Hawkeye Hospitality and a Trip to be Remembered

Proud locals, an electric college match and three generations take time in front of Dan Gable's statue before returning home.

Mar 04, 2025

ThrowbackThursday, two days early.

Five years ago last month I made one of my favorite trips to famed Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the Iowa/Penn State match. It would be one of the greatest college matches of the decade.

The day after the match, I met three people standing alone in front of Dan Gable’s statue outside the main entrance of Carver-Hawkeye. A grandfather, his son, and his son’s nine year-old son had made the pilgrimage to Iowa City.

With a few edits from the original, below was the result of that trip.

Three generations of Solas - Mike, Koen and Derek - traveled almost 1,000 miles to experience Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

What might become known as the Dual of the Decade took place only 31 days into the decade.

Friday’s showdown in Iowa City between No. 1 Iowa and No. 2 Penn State exceeded even the starkest samples of over-the-top, pre-match hype. The Hawkeyes prevailed, 19-17, and Carver-Hawkeye Arena exploded. Since I’m late to the deadline party, readers of This Space know this already.

They should know this, too.

If they’ve never visited Iowa and Carver-Hawkeye for a dual, they’re missing out.

Two years ago I made my first trip. The Hawkeyes were hosting Michigan State, Spencer Lee was making his debut, and longtime pals, Larry Pump and Chuck Johnson, had tickets. Of course they did. The two have watched Hawkeye matches together for over 40 years. I’d met them at the Wig and Pen, a favorite pre-match gathering spot for Hawkeye faithful.

“We almost always meet beforehand, primarily to drink - sometimes to eat,” Pump offered.

Iowans are honest folks.

After learning it was my first trip, both Pump and Johnson proudly tutored me on all things Iowa. Then, without my knowing it, they paid my dinner bill.

I’ve learned Larry and Chuck were representative. Kindness and a deep, abiding pride are contagious among among the locals.

Mark Husar sells cars in Iowa City, lives ten minutes from campus and loves Iowa Hawkeye wrestling. He’d never met Brett Williams, a Hawkeye Wrestling fan-page member from Pensacola, Florida.

“I just posted that I was excited about making my first trip to Iowa and to Carver,” Williams said.

Husar saw the post. He sent Williams a message. Phone conversations ensued. Husar discovered Williams was traveling alone.

“I couldn’t let someone experience this by himself,” Husar said. “To truly experience everything the right way, you need someone from here, someone who knows the area.”

Husar took Williams around town. He showed him the bald eagles that congregate for a couple months along the Iowa River. He took him to Carver-Hawkeye for an early look, hours before the match.

“Mark picked me up at the airport,” Williams said. “I couldn’t believe a guy I’d never met was so good to me, made sure I got the full Hawkeye experience. He and (Mark’s wife) Lorrie definitely understand hospitality.

“They were my ride everywhere, bought my meals, took pride in their hometown and their Hawkeyes, (then) drove me to the airport Saturday morning.

“I’m still blown away by it all, how they treated me.”

Husar deflected.

“We’re the wrestling community,” he said. “What I did is what the wrestling community does for each other.”

The day after the match, I met Father Steve Witt, pastor of Saint Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church on Iowa’s campus. Upon learning I worked in wrestling media, he offered four words about the previous night.

“Penn State,” he said. “Huge one.”

I hadn’t mentioned who the Hawkeyes battled the night before. I didn’t have to. In these parts, even priests, preachers and pastors know their wrestling.

So, what is it about Iowa and wrestling? Is it Dan Gable - in the flesh at each match and statue-form outside Carver-Hawkeye? Is it the 23 national title banners hanging from the rafters? Is it the historic arena itself?

Yes, yes and yes.

And it’s people like Mark and Lorrie Husar, Larry Pump, Chuck Johnson and the multitudes of other Hawkeye faithful making sure outsiders are insiders before leaving Iowa City. It’s the countless pilgrimages made to Carver-Hawkeye each year by wrestling fans with no tie to the university.

The morning after the dual, I lingered. Navigating light drizzle and grey skies, I drove through campus, eventually heading up Hawkins Drive for one more look at Carver-Hawkeye before departing. The lot was quiet, bordered with small, dirtied snow banks and scattered ticket stubs.

Three people stood in front of Gable’s statue.

Derek Sola, his nine year old son, Koen, and his father, Mike, had traveled from Reading, Pennsylvania.

According to Derek - a high school wrestling coach himself - the trip was the fulfillment of a long-held dream.

“It’s something we’ve thought about doing for a while now, something like a bucket-list trip,” he said. “Even though we’re from Pennsylvania, Carver-Hawkeye is a sort of Mecca in the wrestling world.”

What about the place makes one travel almost 1,000 miles to experience?

“Everything,” Sola said. “I think most people my age have watched Dan Gable’s Competitor Supreme documentary a hundred times. I’m sure most have wanted to visit Carver-Hawkeye Arena ever since.”

Making the trip alone was never an option.

“I hope my son remembers this, the three of us together,” Sola said.

Raise a glass to hoping Koen Sola never forgets this trip with his dad and grandpa.

And to Iowa pride and hospitality never changing.

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