Glenwood state medalist Matt Malcom picks Hawkeyes
There was something about Iowa wrestling that both captured Matt Malcom’s attention and put him at ease.
The Glenwood state medalist grew up a fan of the Hawkeyes, but figured out on a recent recruiting trip that there was much more to it than that.
“It fits me perfectly,” he said. “The wrestling and the team and the atmosphere, everything is pretty much perfect for me. The team feels like a family, kind of like a small town, which is how Glenwood is. The wrestling seems like my style of wrestling and I feel I can make the biggest strides there.”
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These were all reasons why Malcom committed Friday to continuing his wrestling career at Iowa. He also took a visit to Augustana of South Dakota and heard from Iowa State, but he said he was leaning toward the Hawkeyes before the Cyclones got involved.
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Malcom placed fifth in Class 3A last year at 152 pounds and compiled a 47-6 record. He’s a three-time state qualifier who projects as a college 157- or 165-pounder.
“Between now and the end of the (high school) folkstyle season, it seems like I’ve made huge strides,” he said.
He attributes those gains to his offseason training with club coach Zac Dominguez, who got Malcom involved in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling for the first time. Malcom said he hadn’t even practiced either Olympic style until this spring.
He went 5-2 in freestyle and 2-1 in Greco-Roman at the Junior National Duals, and 3-2 in both styles at the Junior Nationals.
Malcom is believed to be the fourth wrestler to commit to Iowa’s 2016 class, joining three-time Ohio state champion Alex Marinelli, Pennsylvanian Kaleb Young and Nebraska state champion Cade Brownlee.