2x NCAA All-American Jacob Warner (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie)Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released.
These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too.
Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled:
#50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
#49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
#48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)
#47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa)
#46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri)
#45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
#44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
#43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri)
#42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
#41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers)
#40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota)
#39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
#38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
#37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State)
Next is…
Jacob Warner (Iowa)
Weight: 197 lbs
Year: Junior
Career Record: 55-14
Hometown: Tolono, Illinois
College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA 4th Place, 2020 NWCA 1st Team All-American, 2019 NCAA 7th Place, 3x Big Ten 3rd Place
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #3 at 197 lbs
The 2017 recruiting class is one that will be celebrated in Iowa for years to come. Of course, that's is when the Hawkeyes signed two-time (and counting) Hodge Trophy winner Spencer Lee. After Spencer, the class is still very notable as Tom Brands' team also nabbed #7 overall, Jacob Warner, a three-time Illinois state champion.
As is the case with the majority of Iowa's true freshmen, Warner redshirted during his initial year in Iowa City. Warner won his first two events competing unattached (Luther and Lindenwood Open). He turned heads at the Lindenwood Open when he majored then-two-time All-American Willie Miklus (Missouri). In the semifinals of the UNI Open, Warner suffered his first loss of the year, to fellow redshirting stud, Jake Woodley (Oklahoma). Warner had defeated Woodley earlier in the season, at the Lindenwood Open. He would conclude his redshirt campaign after a sixth-place finish at the Midlands. At that tournament, Warner was pinned in sudden victory by the Hawkeyes 2017-18 starter Cash Wilcke.
After the collegiate season, Warner earned a place on the Junior World Team. On this international trip, he was unable to replicate his bronze medal winning showing at the 2016 Cadet World Championships and ended up in 15th place.
Warner's first season as a starter got off to a delayed start as he recovered from minor injuries suffered at Junior World's. His first appearance in a Hawkeye singlet came on the first of December against Miklus. Warner's 5-4 win was paramount in a dual that ended up coming down to its final bout. The Hawkeyes prevailed 19-18.
The next time Warner would emerge in a Hawkeye singlet was at the Midlands, where he finished fourth. Warner earned a win over eventual All-American Josh Hokit (Fresno State), but fell to Rocco Caywood (Army West Point) and redshirting freshman Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State).
The Big Ten dual season followed and that's where Warner started to roll. He did not lose to a conference foe in dual competition. His most notable win during that period was a 4-1 decision over Eric Schultz (Nebraska). Warner concluded the regular season with a 5-3 loss to Oklahoma State's Preston Weigel.
At his first conference tournament, Warner fell to Ohio State's Kollin Moore by the score 5-2, but bounced back to claim third place. There he defeated fellow Illinois natives Schultz and Christian Brunner (Purdue). The third place showing and only four pre-NCAA losses was good enough for a fifth seed at the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh.
Right off the bat, Warner was pushed by Bucknell's Drew Phipps, but hung on to win, 9-8. He wouldn't be so fortunate in the Round of 16, as he was upset by #21 Thomas Lane (Cal Poly) 4-2 in sudden victory.
Undeterred, Warner reeled off three straight wins (Josh Roetman - Navy, Tanner Orndorff - Utah Valley, and Tom Sleigh - Virginia Tech) to clinch his first spot on the NCAA podium. In another contest against Hokit, Warner would fall 9-6 to the two-sport star, dropping him to wrestle for seventh place. He would end his season with a win downing Ben Honis (Cornell), 8-4.
Warner's sophomore year started with four consecutive dual wins, the final coming over Princeton's returning national qualifier Patrick Brucki. That led into the Midlands, where Warner was knocked off by Virginia's Jay Aiello in the semifinals. He would accept fourth place after Brucki evened the score, 10-5.
Once again, Warner excelled post-Midlands and won seven of his eight dual appearances. The lone setback came against frequent rival Schultz. That span included a pair of notable wins over returning AA's. Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) and Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State).
The Big Ten Championships saw Warner paired with Rasheed in the opening round. This meeting went the Nittany Lion wrestlers way by a 3-1 margin. Once again, Warner thrived on the back side, wrestling back for third place and downing Rasheed via injury default for his final win. Like his freshman year, Warner ended up third which was good enough for a fifth seed at nationals.
Unfortunately, the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to Covid. Warner was slated to meet Central Michigan's Landon Pelham in the opening round. Once again, a Pac-12 foe was given the 12th seed, this time it was Nathan Traxler (Stanford). The other high seeds on his half of the bracket include #4 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) and #1 Kollin Moore (Ohio State). Later Warner was named a first-team NWCA All-American.
The shortened version of the 2021 campaign saw Warner open up with a familiar face. He got his season off to an 0-1 start after losing a tight 3-2 decision to Schultz. Warner would win the remaining duals by a comfortable margin, with a 4-0 win against Matt Wroblewski (Illinois) representing his closest contest.
The loss to Schultz put him on the same side of the Big Ten bracket as 2020 Olympic Bronze medalist Myles Amine (Michigan), who he'd fall to in sudden victory. For a third consecutive year, Warner would end up third in the B1G. This time he defeated Cam Caffey (Michigan State) and Lucas Davison (Northwestern) in the consi's.
Once again, at the NCAA Championships, Warner would get his customary fifth seed. In St. Louis, he engaged in one of the most exciting bouts of the opening round. After getting down early after getting caught on his back in a headlock, Warner survived and battled back to down #28 Nick Reenan (NC State) 9-7 in sudden victory. No drama was needed in the Round of 16, as Warner shut out Davison, 3-0.
Those two wins set the stage for a quarterfinal meeting between Warner and stud-freshman AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State). While Warner gave the eventual national champion all he could handle, it was Ferrari who got his hand raised in a 3-2 win.
To lock up a second berth on the NCAA podium, Warner downed Caffey 4-1 in the Round of 12. He followed with wins over Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) and Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) to grab a spot in the consolation final. Now four-time All-American Amine was waiting in the opposite corner. The Wolverine continued his success against Warner and pulled out a 5-3 victory.
Strengths: Like many of his Hawkeye brethren, Warner has an excellent gas tank. He's a relentless hand fighter and likes to control the mat with double underhooks. Offensively, Warner can either attack with low singles or a double leg. He also has heavy hips and quick efficient go-behind's.
2021-22 Outlook: While Warner may not get the credit he deserves due to being on a star-studded team like Iowa, he's certainly in the NCAA title hunt in 2021-22. Warner was one of the few to push Ferrari to the brink, and there's no reason to think he won't again. With Amine expected to go 184, the Hawkeye enters the year as the conference's highest ranked 197 lber.
2x NCAA All-American Jacob Warner (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
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