Pat Lugo Transferring To Iowa

Pat Lugo will be transferring from Edinboro to Iowa

Jul 4, 2017 by Wrestling Nomad

One of the worst kept secrets in wrestling is finally out: Pat Lugo will be transferring to Iowa. It was a long process for the newest Hawkeye middleweight, but he is transferring from Edinboro and will wrestle for the Hawkeyes.

Lugo made the announcement over twitter today:

[tweet url="https://twitter.com/MasterP_145/status/882331621558452224" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]

Word began circulating sometime around NCAAs that the two-time Florida state champ may be leaving, and slowly gained steam throughout the summer. At the UWW Junior World Team Trials, he signed up under "Gladiators WC" and not the Edinboro RTC. There in Lincoln, the Iowa coaches were always close by, watching all of Lugo's matches.

Lugo would go on to win the challenge tournament at 66kg, unquestionably the toughest field for junior trials, before ultimately falling to Ryan Deakin in the finals. A two-time Fargo finalist, the move to Iowa City would also allow Lugo to train freestyle with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club.

Watch Lugo tech Kanen Storr at junior trials

Though he has yet to be an All American, it is clear that coaches and members of the wrestling community believe he can be on the podium. This past season, he was a CKLV runner-up and placed fourth at the Southern Scuffle.

The two-time NCAA qualifier has a 63-18 career record with 34 bonus point wins: nine pins, 10 techs and 15 majors. He has wins over three-time All-American Brandon Sorensen (now his teammate) and Solomon Chishko of Virginia Tech, as well as wins over Matt Cimato and Evan Henderson, who were seeded fourth and eighth, respectively, entering the 2016 NCAA championships.

He will have two years of eligibility left, and has a redshirt to burn. The logical plan seems to be that Sorensen will wrestle this year, his last in the program, and then Lugo will take over as the starting 149 pounder for the 2018-19 season. Lugo was been granted a release from Edinboro on the morning of July 5th.