Former Rockford-area state wrestling champion commits to Big 10 school

Iowa's women's wrestling team just picked up another commitment for its inaugural season, and it's another Cassioppi.

Back in September of 2021, Iowa announced it would become the first Division I Power Five Conference school to add women’s wrestling.

And now joining the roster of 15 — and joining her older brother Tony Cassioppi — is the fourth-ranked 164-pound woman in the nation, Rose Cassioppi. She committed on Monday.

Here is a little more about the commitment:

Where has Rose been?

The Roscoe native who is a three-time Fargo All-American and was a 2022 IHSA state champion for Hononegah has been training in Colorado Springs with the Elite Accelerator Program at the Olympic Training Center for the past year. Rose was the Rockford Register Star's Wrestler of the Year last year, and her most recent tournament finish was a third-place medal at 170 pounds at the Grand View Open in Des Moines, Iowa, back on Nov. 12, 2022.

More Rose Cassioppi:Meet the Rockford Register Star wrestler of the year and all-area team

What other Cassioppi is at Iowa?

Rose's brother Tony just completed his fifth season at the University of Iowa, and he just placed third at the Big Ten Conference championships and fourth at the NCAA championships at heavyweight. He also committed to one last season at Iowa. Tony, is a three-time national place winner for the Hawkeyes and a U23 World champion.

When does the Iowa women's program kick in?

The Iowa women's team will compete for the first time next season. Iowa became the seventh NCAA D-I school to offer women's wrestling as a collegiate sport. There are now 124 women’s college wrestling programs.

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rose Cassioppi commits to first Iowa Hawkeyes women's wrestling team