CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Five wrestlers ranked in the nation’s top 20 and a defending state champion have signed a National Letter of Intent to wrestle at UNI.
“All these guys wrestle hard. They all try to score points,” said head coach Doug Schwab. “They have huge aspirations for college and beyond. So for me, as a coach, that’s exciting to have that kind of group coming in.”
UNI wrestling signed:
Taylor Lujan (Carrolltown High School/Carrolltown, Georgia)
Paden Moore (Jackson County High School/Jackson County, Minnesota)
Isaiah Patton (Dowling Catholic/Des Moines, Iowa)
Bryce Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock High School/Waverly, Iowa)
Jacob Schwarm (Bettendorf High School/Bettendorf, Iowa)
Max Thomsen (Union High School/La Porte City, Iowa)
Taylor Lujan, a three-time Georgia state champion, blazed a perfect record in his freshman year and repeated in 2012 and 2014. He has lost just one match as a prep for Carrollton High School in Carrollton, Georgia. Lujan recently won the Super 32 at 170 pounds. He is ranked fourth in the nation by Intermat and Flo Wrestling. He joins fellow Georgia native Jake Hodges. He is projected to wrestle at 174 pounds in college.
Paden Moore is ranked 19th in the nation by Flo Wrestling. He starts his senior season with a 181-50 career record at Jackson County High School after placing fifth at the state meet as a freshman, second as a sophomore and third as a junior. Paden Moore won a pair of national championships at the 2011 Southern Plains tournament. This spring he earned All American honors, finishing third at Junior Folkstyle Nationals. His brother, Cooper, is a returning NCAA qualifier at 165 pounds for the Panthers.
Isaiah Patton enters his senior season with a 108-33 career record. He placed seventh at the state meet as a freshman and third as a sophomore before claiming the Class 3A title last year at 160 pounds, where he compiled a 43-2 record. He is ranked 10th in the nation by Intermat at 170 pounds.
Jacob Schwarm is the defending 113-pound Class 3A Iowa state champion. Schwarm has compiled a 111-15 career record and is a two-time state finalist. He tied a school record with 35 falls last year, 69 for his career. He placed second as a sophomore at 106 pounds.
Bryce Steiert is ranked seventh in the nation by Intermat and Flo Wrestling at 160 pounds. He is the reigning champion at 145 pounds in Iowa’s Class 3A. Steiert took seventh as a freshman and was runner-up as a sophomore. He joins fellow Waverly-Shell Rock stand-outs Cody Caldwell and Cody Krumwiede.
Max Thomsen is looking to be the 24th wrestler to win four state championships in Iowa. He enters his senior season with only one loss on his prep record that he suffered his freshman season with Union High School. He is ranked fifth in the nation by Intermat and Flo Wrestling. The three-time defending Class 2A champion got second the prestigious Super 32 in the 145-pound weight class. He captured the NHSCA Junior Nationals title in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in March. Thomsen has a brother who is a redshirt freshman wrestling with the University of Iowa. He is expected to compete at the 149-pound weight class at UNI.
