Iowa State University Athletics
2023-24 Wrestling Roster
David Carr
- Weight:
- 165
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Canton, Ohio
- High School:
- Perry
Awards and Accomplishments
120-5 Career Record (.960)
Iowa State Male Athlete of the Year (2021, ‘23, '24)
2x NCAA Champion (2021, ’24)
3x NCAA Finalist
5x NCAA Qualifier (2020, ’21, ’22, ’23, ‘24)
5x All-American (2020*, ‘21, ‘22, ’23, ‘24)
4x Big 12 Champion (2020, ‘21, ‘22, ‘23)
4x NWCA Scholar All-American (2020, ‘22, ’23, ‘24)
4x Academic All-Big 12 (First Team - 2022, ‘23, '24; Second Team – ‘20, ‘21)
5x Big 12 Finalist
2x Big 12 Wrestler of the Week (2/21/23, 11/26/20)
2024 Big 12 Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year
2024 Big 12 Runner-Up
2023 NCAA Runner-Up
2023 Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Wrestler
2023 CSC Academic All-American
2022 NCAA Championships Place-Winner (Third Place)
2021 Hodge Trophy Finalist
2021Â Big 12 Wrestler of the Year
Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (S22, S23, F23, S24)
*NWCA All-American
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2022 U.S. Senior National Team Member
2022 U.S. U23 World Team Member
2020 Senior Freestyle Nationals (Sixth Place)
2019 Junior World Champion
2019 UWW Junior National Champion
2018 Dave Shoultz Memorial International (Fourth Place)
Career Notes
Posted a 120-5 career record, tied for the 15th-most wins in school history … .960 career winning percentage ranks fourth in program history (min. 100 wins) behind Cael Sanderson (1.000), Dan Gable (.990) and Tim Krieger (.967) … never lost a dual match (67-0) … is the 17th Cyclone to win multiple national titles and the sixth ISU wrestler to win a national title at two different weight classes … David and his father, Nate, are one of four father-son duos in Division I history to each win two-plus national titles … David and Nate are one of three father-son duos in Iowa State history to earn All-America honors (Willie/Kyven Gadson, Mike/Michael Moreno) … second wrestler in ISU history and the 11th in league history (1997-pres.) to win four Big 12 titles … took part in one of college wrestling’s best individual rivalries with Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole … the pair met five times in a two-year span: once in the regular season, twice in the Big 12 finals, and twice at the NCAA Championships … Carr held a 3-2 advantage in the series (won the first two, lost the next two, before prevailing again in the fifth and final meeting in the national semifinals) … finished career with 316 takedowns while only allowing 17.
2023-24
NCAA Champion at 165 pounds, becoming the first five-time All-American in program history … scored 22.5 team points at the NCAA Championships, leading Iowa State to its best finish (4th) and point total (68.5) since 2010 … path to his national title included wins over the No. 1, 2 and 5 seeds, and three of his five opponents in the tournament finished on the podium … as the No. 4 seed, defeated eventual All-American Hunter Garvin in the second round, returning two-time All-American No. 5 Dean Hamiti in the quarterfinals, two-time defending national champion No. 1 Keegan O’Toole in the semifinals and undefeated freshman No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink in the national finals … won Amateur Wrestling News' Hammer Award for winning the most competitive weight class at the NCAA Championships … defeated O’Toole on a takedown with 10 seconds remaining in the semifinal match … knocked off Mesenbrink, 9-8, in the national finals thanks to a 2-1 takedown advantage and a riding time point … finished the season with a 27-2 record, including 14-0 in duals and a 10-2 mark against top-10 opponents … owned a 40:3 takedown ratio (80 for, 6 against) … registered 19 bonus-point wins (six falls, nine tech falls, four major decisions) … Big 12 runner-up … lost to rival O’Toole in the Big 12 finals, 8-2, before avenging the loss in the national semifinals, 8-6 … placed third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational … wrestled in 14 of 15 duals and led the team with 67 dual points.
2022-23
Moved from 157 to 165 pounds for the 2023 season … NCAA Runner-Up, becoming the 12th four-time All-American in school history … scored 18.0 team points at the NCAA Championships … path to the national finals included wins over a former national champion, Shane Griffith, and a returning national finalist, Quincy Monday … pinned Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole in sudden victory to secure his fourth Big 12 title, becoming the second Iowa State wrestler to win four Big 12 titles … 11th wrestler in league history to win four titles in the Big 12 era (1997-pres.) … finished the season with a 27-1 record and with 12 wins over wrestlers ranked in the top 15 of FloWrestling's final poll … allowed only five takedowns on the year and secured 93 for himself … defeated Quincy Monday, 2-1, in the NWCA All-Star Classic … registered 14 bonus-point wins (six major decisions, three tech falls, five falls) … the Carr-O'Toole rivalry became one of the biggest storylines in college wrestling in 2022-23 … Carr defeated O'Toole in the dual and Big 12 Championship before O'Toole flipped the script in the national finals … led the Cyclones with 77 team points in dual action … one of two Cyclones to not miss a dual during the season, wrestling in all 19.
2021-22
2022 NWCA Scholar All-American ... 2022 NCAA Qualifier ... First Team Academic All-Big 12 ... Became a three-time All-American with a third-place finish at NCAA Championships, the 35th three-time All-American in program history ... won his third-straight Big 12 Championship at 157 pounds ... Became the 16th Cyclone to win at least three conference championships ... opened NCAA Championships with a 21-6 (7:00) technical fall over Northern Iowa's No. 33 Derek Holschlag for his 55th-straight victory ... compiled a 28-1 overall record, including 13-0 in dual meets ... Finished year with four major decisions, six tech falls and five falls ... Had 12 wins over top 20 ranked wrestlers ... opened the season by winning the Warren Williamson Daktronics Open ... Had an 83-5 advantage in takedowns on the year ... Allowed just six takedowns in the last two seasons, while recording 143 of his own ... Led the Cyclones in victories (28), falls (5), tech falls (6) and bonus point wins (15).
2020-21
2021 157-pound NCAA Champion… 2021 All-American… finalist for the Dan Hodge trophy, finishing third… 2021 157-pound Big 12 Champion… 2021 Big 12 Wrestler of the Year… Iowa State Male Athlete of the Year ... Academic All-Big 12 Second Team… Iowa State’s 50th individual to win a national championship and the 70th individual national champion overall in program history… Iowa State’s 300th All-American in program history… 86th two-time All-American in Iowa State history… compiled a 20-0 record, becoming Iowa State’s first undefeated champion since 2011… 14 of his 20 wins came by bonus-point variety for a 65 percent bonus-rate… won five matches by major decision, four by technical fall and four by fall… defeated 12 opponents ranked in the top-20… did not surrender a takedown at the NCAA Championships, outscoring his opponents by a 40-10 margin en route to the title… 60-1 takedown differential during the 2021 campaign… went 12-0 in duals, racking up 171 total match points… led the team in duals in takedowns (44), four-point near-falls (15) and total back-points (66).
2019-20
Became Iowa State's first ever Junior World Champion (74kg) ... won the 2019 UWW Junior National Championship to earn a spot in the Best-of-Three Finals for the Junior World Team spot. Wrestled to an 18-1 record, 9-0 in dual, during his redshirt freshman season… qualified for the NCAA Championships at 157 pounds and was seeded third for the national tournament before the season was ended early due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus worldwide… named First Team All-American by the NWCA... earned NWCA Scholar All-America honors... won the Big 12 Championship at 157 pounds, defeating OSU’s Wyatt Sheets by 6-4 decision in the finals… Iowa State’s 213th individual conference champion in school history… first freshman Big 12 champ since David Zabriske (2007)… Iowa State’s fifth freshman Big 12 Champion… named Second Team Academic All-Big 12… earned Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors after his 6-1 victory over Iowa’s then-ranked No. 2 Kaleb Young… took third place at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational behind a 5-1 record… led the team in total dual points scored (121), takedowns per dual (4) and total dual back points (34)… posted two wins by fall, two by technical fall and five by major decision.
2018-19
Redshirted his initial season at Iowa State… posted a 23-1 record while wrestling unattached… competed at the Dave Shoultz Memorial International in freestyle, taking fourth place… won four out of the five tournaments he competed in, taking third in the other… claimed titles at the Grand View Open, Lindenwood Open, UNI Open and Dave Edmonds Open… recorded 14 bonus-point victories, including a team-high eight major decisions.
High School
Noted as one of the nation’s top recruits out of high school… pegged as the No. 2 overall recruit in the class of 2018 by FloWrestling and No. 1 at his weight… competed for his dad, Cyclone legend Nate Carr while wrestling for Perry High School… four-time Ohio high school state champion... compiled an Ohio high school record of 188-6… also won a Kentucky high school state title in eighth grade with a 47-1 record... Cadet World Bronze Medalist… Fargo National Champion… Flo Who’s #1 Champion… IronMan Champion… compiled an Ohio high school record of 188-6.
Personal
Earned his bachelor’s degree in communications studies and master’s in higher education from Iowa State … upon graduation, was hired as Associate Director of the Cardinal & Gold Collective.
