Bohnenkamp: Imagination Keeps Lee Focused
Spencer Lee said he has read 12 books in three weeks.
“I’m a fast reader,” the Iowa wrestler said.
There isn’t much the junior 125-pounder can do right now.
He was the favorite to win his third consecutive NCAA 125-pound title.
He was getting ready for the U.S. Olympic trials.
He can’t wrestle now. Concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus ended the season for Lee and the Hawkeyes, who were favored to win the national title.
Lee sees his teammates, he said, since they live within close proximity of each other.
He runs with teammate Austin DeSanto, although he laughed and said he does different runs than DeSanto.
“It’s nice,” Lee said, “knowing someone is working out at the same time as you.”
It’s all about imagination right now for Lee. He’s reading books on fantasy and magic — “That’s my genre,” he said.
He can only visualize wrestling, think about what he can do and what he needs to do better.
But get back in the wrestling room at Carver-Hawkeye Arena? No, not yet.
“We couldn’t get into Carver if we wanted to,” Lee said. “We have to do what we can.
“Wrestling’s what I love. It’s my passion.”
Everything is locked down, so all Lee can do is think about the future.
He won’t be getting this season back. Lee went 18-0 this season, winning the Hodge Trophy on Monday as the top college wrestler in the nation. He got his first Big Ten individual title in early March, less than a week before everything shut down.
That next national title will have to wait. His Olympic dreams are postponed a year.
Lee had built toward this moment. He didn’t take an Olympic redshirt season, choosing to stay with the Hawkeyes while qualifying for the Olympic Trials.
Next season, Lee said, he’ll take the same path, since the 2020 Tokyo Games have been rescheduled for the same dates next year.
“It’s a little hard to swallow,” Lee said. “This was supposed to be a big year for me, in my mind, you know? (Be a) three-time national champ. I was hoping to make the Olympic team and try to win an Olympic gold medal. Win the Hodge. A lot of things. I got one of them, I guess.
“You take what you can. Be proud of it. Be happy about it. And move on.”
It’s tough to move on, though, Lee said.
“I’m kind of in the state where I’m not sure what to do right now,” Lee said. “I’m just kind of going day-by-day on what’s the best thing for me.
“You can’t do anything face-to-face, which kind of sucks. Carver’s locked out, so it’s kind of like, ‘Do what you gotta do, Spence.’”
Lee stays up to date with his classes, which started at Iowa on Monday after an extended two-week spring break.
“Everything’s online,” he said. “I have a calendar, and I wrote every single assignment that’s due every single day. When it’s online, you can forget about it. When you go to class, the teachers are reminding you, giving you a head’s up and stuff. It’s a little different.
“It’s just different. It’s hard. You’ve got to stay organized.”
All Lee can do, like his teammates, is wait.
All he can do is imagine what comes next.