Larramendy’s gold paces strong week overseas for Iowa women

After a whirlwind week of international competition, multiple Iowa women’s wrestlers will return home with medals in hand. From Brazil to Spain to Hungary, five Hawkeyes spread their wings worldwide in the heart of July. And when all was said and done, four of them earned hard fought hardware for their efforts. In fact, at least two of those Hawkeyes (Reese Larramendy and Bella Williams) secured arguably the best win of their career(s) to date – knocking off a pair of World bronze medalists. But rather than starting with the biggest highlights, I figured we could follow things in chronological order for a change. So, sit back, strap in, and let the global recap begin. Ceshker nabs Pan-Am silver in South America Carley Ceshker kicked off Iowa’s international foray down in Buenos Aires, Brazil, earning silver at the U20 Pan-American Championships. Through three matches the incoming freshman had passed each of her tests with flying colors. Back-to-back pins saw the Wisconsinite comfortably through her three-athlete ‘Group’ competition – featuring wins over opponents from Guatemala and Ecuador. And an 11-0 semifinal tech. fall over Mexico sent the Hawkeye sailing into the gold medal bout at 62kg. There, Ceshker (a 2023 U17 Pan-Am champ) faced not just Evilly Jesus Costa, but a partisan home crowd in vocal support of the Brazilian. Heavy hand-fighting defined the first period, and despite producing the only two committed attacks the American trailed 2-1 at the break. After intermission the Brazilian seemed to make a concerted effort to get to her underhook – generating two steps outs plus a takedown in relatively short order. Now trailing 6-1, Ceshker pressed for a big move to get back in the match, but to no avail. Following the 11-1 defeat, the nation’s #3 ranked recruit at 135 pounds spoke about her overall performance and the adversity/environment of the final: Whiting and Williams medal, leading Hawkeye trio in Madrid One day and one ocean away from Ceshker’s exploits in South America, three of her soon-to-be college teammates took the mat in Europe. For Karlee Brooks, Taylor Whiting and Bella Williams the Grand Prix of Spain was their charge – and two would come home with hardware from Madrid: We’ll start with Whiting, who was first on the mat and highest up the podium – taking silver at 53kg. Another highly ranked Iowa recruit from the state of Wisconsin, the 18-year-old certainly impressed in her (international) Senior-level debut. Whiting sandwiched technical falls around a first-period quarterfinal fall – during which she impressively scrambled through a single leg shot before transitioning right into a pinning combination. The three-match run set up a final against Alexa Alvarez (Venezuela) – which proved to be a bridge too far at this juncture for the young American. Alvarez used solid strength/positioning to stymie Whiting’s previously potent offense, ultimately turning a 4-0 lead at the break into a 10-0 final scoreline. For context: Alvarez placed fifth at Senior Pan-Ams back in May – including a 7-2 defeat to back-to-back U.S. World Team representative Cristelle Rodriguez. So, Whiting certainly had her work cut out for her. And even in defeat, will be able to take plenty of positives from the overall tournament experience. As for Iowa’s other medalist, Bella Williams (59kg) produced unquestionably the win of the week among Hawkeyes. A Round of 16 pin (featuring her own impressive scrambling) punched Williams’ quarterfinal ticket – where a 10-0 loss to reigning World bronze medalist Laurence Beauregard (Canada) followed. But with Beauregard reaching the final, Williams was pulled back into repechage for one last match. And what a match it was: If there’s a better win in her career to date, I can’t think of it. And the fact that Williams showcased an ability to wrestle through a multitude of positions against such a high-caliber opponent should only bolster optimism for the sophomore-to-be’s Hawkeye career going forward. Iowa’s final competitor in Madrid had the misfortune of only wrestling once, as Karlee Brooks (57kg) lost her opening quarterfinal bout. Facing recent U23 Pan-Am champion Gabriela Cross (Canada), Brooks came up empty on some promising early shots. And as the match wore on, things began to snowball in an eventual 10-0 defeat. From left to right: Williams, Whiting and Brooks take a photo alongside Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club (IWWC) coach Jan Rosenberg. Larramendy tops field at first Ranking Series event Nearly a week after her teammates led things off, Iowa senior Reese Larramendy put a resounding stamp on proceedings with her performance in Budapest. Competing at the Polyák Imre, Varga János & Kozma István Memorial – the first UWW Ranking Series event of her career – Larramendy showed few signs of nerves in the Hungarian capital. If anything, the greatest adversity struck at the beginning of her gold medal run. Facing two-time Senior World teamer Birgul Soltanova (Azerbaijan) in the quarterfinals, Larramendy was countered to her back late in the first period – fighting off a potential pin for 0:25 that may’ve felt like 25 minutes. But upon regrouping at intermission, the Hawkeye responded with a key five-point sequence to take control in an eventual 6-4 decision. Shortly thereafter, Larramendy dispatched another returning Senior World Championships participant – punctuating a strong semifinal showing with a second-period pin: Here’s the end sequence of Larramendy’s semifinal victory – a feet-to-back toss (and pin) of Canada’s Miki Rowbottom (🥈 at each of the past two SR Pan-Am Championships). pic.twitter.com/BXFJZcrL3o— Tanner Lafever (@TannerLafever) July 17, 2026 Having reached the 65kg final, her greatest challenge remained – one she’d been unable to overcome just two months prior. Said challenge came in the form of Jennifer Page (USA), who pinned Larramendy back in May. In that bout, Larramendy struggled to hold position and found herself in an early hole prior to the match-deciding sequence. On this occasion, however, it was the 22-year-old who flipped the script on the 2023 World bronze medalist: A takedown just 15 seconds in staked Larramendy to an early lead. And as Page began to find her footing midway through the second period, back-to-back counter scores by the Hawkeye ultimately put things out of reach. Look, this is hardly the first time Larramendy has impressed with her proficiency on the mat. But this latest accomplishment suggests she might be reaching yet another level as she prepares for her last collegiate season. And that’s an awfully exciting prospect for Iowa fans. Next on the docket For four of these aforementioned Hawkeyes, another international event remains on their respective calendars before the college season begins. Brooks, Whiting and Williams will be joined by Iowa teammate Everest Leydecker at the U20 World Championships next month, competing from August 18-21 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Meanwhile, Larramendy is set to represent Team USA at the U23 World Championships in Las Vegas (October 15-16). As for Ceshker, her next competitive outing figures to be in a Black & Gold singlet. But regardless of where/when they take the mat next, we’ll have coverage of it (and all things Iowa wrestling) here at Hawkeye Report. So, stay tuned! And as always, thanks for following along.