four years has been watching him compete.

I am sure he’s in a bad place emotionally right now, but hopefully he will soon realize that 3x or 4x, Hawkeye Nation loves him and respects him. Hopefully we have him around in some capacity for decades.

 

[IAChief32]

His first year here, he was at the Polar Plunge after the Michigan dual. He made time to talk to my nephew and me for a good ten minutes. I believe my nephew was in 8th grade at the time. This year, they were teammates. SL laid it all down on the line for Iowa and I sure appreciate everything he and his family brought to Iowa City.

 

[Chips28]

Not only the best Hawkeye but the best wrestler I’ve ever seen. Won’t be the same without him on the team.

 

[comment1283]

Outside of my local high school wrestling team, I didn't care much for watching high school wrestling. I'm from Jersey, and in 2015 I saw Suriano beat the snot out of a kid who was always the best athlete in my local town when he was growing up, and wound up with the most wins at my local high school (also placed at States a couple times in Jersey). I knew all about Suriano and his undefeated record at that point, but I was still stunned by his physical dominance over this kid, so I started watching more videos of Nick on Youtube. I was incredibly impressed by Nick and his physicality for a high schooler, constantly pushing the pace and scoring against the top kids in the state. Eventually running out, I went to Google, where I found Spencer Lee vs Nick Suriano at Super 32. "Hmm, what the heck" I thought. And the roles completely flipped. No longer was Suriano the one marching forward, but instead this kid from PA who looked like he didn't compare physically to Suriano was driving Nick out of bounds, controlling the center and constantly clubbing the shit out of him, eventually winning the match in OT. I switched things up and started looking up Spencers matches on Youtube, and instantly became hooked. His dominance from both neutral and top for a high schooler was something I hadn't ever seen. Man handling kids in a way that Nick, whos strong as shit, could never do. From then on I followed the rest of Spencer's high school career and became a huge fan of the national high school wrestling scene.

When Spencer was going into College, I felt the only thing that would prevent him from being a 4x undefeated champ and having a pile of World Golds by the end of his career would be his health, as his back to back injuries his junior and senior year of high school weren't encouraging. I don't care what anyone says, but when healthy he's still the best college wrestler I have ever had the privilege of seeing.

Thank you Spencer for representing this University and sport so well, and for making wrestling an exciting, action packed event every time you stepped on the mat. Here's to hoping your freestyle career is a lot healthier than your folkstyle one.

 

[HawkMachine]

Oh, hi there GOAT.

 

[HawkFan1986]

First ADS and now Spencer. Why must all my favorites graduate!! It was an absolute pleasure rooting for Spencer on and off the mat. What a great rep he was for the sport and the University. Wrestling is a tough sport under the best circumstances, considering the hand Spencer was dealt, what he accomplished was truly amazing. He was dealt a 2 and a 7, off suit injury wise, and turned it into 99-6 with three championships. Lesser men would have folded, but Spencer is no lesser man.

Thank you stud, I’m team Spencer for life!

 

[93hawkeye]

I get bored easily and frustrated with mat wrestling in the college game. Waaaay too much non-action and stalling. Spencer put a little joy back into it for me.

 

[shobart]

His first year here, he was at the Polar Plunge after the Michigan dual. He made time to talk to my nephew and me for a good ten minutes. I believe my nephew was in 8th grade at the time. This year, they were teammates. SL laid it all down on the line for Iowa and I sure appreciate everything he and his family brought to Iowa City.

Oh nice Chief. I knew you had a nephew that was a pretty good wrestler, but I had no idea he is wrestling at Iowa. As much as I'm on this board, I must have missed it somehow. Have a feeling that you mentioned this at some point and this is a "we landed on the moon?" moment for me lol. That's awesome for him and congratulations!

Spencer Lee is one of kind. Glad he chose Iowa and as much as I'll miss him, I'm excited for Spencer's future!

 

[Chips28]

Oh nice Chief. I knew you had a nephew that was a pretty good wrestler, but I had no idea he is wrestling at Iowa. As much as I'm on this board, I must have missed it somehow. Have a feeling that you mentioned this at some point and this is a "we landed on the moon?" moment for me lol. That's awesome for him and congratulations!

Spencer Lee is one of kind. Glad he chose Iowa and as much as I'll miss him, I'm excited for Spencer's future!

One of a kind is an understatement!

 

[shobart]

One of a kind is an understatement!

Indeed it is. The great thing is I think Spencer's impact to the Iowa program is just getting started!

 

[IRONBIRD]

SL was a once in a blue moon talent! The fact that several factors(injury/covid) kept him from being a 4 timer will always make me feel a little sick when I think about it! In the end though, what he went through and accomplished is remarkable!

It is also amazing to me that there are people who are such lowlife scum, that they would bash this kid.

My only thoughts now as a fan are. I hope he can make at least one olympic run. I hope his body can hold up for him so he can show what he is capable of doing at 100%. If this is not in the cards, then I hope he is somehow able to stay with the HAWKEYE program in another way.

 

[blcoach80]

Spencer personifies everything I hope my three sons grow up to be as a young men. His character, ability, and work ethic are top notch and that is why I hope he stays involved in Hawkeye wrestling for the long term. He is only getting started on all he will accomplish in life and that is what I try to think about instead of his last match as a Hawkeye.

 

[GlenHawk]

 

[artradley]

Spencer personifies everything I hope my three sons grow up to be as a young men. His character, ability, and work ethic are top notch and that is why I hope he stays involved in Hawkeye wrestling for the long term. He is only getting started on all he will accomplish in life and that is what I try to think about instead of his last match as a Hawkeye

My son is about the same age as Spencer, and wrestled from second grade through his Freshman year of college. I used to jokingly tell him if I could trade him for Spencer I would do it in a heartbeat - and he agreed with the sentiment!

 

[Dont_Just_Dream]

I get bored easily and frustrated with mat wrestling in the college game. Waaaay too much non-action and stalling. Spencer put a little joy back into it for me.

THIS. Love wrestling, but have the same feelings. Too much wait 6 minutes or stall ride and hope your opponent makes a mistake. I'll miss SL, the Hawks will miss SL, and NCAA wrestling will miss SL.

 

[artradley]

Outside of my local high school wrestling team, I didn't care much for watching high school wrestling. I'm from Jersey, and in 2015 I saw Suriano beat the snot out of a kid who was always the best athlete in my local town when he was growing up, and wound up with the most wins at my local high school (also placed at States a couple times in Jersey). I knew all about Suriano and his undefeated record at that point, but I was still stunned by his physical dominance over this kid, so I started watching more videos of Nick on Youtube. I was incredibly impressed by Nick and his physicality for a high schooler, constantly pushing the pace and scoring against the top kids in the state. Eventually running out, I went to Google, where I found Spencer Lee vs Nick Suriano at Super 32. "Hmm, what the heck" I thought. And the roles completely flipped. No longer was Suriano the one marching forward, but instead this kid from PA who looked like he didn't compare physically to Suriano was driving Nick out of bounds, controlling the center and constantly clubbing the shit out of him, eventually winning the match in OT. I switched things up and started looking up Spencers matches on Youtube, and instantly became hooked. His dominance from both neutral and top for a high schooler was something I hadn't ever seen. Man handling kids in a way that Nick, whos strong as shit, could never do. From then on I followed the rest of Spencer's high school career and became a huge fan of the national high school wrestling scene.

When Spencer was going into College, I felt the only thing that would prevent him from being a 4x undefeated champ and having a pile of World Golds by the end of his career would be his health, as his back to back injuries his junior and senior year of high school weren't encouraging. I don't care what anyone says, but when healthy he's still the best college wrestler I have ever had the privilege of seeing.

Thank you Spencer for representing this University and sport so well, and for making wrestling an exciting, action packed event every time you stepped on the mat. Here's to hoping your freestyle career is a lot healthier than your folkstyle one.

Similar story here. My son is a couple years older than Suriano, who lived just a couple miles from us and wrestled on the next town over's junior wrestling team - so our guys were regularly wrecked by little Suriano. By time he was in middle school it was clear he was going to be a top D1 wrestler, and coaches who I was friendly with said he loved Iowa and they expected him to be a Hawkeye. Then I saw him battle this kid named Spencer Lee from Pennsylvania, and even though they split their matches it was clear that Lee was the superior wrestler. I remember thinking "Crap, just when I think Iowa is going to get a national champion, it turns out PSU is going to get someone even better."

I was beyond surprised when it turned out the other way around.

It was so much fun watching Spencer. How do you not love a true freshman, wrestling with one ACL, battling through two national champions (one prior, one future) to win an NCAA Championship; while running out to the Pokemon theme song?

It's a shame his Iowa career ended the way it did. And I worry if he will ever again be at the level he was in the 2019/20 season, when he was crushing every NCAA wrestler and every freestyle wrestler. But Dan Gable lost his final NCAA match, and went on to be a legend. Hopefully Spencer has a happy life and successful career with whatever he ends up at.

 

[Chips28]

It was so much fun watching Spencer. How do you not love a true freshman, wrestling with one ACL, battling through two national champions (one prior, one future) to win an NCAA Championship; while running out to the Pokemon theme song?

It's a shame his Iowa career ended the way it did. And I worry if he will ever again be at the level he was in the 2019/20 season, when he was crushing every NCAA wrestler and every freestyle wrestler. But Dan Gable lost his final NCAA match, and went on to be a legend. Hopefully Spencer has a happy life and successful career with whatever he ends up at.

We never got to see Spencer wrestle a full season. He was on an absolute tear in 19/20 season and carried over into the 21 season until he tore the other ACL. I think something ITT mentioned it he is like Bo Jackson, except I’m hopeful he is able to return to form. I have no doubt he would have tore through the field in Minneapolis and think he would’ve won the gold that summer. That’s what made this season and loss all the more cruel.

Side note, the team was poised to make a big run at ncaas that year and would’ve lapped the field. It would’ve been a site to see. Don’t think I’ll ever not think about what could’ve been.

 

[Chips28]

This thread is way light for the greatest Hawkeye and college wrestler of all-time.

 

[HawkFan1986]

This thread is way light for the greatest Hawkeye and college wrestler of all-time.

I mean we did gloat on him for the better part of 6 years, and defended him against every naysayer. I’m not sure there’s a person on this board who’s opinion of Spencer Lee I’m unaware of.

P.s I think this would be a great thread to post all of our favorite Spencer matches. I’ll begin with his debut match. One hell of an introduction.

 

[Chips28]

 

[Chips28]

Bump

 

[HawkFan1986]

In honor of Spencer’s upcoming world domination tour. Here he is picking apart this years 133lb champ.

 

[Dont_Just_Dream]

Spencer! Spencer! Spencer!

 

[LaxHawk174]

Lee vs Tomasello in the semi's is one of my favorite matches. After tech-pinning Piccinnini in the Quarters he comes out and does this.

 

[sdvike]

Rewatching Spencer Lee matches never gets old, so much talent. He didnt accomplish everything he wanted but the impact on Iowa wrestling is nothing short of spectacular. I hope we see him healthy and wrestling on the world stage. Thank you Spencer Lee and prayers for health and happiness.

 

[cookercha]

Spencer Lee is one of most dominant wrestlers of all time. What he did for Iowa and the program will never be forgotten. The crazy thing is, even with all of his accomplishments, Lee has still never achieved any of his goals with his last loss. He’s even gone on record saying as much in a recent big10 video.

- He wasn’t a four time HS champ
- He didn’t lead Iowa to the two team titles during his time at Iowa (note this not a fair one, because Iowa was screwed in 2020)
- He didn’t win four NCAA titles

Hopefully he can be healthy enough and achieve his Olympic goals. Thank you for the entertainment and representing the U of Iowa.

 

[LIV4GOD]

Spencer Lee is one of most dominant wrestlers of all time. What he did for Iowa and the program will never be forgotten. The crazy thing is, even with all of his accomplishments, Lee has still never achieved any of his goals with his last loss. He’s even gone on record saying as much in a recent big10 video.

- He wasn’t a four time HS champ
- He didn’t lead Iowa to the two team titles during his time at Iowa (note this not a fair one, because Iowa was screwed in 2020)
- He didn’t win four NCAA titles

Hopefully he can be healthy enough and achieve his Olympic goals. Thank you for the entertainment and representing the U of Iowa.

I believe he said it was to have 3 Olympic gold medals. Uh, given his knee history, that seems highly unlikely.

 

[comment1283]

Keeping it going with Freshman year Lee posts, here was Lee against Lizak with a perfect shutout. I always loved results like this from him that year when you could see both Gilman and McDonough were in the tunnel watching.

 

[aije]

Spencer's greatness transcended numbers. At his physical best, he was a force of nature, the likes of which we will not see again.

 

[bnicolls]

You guys said it all.

Will be great having him as the Marquee guy on HWC!!

 

[LIV4GOD]

I've never seen anyone like Spencer Lee. And I watched Cael all four years. And I'm confident I won't see anyone that dominant again.

I'm still angry how it ended up. It bothers me. My hope is that he can continue, but his knees are the most injury prone I've ever seen. Officially, I think he's had 3 ACL tears. And it wouldn't surprise me if there was already a 4th. He sure couldn't push off or sprawl on that wrapped leg.

 

[HawkGold]

I've never seen anyone like Spencer Lee. And I watched Cael all four years. And I'm confident I won't see anyone that dominant again.

I'm still angry how it ended up. It bothers me. My hope is that he can continue, but his knees are the most injury prone I've ever seen. Officially, I think he's had 3 ACL tears. And it wouldn't surprise me if there was already a 4th. He sure couldn't push off or sprawl on that wrapped leg.

Hindsight is 20/20, but not getting the knees repaired right after NCAA’s in 2021 is a real bummer. As an outsider looking in, I don’t understand that decision. He came back to competition in December, so instead of 20-21 months of rehab he only got 10-11.

 

[wrstlrev]

My prayer is for healing so that he can dominate on the world stage and continue to inspire future hawkeyes and have top p4p recruits in the room because of his presence there.

 

[93hawkeye]

I imagine this isn't really a tracked stat, but if there was ever any college wrestler who scored more nearfall points per minute or per bout, I'd be surprised.

 

[eb05]

i don’t care what anyone says spencer is the greatest hawkeye of all time and you can’t convince me otherwise

 

[artradley]

Bump

 

[woodsiding]

Greatest and most important Hawkeye of all time. Now as much as ever. Bring a gold to Iowa City!!!