Spencer Lee


Spencer Richard Lee is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. In freestyle, he is a 3-time World Champion representing the United States, once as a cadet and twice as a junior. As a folkstyle wrestler, Lee is a two-time NCAA Division I Champion and Dan Hodge Trophy winner out of the University of Iowa and three-time PIAA champion as a high schooler. As of May 16, 2020, he is the pound-for-pound top-ranked NCAA wrestler in the country.

High School

Lee was born in Denver, Colorado but grew up in Saegertown, Pennsylvania. He would end up moving again to Murrysville, Pennsylvania, where he attended Franklin Regional High School.

High School

In Lee's freshman year he ended the season undefeated with a record of 49-0 and a state title at 113-pounds. As a sophomore, he also ended the season with a similar 48-0 record and a state championship now at 120-pounds. As a junior in high school, he also competed at 120-pounds, posting a perfect 12-0 record and winning state again, making him a three-time PIAA champion. As a senior, he also stayed undefeated during regular-season, competing at 132-pounds and eventually at 126-pounds. Going into the state finals, Lee was the pound for pound top-ranked high school wrestler and was undefeated, posting a 144-0 record in his high school career. At the finals, Lee faced the same wrestler he had beaten by technical fall at last year's state finals and current Iowa teammate, Austin DeSanto. The match was very close and exciting, having the crowd cheering on their feet. With Lee being up 5-4, DeSanto secured a last-second takedown, winning 6-5 and pulling up the biggest upset of the century in high school wrestling.

University

Lee had many offers of many Division I universities, but ended up choosing the University of Iowa.

2017-18

Lee chose not to redshirt in his first year and competed as a true freshman instead. He had immediate success, posting a 14-1 record in regular-season. He placed third at the Big Ten Conference Championships and competed at the NCAA's. At the National tournament, Lee looked absolutely dominant, winning by technical fall by 18 points to 0 in his first two bouts in less than 6 minutes combined. After that, he pinned that year's Big 12 Champion Nick Piccininni and former NCAA Champion Nathan Tomasello, reaching the finals. At the finals, he faced undefeated wrestler Nick Suriano, whom he was able to defeat outscoring him 5 points to 1. This result earned him the NCAA championship at 125-pounds as a true freshman.

2018-19

As a sophomore, Lee posted an overall record of 23-3, placed second at the Big Ten Championships and competed at the NCAA championships. At the Nationals, Lee was as dominant as last year, winning bytechnical fall in his first bout, major decision in the second and fall in the third. In his next two bouts, he defeated at the moment's three-time Big 12 Champion Nick Piccininni and that year's ACC runner-up Jack Mueller, winning the NCAA Championship at 125-pounds. Lee outscored opponents 55-7 in five matches at the NCAA Championships.

2019-20

In this year, Lee had the option to take an Olympic redshirt, but chose not to, stating he wanted to help the Iowa Team to win an NCAA title but he would still compete in freestyle. During regular season, he compiled a record of 15-0 with 14 of those wins bringing bonus points to the team. At the Big Ten tournament, Lee dominated his way to the finals, winning by fall inside 3 minutes in his first bout and by technical superiority in the semifinals, making his way to the finale. In the finals, Lee defeated the #2 ranked wrestler at 125-pounds, Devin Schroder of Purdue University, via major decision and qualified for the NCAA's. Lee was the #1 seed and a big favorite to win the championship, however, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making Lee and all the qualifiers unable to compete. After the season, Lee earned All-American honors due to his performance throughout the season.
Lee remained undefeated with a record of 18-0 through the season and outscored his opponents 234-18. He also won the prestigious 2020 Dan Hodge Trophy award and was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year. He is currently the pound-for-pound top-ranked wrestler in the United States.

Freestyle

Cadet & Junior

Lee is a highly successful youth level wrestler. As a cadet, he compiled a World Championship in his second appearance at the tournament and two National titles. As a junior, he was never defeated and compiled two World Championships and a US Open gold medal.

Senior

Being 21 years old, Lee competed in his first senior level competition on December of 2019, at the US Nationals. He ran through the 57 kilogram' bracket, beating everyone he faced by technical fall up until the finale, including dominant victories over former NCAA champion Darian Cruz and Cornell's Vito Arujau. In the finals, he faced four-time NCAA medalist Nathan Tomasello, whom he defeated 8 points to 2.
Lee was scheduled to compete at the 20' US Olympic Team Trials on April 4 at State College, Pennsylvania. However, the event was postponed for 2021 along with the Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving all the qualifiers unable to compete.

Freestyle record

! colspan="7"| Senior Freestyle Matches
! Res.
! Record
! Opponent
! Score
! Date
! Event
! Location
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Ford Worth, Texas

Youth freestyle record

Junior level

! colspan="7"| Junior freestyle results
! Res.
! Record
! Opponent
! Score
! Date
! Event
! Location
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Mâcon, France
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Irving, Texas
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Las Vegas, Nevada
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Madison, Wisconsin

Cadet level

! colspan="7"| Cadet freestyle results
! Res.
! Record
! Opponent
! Score
! Date
! Event
! Location
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Akron, Ohio
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Snina, Slovakia
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Akron, Ohio
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Zrenjanin, Serbia
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Akron, Ohio

NCAA record

! colspan="8"| NCAA Division I Record
! Res.
! Record
! Opponent
! Score
! Date
! Event
! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 |Start of 2020-2021 Season
! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 |End of 2019-2020 Season
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2020 Big Ten Conference at 125 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2019 Midlands Championships 5th at 125 lbs
! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 |Start of 2019-2020 Season
! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 |End of 2018-2019 Season
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2019 NCAA Championships at 125 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2019 Big Ten Conference at 125 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2018 Midlands Championships at 125 lbs
! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 |Start of 2018-2019 Season
! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 |End of 2017-2018 Season
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2018 NCAA Championships at 125 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2018 Big Ten Conference at 125 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2017 Midlands Championships 6th at 125 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2017 UNI Open at 125 lbs
! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 |Start of 2017-2018 Season

Stats

! Season
! Year
! School
! Rank
! Weigh Class
! Record
! Win
! Bonus

Awards and honors

;2020
;2019
;2018