Dylan Huntoon is a senior at Buena Vista University studying environmental science with a minor in biology. Huntoon is from Spencer, Iowa where he attended Spencer High School. He is also a member of the BVU Wrestling squad, competing at the weight of 184 pounds.

Huntoon’s first match this season was this last Saturday, Nov. 3, in Sieben’s Fieldhouse at BVU. He wrestles at the weight of 184 pounds. Huntoon looked strong in his 184-pound match, coming out with three first period takedowns and held on from there for a 7-3 triumph. Keep up with his stats on Beaver Athletics wrestling page.  

Huntoon started wrestling at a young age but didn’t really fall in love right away.  

“Growing up in a smaller town in Iowa, my wrestling career had an early start. I began wrestling when I was in kindergarten but did not actually fall in love with the sport until third or fourth grade. The extensive work ethic I developed through the sport seemingly helped to refine my work ethic in other facets of life as well,” says Huntoon.  

As a kid he was seen as being on the “smaller” side but Huntoon saw it as an advantage.  

“I was considered a ‘smaller’ kid. So, when it came to other sports like football, I was quick enough to keep up but not quite as ‘big’ or tall as my peers. But with wrestling this size difference did not matter, everyone I wrestled was the same weight as me, or at least close to it. This allowed me to accelerate in the sport while catching up to the physical maturity of my friends. As time went on with my athletic career I continued to enjoy other sports, but I ultimately fell in love with the dedication and discipline the sport of wrestling required to be successful,” explains Huntoon. 

For Huntoon, wrestling has been the source of many strong memories. 

“To be honest, with the amount of memories I have made in the sport I cannot narrow them down to a favorite one. I have had many successful memories like wrestling in the Iowa state tournament, winning multiple high school varsity tournaments and many more, but I think my favorite asset I can take away from the sport is the connections I have made through it,” Huntoon says. 

Wrestling has never been just about the sport for Huntoon. The connections he has made over all the years are something that he will never forget.  

“Without these connections I have made, I would have never met some of my best friends, learned how to compete at a high intensity level, developed an extreme work ethic or experienced the wrestling culture as a whole. And trust me, the sport definitely has its own culture to it, come experience it for yourself sometime. Overall, the sport and the memories made while participating in it have congregated into a large influence on my life,” says Huntoon.  

This season has a little bit of change of pace for the Beaver’s wrestling team. Mark Rial, the new head coach, is looking for Huntoon to continue to improve daily and to be a leader for his team.  

“Right now, my expectations for Dylan are to continue to improve daily, continue to be a leader by the way he lives his life and continue to have a great attitude.  If he does that the sky’s the limit for him,” says Rial. 

Dylan contributes a lot to the team and Coach Rial expects to keep that up and continue what he’s been doing to have the best senior season.  

“He contributes to the team the way he puts his head down and goes to work.  No complaining, no excuses and wants to improve daily,” Rial explains. 

Catch Dylan and the rest of the Beaver Wrestling squad in action again in Sieben’s Fieldhouse on Nov. 20. where they face Northwestern at 4 p.m.  

“Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.” -Dan Gable.