How will Ben Kueter balance both football and wrestling in college? We asked others who did it.

 Downtime doesn’t really exist in Ben Kueter’s world.

Most days this summer featured two practices, either wrestling, football or baseball in the morning, then another in the afternoon. He traveled often, to Ohio for the Under-20 World Team Trials; to Tulsa for the Junior National Duals; to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado for training camps; to Mexico for the U20 Pan-American Championships.

In late June, he led Iowa City High to first place in its own seven-on-seven competition, hauling in the game-winning touchdown in the finals against Ankeny. He also helped the Little Hawk baseball team reach the Class 4A state semifinals in late July.

“It’s been pretty chaotic, to be honest,” Kueter, City High’s star senior athlete, told the Register this week.

The chaotic schedule will continue over the next couple of weeks.

Practices for the 2022 high school football season began this week. Next week, Kueter will rep the United States at the U20 men’s freestyle world championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. He wrestles early Monday local time. If he wins, he goes again Tuesday.

He will return in time for the Little Hawks’ preseason scrimmage against Clear Creek-Amana on Friday, August 19. The following week is Week 1, which will culminate with City High playing crosstown rival Iowa City Liberty at Kinnick Stadium on August 26.

“I don’t know that I’d wish his schedule on anybody,” City High football coach Mitch Moore said, “but doing it and navigating it has only made him stronger. It’s been really, really fun to watch and help him grow.”

In many ways, Kueter’s hectic summer calendar gave him a small taste of what life might be like when he gets to Iowa.

Just 11 months ago, he committed to the Hawkeyes for both wrestling and football. He is a marvel at both, the No. 6 overall senior wrestler in the country, according to MatScouts, and a budding four-star linebacker prospect, according to 247Sports.

Since then, the questions have been steady and consistent: How will Kueter, who plans to wrestle heavyweight in college, handle life as a two-sport Division I athlete?

Can he succeed in both?

Will he ultimately choose one over the other?

“Everybody asks, ‘How’s he going to do this?’” City High wrestling coach Cory Connell said. “To me, it’s like, he’s playing two sports. That’s the plan until it’s not the plan.”

Since his commitment, Kueter, who just turned 18, has also committed to a ‘be-where-your-feet-are’ mentality — to focus on the next practice, workout, game that’s in front of him and nothing more. He’ll face the future only when it arrives.

So to understand what life as a dual-sport college athlete will look like — to understand what awaits Kueter once he becomes a Hawkeye — the Register talked to a few athletes who not only lived that life, but thrived.

Kirk Ferentz says Mark Sindlinger 'was a better wrestler than a football player'

Before Ben Kueter, there was Mark Sindlinger, a multi-sport star from Charles City. He was an all-state lineman, a three-time state wrestling champ, from 1981-83, and two-time national champ.

He became Iowa's starting center under Hayden Fry from 1984-86, and helped the Hawkeyes reach the Freedom, Rose, and Holiday Bowls. He also wrestled for Dan Gable, and was a two-time All-American heavyweight in 1987-88.

“Frankly, he was a better wrestler than a football player in high school,” Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz, who coached Sindlinger as the Hawkeyes’ offensive line coach, once told the Register.

“We recruited him more on his wrestling prowess and accomplishments,” Ferentz continued. “He was dynamic. I think Gable would’ve loved to have had him the whole time.”

Because of the football team’s success, Sindlinger didn’t join the wrestling team until January each year, when the season was already halfway over. He also came in with lingering football injuries his first few seasons, limiting his availability on the mat.

“My body got beat up pretty good playing in all of those games,” Sindlinger said. “When I showed up, they were already through much of their drilling and were really only competing. I don’t feel like I was ever in true wrestling shape.

“I had to balance my time. My grades were OK, not great. I probably could’ve gotten better grades than I did, but I still ended up with a business degree. There wasn’t a ton of free time, but that was my choice.”

Sindlinger only wrestled during the 1987-88 season, which he felt was his best on the mat. He recorded a first-period fall in the 1988 Big Ten finals over Calvin VandeHoef, a Sibley native who wrestled for Purdue. A few weeks later, Sindlinger reached the NCAA semifinals after upsetting Northern Iowa’s Joel Greenlee, the 2-seed, in the quarters.

His advice to Kueter is simple.

“Just stay positive,” Sindlinger said. “Positive and motivated, with school and both sports. Don’t get caught up in unnecessary things. Stay positive and it’ll all work out.”

Fresno State's Josh Hokit: 'We're only on earth once. … Leave your mark'

More recently, Josh Hokit was a two-sport star at Fresno State.

He played in 51 games from 2016-19 and recorded 805 rushing yards and 17 total touchdowns. He also wrestled, earning All-American honors at 197 pounds as a junior in 2019. He was the 12-seed at heavyweight for the 2020 NCAA Championships before the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation.

Hokit was inspired by Lorenzo Neal, another two-sport star for Fresno State. Between 1989-92, he rushed for 2,405 yards, still the ninth most in program history. He was also a heavyweight All-American at the 1992 NCAA Championships. (He also beat a sumo wrestler in an exhibition match during the Japan Bowl.)

“I did both my whole life,” Hokit, now a member of the San Francisco 49ers, told the Register. “I’ve been doing this since I was seven years old. There were days where I’d go through football practice, then I’d get home and wrestle my brothers in the garage.

“I like to be uncommon amongst common people. I wanted to stand out. Everybody else played one sport. I wanted to do two and be successful at both.”

Like Sindlinger, Hokit didn’t hit the mat until late December each year. His biggest hurdle was the weight cut. He played football at around 230 pounds, then wrestled 197 as a sophomore and junior. He bumped to heavyweight as a senior and experienced his best wrestling season, compiling a 24-4 overall record.

“When I wrestled 197, I don’t think I was ever in the shape I wanted to be in,” Hokit said. “I dealt with muscle fatigue in some of my matches. But I got in good enough shape in the two-and-a-half months that I had to be an All-American.

“When I wrestled heavyweight, I felt like I was in better shape. I wasn’t cutting any weight. I felt healthier. But it was like two different wrestling styles, going from 197 to heavyweight.”

Proper time management allowed Hokit to succeed in both sports. He played football in the fall, wrestled in the winter, followed by more football in the spring, then offseason workouts for both sports throughout the summer months — plus school.

“It’s all about your mentality,” he said. “It’s going to be the hardest thing (Kueter) has ever done in his life. If he has the right mentality, pushing the wall every single day and never running from it, I think he’ll be successful.

“At the end of the day, we’re only on earth once. How do you want to be remembered? Leave your mark. If he goes about every situation with an open mind, never gives up, takes care of his body, I think he’ll be successful.”

Kirk Ferentz's message to Ben Kueter: 'You're in high school, man, enjoy it'

Throughout his 16-year stint as Iowa's wrestling coach, Tom Brands has identified many football players that might have excelled as college wrestlers — guys like Austin Blythe, Levi and Landon Paulsen, Tyler Linderbaum, Griffin Liddle, on and on.

“It’s one of those things where it’s a rare bird to be able to do both, especially today,” Brands told the Register for a story in December 2019. “There’s so much specialized training in different phases.”

Part of that story centered on the question of whether or not Brands and Ferentz had ever gone head-to-head for the same recruit. Brands said he often defers to Ferentz, primarily because the athlete normally wants to play college football.

“But,” Brands continued, “if it’s somebody we really want, we’d have a conversation.”

Kueter is that rare bird that warranted a conversation — and, similar to Sindlinger and Hokit, he can’t picture himself not playing both sports moving forward. At least not yet.

“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve found that taking that break from wrestling to play football makes you miss wrestling a little bit,” Kueter said. “That helps me enjoy it a little bit more. Guys who only wrestle all year, they love it, but sometimes guys get burnt out. That break to play football, I think that makes me a better wrestler.

“I have the opportunity, so why not? It’s a dream to play just one sport in college, especially at Iowa. I get the opportunity to do two. I’m grateful and plan to take full advantage of it.”

Both Brands and Ferentz have been in constant communication with the hometown star since his commitment. Ferentz actually FaceTimed Kueter a few days after he made the U20 men’s freestyle world team to congratulate him.

Their message: be present, focus on the now.

“Especially from Kirk,” Kueter said, “he’s like, ‘You’re in high school, man. Enjoy it. Worrying about stuff that’ll happen a year from now is pointless. You’re in high school right now. Have fun with it.’

“It’s easy because I have all these great coaches and they’re all in my corner. I talk to Tom a lot, and he said once I get back from the world championships, there’s no distractions, it’s straight football for me. He's excited.”

In many ways, this past summer laid the foundation for what Kueter will need to do to be successful at Iowa. He talks with his coaches daily to create workout plans and mold his schedule. He recently put Brands and Moore in the same text thread as he prepared for both the U20 world championships and the upcoming football season.

“There’s constant lines of communication,” Moore said. “I’m the football coach, and I want our guys to be the best we can be and to win a state championship. Well, Tom Brands wants that, too. Coach Connell wants that, too. Kirk Ferentz wants that, too.”

Added Connell: “He has so many irons in the fire, but he’s able to stay present. He creates a plan and sticks to it, and because of that, he’s able to stay present.

“I recently talked to Brian Ferentz, and he told me, ‘Man, if this kid doesn’t wrestle, we’re stealing something away from this world. I’d feel bad if he didn’t wrestle.’

“He can be special in both. Why should we put limits on him?”

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