Kueter to Focus On Wrestling for the 2024-25 Season

Two days after winning the U20 World Team Trials at 125 kg in freestyle, Ben Kueter took to social media to outline his plans for the future. Iowa’s two-sport specialist will put aside football for the next ten months to focus on winning “a world title, an NCAA title, and a NCAA team title.” 

There were some questions about Kueter’s plans as the U20 World Championships take place in early September during the same weekend of the Iowa-Iowa State football game. In his statement, Kueter reiterates that “this is not the end of my football career.”

Kueter was named the sixth overall recruit in the Class of 2023. He spent the first half of the 2023-24 wrestling season on the gridiron for the Hawkeyes. Once the football season was over and Kueter worked his way into wrestling shape, he saw action in four duals for Iowa. Kueter went 3-1 with the lone loss coming to eventual NCAA champion Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State (9-1). His most significant win was a 5-1 victory over Konner Doucet in the Hawkeyes win over Oklahoma State. 

With a full offseason in the Hawkeye wrestling room plus a normal preseason, the prospects for Kueter during the 2024-25 are extremely intriguing. 

This will be Kueter’s second U20 World Championship event. In 2022, he captured a gold medal at 97 kg with a pin in the world finals. 2024 will mark his first international event at 125 kg. 

Here’s Kueter's interview after winning the U20 Trials on Saturday.