Hawkeye Wrestling Club president Randy Novak announced today on Iowa message board Hawkeye Report that two-time NCAA champion Jesse Delgado would join the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. FloWrestling had to the opportunity to speak with Jesse Delgado today about his move from Illinois.

Mark [Perry] is the big reason I'm heading to Iowa, but the coaches and guys in Illinois did so much for me and I'll always love them. I did this for my own growth, and now that all my friends are gone, it's time for me to do my own thing as well.

Delgado mentioned several times in the phone call that going to Illinois for college was the right decision for him and he doesn't regret any of the time he spent in Champaign. He also mentioned he doesn't have any concerns about working out with Matt McDonough or Thomas Gilman.

It's funny, we had this talk. People think the way you wrestle, or the way you are in interviews, is exactly how your personality is in real life. But McDonough is very talkative, energetic. (laughs) I guess he knows things other people don't know about me.

The California native mentioned that "everybody's on the same page, working toward getting better. It's a refreshing new start, new thoughts for all of us." Delgado also said he has no concerns that he and Gilman both being at 57kg will end the same way it did for Tony Ramos and Dan Dennis.

I'm not sure what weight I'll be going forward after the trials, I guess it'll depend on what the new weights will be. I've heard the weight could go down to 55kg, which I think I can make, but it'll be pretty tough on a two-hour weigh in.

In talking to Delgado about his training, he mentioned there were two main choices in the end, and that he's learned a lot over the past year.

I was actually just training down in Stillwater, that was my other option. If I didn't go to Iowa City, I was pretty close to staying there. I get along with those guys really well and definitely had a great time training down there.

Over the conversation, he said that his transition to freestyle was similar to a "redshirt year," in part because he was a volunteer assistant this year for the Illini. He mentioned helping Tony Ramos get ready for Olympic Trials last year, and also spending time time in Tempe training with Nahshon Garrett. Delgado will be wrestling next weekend at the World Team Trials, which will be LIVE on Flo.