Austin Gomez to forgo Junior World Team Championships

Iowa+State+commit+Austin+Gomez+wrestling+Alex+Thompsen+at+the+Agony+in+Ames+event.+Gomez+defeated+Thompsen+by+major+decision.

Ben Visser/Iowa State Daily

Iowa State commit Austin Gomez wrestling Alex Thompsen at the Agony in Ames event. Gomez defeated Thompsen by major decision.

Jack Shover

Iowa State announced Tuesday that wrestler Austin Gomez will not compete in the upcoming 2018 Junior World Team Championships.

Gomez will forgo traveling to Slovakia, where the Championships are being held, in order to take time off to heal a minor knee injury.

“Austin, his family and our staff have decided to pull him from the upcoming Junior World Championships in Slovakia,” said Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser in a press release. “He injured his knee earlier this summer and it continues to be a nuisance so we are going to get that cleaned up. We expect Austin back and ready to roll at the beginning of October.”

This summer, Gomez qualified at 61 kg at the Junior World Team Trials in Rochester, Minnesota, when he bested Cornell’s Vitali Arujau in a best-of-three series.

Gomez, a redshirt freshman, figures to be the starter at 133 pounds this coming season. In his redshirt season wrestling unattached, Gomez finished 8-0.

Last season’s initial starter at 133 pounds, Ian Parker, ended the season wrestling at 141 pounds after the transfer of Kanen Storr, which leaves 133 wide open for Gomez.