It's a quiet period for Iowa sports as we wait to start the new year, but the Hawks that are competing are doing all they can to make up for the lack of events, dominating the competition and rewriting the record books.

Let's dive right in.

Two weeks ago, Iowa women's wrestling picked up five victories at the Jewell Dual, pummeling their opponents throughout the day. The Hawkeyes beat #25 William Jewell twice, 44-0 and 34-2, topped #7 Lindenwood 40-6, and cruised to wins over Missouri Baptist (41-7) and Fort Hays (36-1). Last week, they added three individual championships at the NCC Open.

The Hawks were 45-2 at the Jewell Dual, losing twice only because of forfeits, and racked up ten pins and 19 tech falls. Macey Kilty and Reese Larramendy earned four tech falls each.

Emmily Patneaud kicked off the Hawkeyes' day against William Jewell with a 29-second pin at 131 and from there Iowa's foot was firmly on the gas. The Hawks dominated the rest of the matches and finished their first dual win of the day with a 27-second pin from 8th-ranked Naomi Simon at 180.

Lindenwood's only points came from an early forfeit but Iowa quickly took the lead with tech falls from Ava Bayless and Brianna Gonzalez. A 28-second pin from Nanea Estrella hyped the team up and Iowa cruised from there, putting an exclamation point on the win when #1 Jaycee Foeller beat #3 Sara Lake 6-4 at 207.

Iowa again dominated in their third dual meet win over Missouri Baptist, racking up multiple first-period tech falls. The fourth dual win of the day was more of the same. Brianna Gonzalez and Ava Bayless provided a highlight reel moment with pins in back-to-back matches and Kylie Welker added one more at 180 pounds.

The Hawks bookended the meet with another win over William Jewell, piling up five tech falls and a pin to finish a dominant day on the mat.

At the NCC Open, Iowa picked up wins from Nanea Estrella (138), Macey Kilty (145), and Kylie Welker (180). Rianne Murphy (103) and Alivia White (207) finished 2nd in their respective weight classes, and Valerie Solorio finished 3rd at 110.

Hawkeye opponents continued to be overmatched by the Hawkeyes' depth. The Hawks have assembled an extraordinary arsenal of talent that has been able to dominate anyone who finds themselves unlucky enough to meet them on the mat. There will be better competition in the coming weeks, but Iowa is a force to be reckoned with and I expect many more meets that look a lot like these did, even with the increased competition. It's an impressive watch that you shouldn't miss if you have the chance.

The Hawkeyes kicked off their 2024-25 indoor track season last weekend, hosting the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational. It's hard to come away from the weekend feeling anything other than very impressed as the Hawks set multiple school records before the calendar even turns to 2025.

Sean Smith was the first Hawk to rewrite the record books, setting a new all-time best weight throw for a Hawkeye with a 22.49m toss on his final throw of the day that ranks 3rd nationally. Smith was followed close behind by Austin Busch, who threw a 21.32m mark that ranks 3rd all-time at Iowa.

Alivia Bauer and Wisdom Williams claimed the women's weight throw and shot put titles respectively as the Hawkeyes finished a strong first day.

Day 2 was just as successful for the Hawkeyes. Daniela Wamokpego starred for the Hawkeyes, setting an Iowa record in the triple jump with a 13.32m leap that tied her for the best mark in the country.

Arianna Williams, Holly Duax, Alli Bookin-Nosbisch, and Chioma Nwachukwu ran the nation's 4th fastest 4x400 in 3:39.19, Pauline Bikembo debuted with the 2nd-best pentathlon in school history (4,229 points), and Damaris Mutunga ran Iowa's 3rd-fastest 600m in 1:28.19. Bikembo added in Iowa's 5th-best-ever long jump for good measure, with a 6.04m jump.

The Hawkeyes will undoubtedly face much steeper competition as the season heats up and their national marks will face competition as more schools kick off their season, but the school records and top-10 marks count no matter who else is on the track. Bikembo and Wamokpego look like stars and huge wins in Iowa's international recruiting efforts.

Head coach Joey Woody looks like he's assembled another very strong team and it will be exciting to see the impressive performances they're able to put together this season. They'll be back in competition on January 17th when they host the Hawkeye Invitational.

Iowa Swimming and Diving cruised past rivals Iowa State last week, winning their meet 215-84. The Hawkeyes won 15 events and set four top-10 marks.

Annie Galvin swam the 8th-fastest 100m backstroke time after being honored for senior night, winning the event in 1:58.66. She added a second win in the 200m backstroke. Fellow senior Alix O'Brien added a top-10 time of her own, winning the 1000m free in 9:59.10. Olivia Frantum was close behind, finishing in 10:01.95 (9th-all-time at Iowa)

Geneva Pauly won the 1m dive competition with Iowa's 8th-best-ever score (312.95), and the Hawks closed the meet with one more event win in the 200m freestyle relay. Rachel Dildine, Molly Pedersen, Nora Kemp, and Josie Hood won the event in 1:33.75 to put a stamp on a dominating night for the Hawkeyes.

Watching the Hawks put together a complete performance on Senior Night was a special experience. This senior class is the epitome of the "leave the program better than you found it" expression, as they fought to save the program from being cut during COVID and layid the foundation for the group's success over the past few years. The 200m relay was a great encapsulation of the Hawkeye swimming and diving program. Pedersen, a senior, swam with three underclassmen, combining experience and talent to achieve victory.

The team continues to get huge contributions from their youngest members and will look to build on their momentum when they're next in the water on January 7th against Miami.