2x All-American Kaleb Young(Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.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)
Next is...
#47 Kaleb Young (Iowa)
Weight: 157 lbs
Year: Senior
Career Record: 58-22
Hometown: Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
College Accomplishments: 2x NCAA All-American (7th/2021; 5th/2019); 2021 Big Ten Runner-Up, 2019 Big Ten 4th Place, 2019 Midlands Champion
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #6 at 157 lbs
Once Michael Kemerer broke through and started the pipeline from Western Pennsylvania to Iowa in the Class of 2015, it paved the way for Kaleb Young a year later. The PA state champion arrived in Iowa City and immediately posted a 21-6 record while competing unattached. While redshirting, Young took fifth at the Midlands and picked up a win over Clark Glass (Oklahoma), who went on to earn the #12 seed at nationals, along with two other national qualifiers (Andrew Fogarty - North Dakota State and Lorenzo De La Riva - CSU Bakersfield).
As a redshirt freshman, Young wasn't able to secure a full-time starting role due to the fact that an All-American (Kemerer) was at 157 and classmate Alex Marinelli was at 165 lbs. Even so, Young saw action in eight dual meets. Some of those bouts even took place at 174. Again, Young entered the Midlands and finished in fifth place.
In 2018-19, with Kemerer poised to move up in weight, then injured for the year, a place at 157 lbs opened up in the Hawkeye lineup. Though Young competed in the previous season down a weight class, he showed no ill-effects at 157 and won his first 11 bouts of the year. The first setback of the year came in the finals of the Midlands against Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) by a 6-2 score. His only two dual losses for the remainder of the season came in sudden victory. At Young's first Big Ten Championship, he would settle for fourth place after a pair of losses to Alec Pantaleo (Michigan).
The 2019 NCAA Tournament started with Young as the sixth seed less than 80 miles away from his hometown. In front of the Pittsburgh crowd, Young racked up bonus points in each of his first two bouts. That set the stage for a quarterfinal contest against #3 Deakin. Young pulled the slight upset, 7-5, in sudden victory to claim a place in the semifinals. His championship run would come to an end in the next match as you dropped a 5-3 match to Tyler Berger (Nebraska). A third loss to Pantaleo put Young in the fifth-place match; a rematch against Deakin. Like their first meeting, Young prevailed by the exact same score, in sudden victory.
Two losses in the first four bouts marked the start of the 2019-20 season for Young. One came to freshman sensation David Carr (Iowa State) and the second was to a rapidly improving Quincy Monday (Princeton). The loss to Monday proved to be the last one for the Hawkeye for more than two months. Young finally was able to get to the top step of the podium at the Midlands. He proceeded to pick up dual wins against talented freshmen Kendall Coleman (Purdue), Peyton Robb (Nebraska), and Will Lewan (Michigan), before closing the regular season with a loss against Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State).
The 2020 Big Ten Championships ended up being a rough tournament for Young as he went 0-2 with losses to Eric Barone (Illinois) and Robb and did not place. Even with the losses, Young was still rewarded with the eighth seed at the 2020 national tournament. Since the tournament didn't happen, Young was named a first-team All-American by the NWCA.
In the 2021 season, Young was in limited action in what was already an abridged season. He only was in Iowa's dual lineup on three occasions. During those three matches, Young logged two major decisions and a win in tiebreakers over Brayton Lee (Minnesota).
At the Big Ten Championships, Young posted another close win over the Gopher star in tiebreakers. He advanced to the final and was unable to score upon the undefeated top-seed, Deakin. It was a 6-0 shutout for the Northwestern star. Young's efforts at the conference meet led to a fifth seed at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
Young was able to pick up a first-round win in St. Louis before falling to #12 Brady Berge (Penn State) in the Round of 16. In order to clinch his spot on the podium for a second time, Young posted consolation wins over Ben Barton (Campbell) and Hunter Willits (Oregon State), before majoring Jacob Wright (Wyoming) in the Round of 12. He would settle for seventh place after a loss to Lee in the following round, before closing the year with a win over Sheets.
Strengths: Kaleb Young has a solid set of head/hands defense from his feet. He doesn't do anything out of the ordinary offensively and has a decent array of attacks. Young can work from an underhook and has a solid double leg. His short offense is very reliable, as well. He may not get enough credit for it, but he's also an underrated scrambler. On the mat, Young is a strong rider. Against most opponents, he won't be able to get a turn, but he can rack up the riding time.
2021-22 Outlook: The 157 lb weight class will be extremely top-heavy, with a pair of NCAA champions sitting atop the group. Though it's been a few years, Young has wins over Deakin and has been close with Carr. While garnering multiple victories over the likes of Carr/Deakin/Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) and other top contenders may be too much to ask, Young could steal a match against any of them in a "one-off" dual situation. Young starts his final season ranked #6 and should be a pretty solid bet to finish in the top-eight in Detroit.
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