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Iowaโ€™s Spencer Lee Medically Forfeits out of NCAA Wrestling Championships After Monumental Upset Loss

Spencer Lee
Photo by Eddie Provident, Nittany Sports Now

Spencer Lee, one of the greatest college wrestlers who ever lived, will end his college career with a loss.

Iowaย announced Saturday morningย that Lee would not wrestle for third place and has decided to medically forfeit.

Lee has battled injuries throughout his college career. In 2021, heย famously wonย his third national title on two torn ACLs.

Over the next two years, Lee kept winning, entering Friday night with a 97-5 career record.

But after a monumental upset ended his bid to become the fifth four-time national champion in NCAA history, Lee decided to medically forfeit out of the championships.

โ€Itโ€™s been a long road of recovery for Spencer Lee,โ€ Iowa wrestlingโ€™s statement read. โ€œHe will medically forfeit out the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Tulsa.โ€

Lee, who won three national championships at 125 pounds and looked to be a lock for a fourth, fell to Purdueโ€™s Matt Ramos (seeded fourth) in the semifinal match Friday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Had Lee lost in any fashion, it would have been a shock.

The fact that heย got pinnedย makes it even more stunning.

Lee led Ramos 7-5 with less than a minute left in the third period before Ramos tied the match with a takedown.

After the takedown, Ramos kept Lee on his back and got the pin with one second left in the third period to win.

Since Lee wrestles for Penn Stateโ€™s biggest rival, Nittany Nation didnโ€™t shed many tears.

Penn State was already on its way to a team national titleโ€” which it will almost certainly lock up todayโ€” so Lee winning his fourth national championship wouldnโ€™t have affected much in the standings. On the individual side, Penn Stateโ€™sย Roman Bravo-Youngย (133) now has the nationโ€™s longest active winning streak at 58.

No. 1 RBY will look for 59โ€“ and, more importantly, a third straight national titleโ€” Saturday night when he takes on Cornellโ€™s Vito Arujau, who is the No. 3 seed.

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