This past week Spencer Lee competed for the second time this season. Over the course of Thursday and Friday, Lee went 4-0 with four bonus point wins. It came to a culmination with him pinning teammate Drake Ayala in the finals in one minute and 24 seconds. 

“The more I wrestle, the better I get,” Lee notes in the video above. I think the Hawkeye’s product on the mat aligned with that statement. He looked to have already improved upon his level from when we last saw him competing against Iowa State a month ago.

Of note, Lee also mentioned he would like to wrestle all of Iowa’s remaining matches this season.

“We’re taking it one match at a time. I hope to wrestle every single match for the rest of the season to be there for my teammates, but I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. I’m trying to win as much as I can, get as healthy as I can, and compete the way I want to compete.” - Spencer Lee

Spencer Lee isn’t just on a quest for his fourth NCAA title, but his third Dan Hodge Trophy Award. If Lee wrestles a complete second-half schedule he could get up to nine regular season matches and eight postseason matches. If he were to go undefeated, he would almost certainly win college wrestling’s most prestigious award.

Spencer Lee’s Potential Remaining Opponents

Jan 6 - Maximo Renteria (Illinois)*

Jan 8 - #11 Matt Ramos (Purdue)

Jan 13 - #4 Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern)*

Jan 20 - #8 Liam Cronin (Nebraska)*

Jan 22 - #5 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin)

Jan 27 - Gary Steen (Penn State)

Feb 3 - #3 Patrick McKee (Minnesota)

Feb 10 - Kurt McHenry (Michigan)*

Feb 19 - #16 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State)*

Mar 4, 5 - Big Ten Championships

Mar 16, 17, 18 - NCAA Championships

* indicates a home dual

Like most Big Ten starters’, this schedule is no easy walk in the park. Four opponents are currently ranked in the top eight and six are in the top 16. However, Lee is not your average wrestler. Of the ranked opponents, he has only competed against McKee and Cronin. He is a combined 4-0 against them with three pins and one tech fall.

It’s not certain (even for Lee) exactly how many times Spencer will take the mat the rest of the season. What is known, however, is that I will be tuning in every time to find out and hopefully watch one of the all-time great college wrestlers.