Isaiah Fenton, state champ for Notre Dame-West Burlington, commits to Iowa wrestling team

The Iowa wrestling program added a late addition to its 2023 recruiting class on Tuesday as Isaiah Fenton, a Class 2A state champion for Notre Dame, Burlington, announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes.

"I’d like to announce my commitment to the University of Iowa," Fenton wrote in an Instagram caption, announcing his commitment. "After a long process and hard decisions. I can say I’m proud and ready to be a Hawkeye.

"Thank you to all my friends, family and coaches for pushing me to be the best version of myself. Time to get back to work. See ya on the mat. Go Hawks!"

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Fenton, previously a University of Sioux Falls recruit, finished his career as a two-time Class 2A state medalist with a 143-24 career record, according to stats kept by Trackwrestling. This past season, he went 39-0, with 19 pins and six technical falls, and won the 2A state title at 152 pounds. He projects at 157 collegiately.

In the last two seasons, Fenton produced a 90-8 overall record. He finished seventh at 152 in 2022 before winning the title this year. He failed to qualify for state his sophomore year and actually spent his freshman season in New Jersey, where he was a state qualifier for Howell High School at 132 pounds.

Fenton helped Burlington, Notre Dame win the Class 2A state team title in 2022, the first in program history. The Nikes edged Osage by a half-point, 109-108.5, in a thrilling three-day team race. This past season, the Nikes finished a distant second in the 2A team race to the Green Devils.

Nationally, Fenton qualifies as under-the-radar. He took third in the High School Open Division at USA Wrestling's folkstyle national championships in 2021, winning five consecutive matches in the wrestlebacks after a second-round loss. He also took fourth at USA Wrestling's National High School Recruiting Showcase last October.

Now Fenton is joining a star-studded recruiting class, which includes Iowa City High's Ben Kueter, Waverly-Shell Rock's Ryder Block, Iowa City High's Gabe Arnold, Greene County's Kale Petersen, and Koye Grebel from North Dakota's Valley City.

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Iowa high school wrestling, 2023 Division I college commitments

• Iowa City High’s Ben Kueter, Iowa (football and wrestling)
• Southeast Polk's Nate Jesuroga, Iowa
• Waverly-Shell Rock's Ryder Block, Iowa
• Linn-Mar’s Tate Naaktgeboren, Iowa State
• Iowa City High's Gabe Arnold, Iowa
• Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Blake Gioimo, Iowa State
• Nashua-Plainfield's Garret Rinken, Northern Iowa
• Underwood’s Gable Porter, Virginia
• Burlington Notre Dame/West Burlington's CJ Walrath, Northern Iowa
• Charles City's Lilly Luft, Iowa
• Waverly-Shell Rock's McCrae Hagarty, Iowa State
• Greene County's McKinley Robbins, Oregon State
• Lisbon's Brandon Paez, Northern Iowa
• Westwood's Jackson Dewald, Air Force
• Bishop Heelan's Ethan DeLeon, Nebraska
• Greene County's Kale Petersen, Iowa
• Osage's Nick Fox, Northern Iowa
• New London's Dom Lopez, SIUE
• Assumption's Derrick Bass, SIUE
• Waverly-Shell Rock's Jake Walker, Wartburg (football and wrestling)
• Don Bosco's Jared Thiry, South Dakota State
• Indianola's Bowen Downey, Northern Iowa
• Isaiah Fenton, Notre Dame/West Burlington, Iowa

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.