Iowa women’s wrestling head coach Clarissa Chun was named the USA Wrestling Women’s Coach of the Year, it was announced on May 1, after leading the Hawkeyes to their second national championship title.

The award highlights Chun’s contributions dating back to 2024, Iowa’s first season as a program, where her team finished with a 16-0 duals record and was crowned national champions. 

Chun’s success continued in the 2024-25 campaign where her Hawkeyes took home another national title and went 19-0 in duals. Iowa women’s wrestling has crowned nine individual national champions through its first two seasons.

This award adds to a multitude of other honors Chun has earned this year, including National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships Coach of the Year, the Trailblazer Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and USA Today’s Iowa Woman of the Year.

Chun’s wrestlers saw success at the world stage in 2024 as well with national champions Macey Kilty and Kylie Welker both bringing home bronze medals at the Senior World Championships in October.

Kilty and Welker also claimed medals at the 2024 U23 World Championships, Welker winning gold and Kilty taking silver. First-year Naomi Simon also brought home a bronze medal at the 2024 U20 World Championships in September. 

Chun was named coach of the year in 2023 as well and shares the 2024 honor with Sara McMann who has coached for Team USA on the world stage in recent years. 

With this award, Chun continues to cement herself in Hawkeye royalty — as Iowa women’s wrestling is 35-0 in duals through its first two seasons and outscored its opponents, 718-114, in 19 dual meets in 2024-25.