By: Brayden Marsh

Austin Desanto was an extremely talented and dedicated wrestler that wrestled for the Iowa Hawkeyes. His career record is 102-23, while at Iowa it was 72-16. He wrestled at 133lbs and placed multiple times in the NCAA Championships; 5th in 2019, 3rd in 2021, 3rd in 2022, and placed at various freestyle events. It should be noted that the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to COVID-19, which he likely would have also placed at.

Austin Desanto is particularly known for his aggressive style that many wrestlers attempt to copy. Many coaches also idolize his style for constantly being one step ahead of his opponents and being heavy on offense. He was constantly aggressive towards his opponents and constantly pushing the pace of the match. He is also known for his snapdown and front headlocks.

However, he had also been known for being too aggressive at times, resulting in injury to him or his opponents. He also became known for having lots of anger issues, which many fans disliked. One very well known example of this is in the 2018 quarter finals when he was placed up against Stevan Micic from the University of Michigan. He was down by 10 points, and famously during the 3rd period with only 5 seconds left, did a cartwheel over Micic’s head and attempted a kimura submission on him. This was obviously an illegal move and he wasn’t able to do much before he lost the match.

Tom and Terry Brands, his wrestling coaches in college, viewed him as a wrestler with great potential and had continued supporting his aggressive style. Both coaches were very invested in what he had to offer, and still to this day try to keep their current wrestlers up to his standard of aggression.

Overall, Austin Desanto may not have been the best wrestler by skill, and hadn’t won the championships, but his aggression went unmatched and he had a constant urge to win his matches. He inspired many wrestlers with his mindset and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.