Iowa women’s wrestling coach Clarissa Chun talks sport's growth, recruiting at Iowa girls state tournament

CORALVILLE — Clarissa Chun, the newly-hired head coach of the Iowa women’s wrestling program, stood inside Xtream Arena on Friday morning and made two astute observations.

First, that it is really freaking cold outside.

“The whole negative degrees — like, how is that possible?” Chun, a Hawaii native, said and laughed. “It’s funny. Earlier this week, it was like low-30s, and everybody said, ‘Oh, it’s a nice day.’ In my mind, a nice day is like 60s and 70s.”

Second, that Iowa has some talented high school girls wrestlers.

PREVIOUSLY: Full breakdown of the 2022 Iowa girls state wrestling tournament

Chun spent part of her Friday taking in the action at the 2022 Iowa girls state wrestling championships, hosted for the fourth year by the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. She plans to be here all weekend to support the state’s continued girls wrestling movement — and, she added, to recruit a little bit, too.

“Had to pass (an NCAA compliance and recruiting) test so I could be here,” Chun continued. “That was a little stressful. I’m still learning the rules and what I can and can’t do. I’m in the compliance office every day, asking what I can and can’t do.”

Chun’s original start date at Iowa was Feb. 7, but she chose to start a month early to get a jumpstart on recruiting. The 2022 class across the country is full of world-class competitors, and she hopes to bring them to Iowa as the foundation of her program.

A handful of elite women’s wrestlers have already made visits, both official and unofficial, to Iowa City: 

• Emma Bruntil, the 2021 NCAA women’s national champ for McKendree who announced in November that she would be entering the transfer portal
• Kennedy Blades, a Junior world champion who’s considered the No. 3 pound-for-pound women’s prospect in the 2022 senior class
• Korina Blades, Kennedy’s sister who is a Junior world bronze medalist and the No. 5 pound-for-pound women’s prospect in the 2022 senior class

More are on the way, including Kylie Welker, the No. 1 overall pound-for-pound women’s recruit in the 2022 class, as well as Bettendorf’s Ella Schmit, a two-time Iowa girls state champ and Junior women’s freestyle All-American last summer.

“Iowa sells itself,” Chun said when asked what her recruiting pitch is as a first-year coach. “That was my strategy, to bring them to a home dual meet. There’s no better energy and fans in the wrestling community than Iowa, especially at a home meet.”

While the state of Iowa doesn’t formally offer girls wrestling as an official sport through the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, the sport has exploded in recent years.

During the 2015-16 season, 67 Iowa girls wrestled statewide, according to stats kept by Trackwrestling. This year, more 1,023 Iowa girls were registered and eligible to compete, and 695 of them signed up to wrestle at this weekend’s state tournament.

Even more, 14 Iowa girls were included in USA Wrestling’s latest national girls high school rankings, and seven earned All-American honors at USA Wrestling’s age-level national championship events in 2021. Chun said the rise in talent is noticeable.

“It’s totally Iowa style in here,” she said. “These ladies are gritty and they scrap and they’re tough. I think they take pride in wrestling hard. It’s ingrained in the fabric of Iowa, and it shows here. I love it.”

Learning about the continued growth of girls wrestling in Iowa reminded Chun of her own high school career. Hawaii was the first state to add girls wrestling as an official high school sport back in 1998. Chun was Hawaii’s first girls state wrestling champion.

More:Meet Clarissa Chun, Iowa’s women’s wrestling coach and a longtime women’s wrestling trailblazer

There are now 33 states that offer girls wrestling under their high school athletic associations. The Ohio High School Athletic Association was the most recent, voting unanimously to add girls wrestling last week. National participation went over 21,000 girls in 2018-19, per the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Chun was impressed by the IWCOA’s willingness to adapt and evolve as the state’s participation numbers continue to pop.

“I remember the excitement and buzz when Hawaii first sanctioned girls wrestling,” she said. “It’s re-energizing to see that happen here in Iowa. These young girls are excited for these opportunities.

“This is a big deal. There’s that saying, 'If you build it, they will come.' They’re here. They’re able to showcase everything they’ve worked on, the hard work they’re putting in, and now they’re performing in front of everyone.”

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.