Greene County state champ Kale Petersen announces commitment to Iowa wrestling program

The Iowa wrestling program has added another in-state star to its 2023 recruiting class. 

Kale Petersen, a senior at Greene County, announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes on Tuesday. He picked Iowa over Iowa State and Purdue, among others. He projects at 133 pounds. 

“I just got the feeling that Iowa was home when I went on my visit,” Petersen told the Register. “All of the guys at Iowa were so good to me and they just made me feel like Iowa was the place to be.

“I love the coaching staff and love the way Iowa does things.” 

Petersen is the 16th in-state wrestler in the 2023 class to commit to a Division I program, and the sixth to commit to Iowa, joining the Iowa City High duo of Ben Kueter and Gabe Arnold, Southeast Polk’s Nate Jesuroga and Waverly-Shell Rock’s Ryder Block, plus Charles City’s Lilly Luft, who committed to the Iowa women’s program. 

In Petersen, the Hawkeyes are getting another high-ceiling prospect. He is considered the No. 183 prospect nationally in the 2023 class, according to MatScouts. He recently won USA Wrestling's preseason national championships at 126 pounds. Last spring, he took fourth at the Cadet freestyle world team trials.

Here in Iowa, Petersen has been a lightweight force his entire high school career. He is a two-time state champion — in 2A for Greene County last year, and in 1A for West Fork in 2020 — and will take a 68-9 overall record into his senior season with the Rams. His Greene County teammate McKinley Robbins recently committed to Oregon State.

Petersen's addition gives the Hawkeyes five top-200 recruits for their 2023 class. In addition to Petersen, Kueter (#5), Jesuroga (#7), Arnold (#24), and Block (#27) are all considered Top-30 prospects on MatScouts' latest 2023 Big Board. Additionally, Cody Chittum, the No. 1 prospect nationally in the 2022 senior class, will enroll with the 2023 class.

Iowa high school wrestling, 2023 college commitments

• Iowa City High’s Ben Kueter, Iowa (football and wrestling)
• Southeast Polk's Nate Jesuroga, Iowa
• Waverly-Shell Rock's Ryder Block, Iowa
• Linn-Mar’s Tate Naaktgeboren, Iowa State
• Iowa City High's Gabe Arnold, Iowa
• Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Blake Gioimo, Iowa State
• Nashua-Plainfield's Garret Rinken, Northern Iowa
• Underwood’s Gable Porter, Virginia
• West Burlington-Notre Dame's CJ Walrath, Northern Iowa
• Charles City's Lilly Luft, Iowa
• Waverly-Shell Rock's McCrae Hagarty, Iowa State
• Greene County's McKinley Robbins, Oregon State
• Lisbon's Brandon Paez, Northern Iowa
• Westwood's Jackson Dewald, Air Force
• Bishop Heelan's Ethan DeLeon, Nebraska
• Greene County's Kale Petersen, Iowa

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