Iowa redshirt senior Michael Kemerer sat out last season while recovering from knee and shoulder surgery.

Surgery forced the Franklin Regional graduate and Murrysville native to miss a chance at wrestling in the NCAA Division I championships at PPG Paints Arena.

Kemerer, a two-time All-American, also made a jump in weight class. When he last competed in 2018, he wrestled at 157 pounds.

Iowa opened the season against Tennessee-Chattanooga on Sunday, and Kemerer competed at 174 pounds.

It was quite a start, recording a 20-0 technical fall win against Hunter Fortner.

“I wanted to get the fall bad,” Kemerer said in a release. “Credit goes to my opponent for fighting off his back. It would have been nice to go out with the pin.”

High school teammate and top-ranked Spencer Lee, a two-time NCAA championship at 125 pounds, defeated Fabian Gutierrez, 16-5.

Pletcher on top

Ohio State senior and Latrobe graduate Luke Pletcher is ranked No. 1 by InterMat Rankings after defeating then-No. 1 Dom Demas of Oklahoma at the Michigan State Open.

Pletcher is a three-time NCAA Division I qualifier and a two-time All-American, finishing fourth in 2018 and ‘19. He was a four-time PIAA finalist and three-time PIAA champion.

When Ohio State defeated Pitt on Friday, Pletcher posted a 23-9 decision against the Panthers’ Cole Matthews.

Phillippi ranked fourth

Pitt redshirt sophomore and Derry grad Micky Phillippi is off to a 2-0 start at 133 pounds.

He is ranked fourth and defeated No. 14 Quinn Kinner of Ohio State, 4-2.

Phillippi just missed the medal round at the NCAA championships earlier this year.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)