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| Born | May 12, 1990 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5.7 ft 0 in (174 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | 125.5 lb (57 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Freestyle and Folkstyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Iowa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Hawkeye Wrestling Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Tom Brands and Terry Brands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Matt McDonough (born May 12, 1990) is a two-time NCAA wrestling champion who attended the University of Iowa.
McDonough attended Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa. His career high school record was 151-15. [1] McDonough was a three-time high school wrestling state champion and four-time state place winner for Linn-Mar under head coach Doug Streicher. As a freshman, McDonough was a teammate of Jay Borschel, four time Iowa state champion, undefeated NCAA champion (2009–2010) and subject of the non-fiction wrestling book Four Days to Glory.
McDonough's father Mike wrestled for Iowa in the 1970s.
McDonough made a surprise drop to 125 pounds as a freshman after competing his first year (when he was redshirting) at 141. After winning the starting spot in the Iowa Hawkeye lineup, McDonough achieved 23 dual victories as a team, including a record of 11-0 on his home mat at Carver–Hawkeye Arena. He also won a title at Northwestern University's Midlands Wrestling Tournament. McDonough received his first loss and only loss on the year in the Big Ten conference finals where returning NCAA champion Angel Escobedo defeated him. McDonough ended his season by winning the NCAA title over fellow freshman Andrew Long, of Iowa State.
McDonough returned for his sophomore season at 125 pounds and went 27-2 on the year, with one of those losses coming from Brandon Precin of Northwestern in a dual. McDonough later avenged the loss at the Big Ten conference tournament where McDonough won his first conference title. At the NCAA championships, McDonough finished second after losing to Anthony Robles in the finals.
McDonough also repeated as Midlands champion.
McDonough returned to the top of the 125 pound weight class as a junior when he defeated Nico Megaludis in the NCAA finals 4-1, which also was his 100th career victory in college. McDonough won his second Big Ten conference title over Zach Sanders on Minnesota. He went 36-1 and for the third straight year won a Midlands title.
McDonough ended his career in a Hawkeye singlet with a 22-5 record, giving him a career record of 122-9. He made his fourth Big Ten conference finals, but was unable to win his third straight title. McDonough sustained a shoulder injury which prevented him from making the top eight, which cost him his fourth All-American honors.
The injury McDonough sustained in his senior year of college prevented him from getting back on the mat initially, but when he did he debuted at 61 kilograms at the Dave Schultz tournament.
In April 2014 he entered the U.S. Open tournament in Las Vegas and finished 4th at 61 kilos. [2]
In May McDonough entered the World Team Trials at 57 kilos where he made his first attempt at making Team USA's freestyle team since college. It was the first time McDonough had been a weight that low since college (57 kg = 125.5 pounds). McDonough took 3rd [3] in the tournament with his lone loss coming to Brandon Precin. He earned another victory over Nico Megaludis to make the national team.
The finish at the Trials allowed McDonough to challenge the University Nationals champion for their spot on the University Nationals team for a chance to compete in Hungary. McDonough won 16-10 and 15-5 [4] in a best of three series over Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) to claim the 57 University spot. [5]
In Hungary McDonough earned a bronze medal for Team USA, [6] losing only to eventual champion Fumitaka Morishita of Japan.
As a member of the national team at 57 kg, McDonough traveled on a multi-week overseas trip, that included two tournaments. The first tournament that the USA wrestlers competed in was the Ivan Yarygin Memorial tournament in Russia. McDonough went 0-1 [7] at the Yarygin tournament. The following week McDonough traveled with USA wrestlers to France for the Paris Grand Prix where he competed at 57 kg. [8] McDonough picked up a 9-8 win in the qualifying round, and then lost his next match to be eliminated. McDonough then weighed in to compete at 61 kg in Paris which led to him earning a bronze medal. [9]
In April, McDonough picked up a 6-2 victory over 2013 World Team member Angel Escobedo [10] at the AGON Wrestling Championships, which moved him up the National rankings to #2 [11] behind teammate Tony Ramos. He also served as a 61 kg alternate to the second place World Cup team in LA, but never saw any action.
Assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin alongside fellow assistant coach Jonathan Reader and Head coach Christopher Bono.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and are members of the Big Ten Conference. Currently, the school's athletic director is Beth Goetz.
Tom Brands is an American former Olympic wrestler and is currently the head coach of the University of Iowa men's wrestling team. He won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) is a nonprofit association of 162 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organize the wrestling programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. It is led by founder and executive director Jim Giunta headquartered in Dallas, Texas and built to help the promotion of collegiate wrestling.
Terry Brands is an American Olympic wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, losing the semi-final match to Alireza Dabir. While wrestling at the University of Iowa, Brands won NCAA titles in 1990 and 1992, both at 126 pounds. He was a two-time world freestyle champion at 58 kg, winning titles in 1993 and 1995.
The University of Iowa men's wrestling program is one of the most successful NCAA Division I athletic programs. The Hawkeyes are 37 time Big Ten Conference champions and second in NCAA history with 24 National Championships.
Michael Najeeb Zadick is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler. He competed in the Men's freestyle 60 kg division at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He lost in the 1/8 finals to Vasyl Fedoryshyn.
Brent Metcalf is an American former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. Metcalf was a three-time member of the US World Team and two-time NCAA wrestling champion at the University of Iowa.
The Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represents the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference as well as the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team plays its regular season games at 15,400-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena, along with men's basketball, wrestling, and volleyball teams.
Kyle Frederick Snyder is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 97 kilograms.
Joe Williams is an American former freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's middleweight category. He won ten U.S. national, three consecutive NCAA (1996–1998) and two Pan American Games titles, scored two bronze medals in the 74 and 76-kg division at the World Championships, and finished fifth at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Anthony Tony Ramos is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler. He competed on the international circuit as a freestyle wrestler for the United States.
David Morris Taylor III is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 92 kilograms. He is the current head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Thomas Patrick Gilman is an American retired freestyle wrestler and folkstyle wrestler who competed at 57 kilograms. A Summer Olympic medalist and World champion in 2021, Gilman was most notably also a three-time World Championship medalist. Out of the University of Iowa, he was a three-time NCAA Division I All-American.
Spencer Richard Lee (born October 14, 1998) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms. In freestyle, he earned a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, and is a two-time US National champion and three-time age-group world champion.
Zain Allen Retherford is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 70 kilograms. In freestyle, he is a gold and silver medalist at the World Championships, as well as a Pan-American champion.
David Zabriskie is a retired American amateur wrestler and current wrestling coach for Elevation Fight Team in Denver. Zabriskie wrestled for the Iowa State Cyclones and is a three-time Big 12 Conference champion, three-time All-American in NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling, and won the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in the 285lb weight class in 2010.
Isaiah Alexander Martinez is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 79 kilograms. In freestyle, Martinez is a two-time US Open National champion and was the 2017 US U23 World Team Member. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a two-time NCAA Division I National champion and a four-time Big Ten Conference champion.
David Aaron Carr (born March 28, 1999) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 165 pounds. In freestyle, Carr is a U20 World Champion and U17 World bronze medalist.
Myles Najee Martin is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 86 kilograms. In freestyle, he placed second at the '19 US National Championships and is a two-time US U23 National Champion. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was an NCAA Division I National champion, a four-time All-American and a Big Ten Conference champion out of the Ohio State University.
Alec William Pantaleo is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 70 kilograms. In freestyle, he is the defending U.S. Open champion, was the 2021 Pan American Continental champion, claimed the 2021 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series and the 2021 Poland Open titles, earned silver and bronze medals at the U.S. Open, and was a 2019 U23 U.S. team member. As a folkstyle wrestler, Pantaleo was a three-time NCAA DI All-American and a Big Ten Conference champion out of the University of Michigan.
