Spencer Richard Lee (born October 14, 1998) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms. In freestyle, he won the US National championship in 2019 and was a three-time age-group world champion, once at the cadet level and twice at the junior level. As a folkstyle wrestler, Lee won the James E. Sullivan Award and the Dan Hodge Trophy twice, as well as three NCAA Division I national championships out of the University of Iowa. Lee was often considered one of the most dominant athletes in college athletics.
Folkstyle career
Background
Lee was born in Denver, Colorado but grew up in Saegertown, Pennsylvania. He moved again to Murrysville, Pennsylvania, where he attended Franklin Regional High School.
High school
In Lee's freshman year he ended the season undefeated with a record of 49–0 and a state title at 113 pounds. As a sophomore, he also ended the season with a similar 48–0 record and a state championship now at 120 pounds. As a junior in high school, he also competed at 120 pounds, posting a perfect 12–0 record and winning state again, making him a three-time PIAA champion. As a senior, he also stayed undefeated during regular-season, competing at 132 pounds and eventually 126 pounds. Going into the state finals, Lee was the pound for pound top-ranked high school wrestler and was undefeated, posting a 144–1 record in his high school career. In the finals, Lee faced the same wrestler he had beaten by technical fall at the previous year's state finals, and later Iowa teammate, Austin DeSanto. With Lee up 5–4, DeSanto secured a last-second takedown, winning 6–5 and pulling arguably the biggest upset in high school wrestling.
As the top recruit in the country, Lee had offers from many Division I colleges, and chose the University of Iowa.
College
2017–2018
Lee chose not to redshirt his first year and competed as a true freshman instead. He had immediate success, posting a 14–1 record in the regular season. He placed third at the Big Ten Conference Championships and competed at the NCAA championships. At the national tournament, Lee looked dominant, winning by technical fall 18–0 in his first two bouts in less than six minutes combined. After that, he pinned both Big 12 champion Nick Piccininni and former NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello, reaching the finals. In the finals, he faced Nick Suriano, who had been undefeated in 2017–2018. Lee defeated Suriano 5–1. This result earned him the NCAA championship at 125 pounds as a true freshman, the first for the University of Iowa since Lincoln McIlravy in 1993.
2018–2019
Lee posted an overall record of 23–3, placed second at the Big Ten Championships and competed at the NCAA championships as a sophomore. At Nationals, Lee was as dominant as the previous year, winning by technical fall (18-0) in his first bout, major decision (10-1) in the second, and fall in the third. In his next two bouts, he defeated three-time Big 12 champion Nick Piccininni and ACC runner-up Jack Mueller, winning the NCAA championship at 125 pounds. Lee outscored opponents 55–7 in five matches at the NCAA Championships.
2019–2020
In his junior year, Lee had the option to take an Olympic redshirt, but chose instead to help Iowa to win an NCAA title, though he would still compete in freestyle. During the regular season, he compiled a record of 15–0 with 14 bonus points victories. At the Big Ten tournament, Lee dominated his way to the finals, winning by fall inside 3 minutes in his first bout and by technical superiority (19-3) in the semifinals, making his way to the championship finals. In the finals, Lee defeated second-seeded Devin Schroder of Purdue University, via major decision (16-2) and automatically qualified for the NCAA championships. Lee was the #1 seed and a big favorite to win the championship, however, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making Lee and all the qualifiers unable to compete. Overall, Lee remained undefeated with a record of 18–0 through the season and outscored his opponents 234–18. Due to his dominance, Lee received the prestigious Dan Hodge Trophy as the best collegiate wrestler of the season and was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year. In April, Lee received the prestigious James E. Sullivan Award as the most outstanding athlete in the United States of America.