There’s a running joke around the Iowa wrestling program. It involves Spencer Lee, the Hawkeyes’ superstar 125-pounder, and a new nickname bestowed upon him by his teammates to adequately describe is otherworldly wrestling abilities.
“We call him 'Yoda,'” says Alex Marinelli, Iowa’s starting 165-pounder. “He does things to his opponents that are kind of un-human.”
The whole thing makes Lee laugh. He considers it a compliment — “and also, I’m really short,” adds Lee, who stands 5-foot-3 — because what he’s accomplished on the mat over the last two year has been, well, kind of out of this world.