AMES - Joe Colon, who won a national title while competing for Iowa Central in 2010, has joined the Cyclone Regional Training Center.

During his one season as a Triton, Colon, a former standout at Clear Lake and for Northern Iowa, was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the 2010 Tournament and helped Iowa Central win the team title. 

Colon will be a resident athlete with the C-RTC. 

"It is very exciting for us to add Joe to our program," said Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser. "He is one of the top lightweights in the entire world right now. He made great improvements these past four years with Coach Steiner at Fresno State, and we are going to try to build off of that moving forward. Joe's got a lot left in his tank, so we will be fortunate to have him in Ames for a good bit.

"Joe brings toughness and a professional-athlete attitude with him. It will be great for our younger athletes to experience that on a day to day basis. Joe will relocate to Ames later this month and we are very excited that he is joining the Cyclone RTC."

Colon has spent the past four years working with Fresno State as a coach. He is currently a member of the United States National team at 61 kg and is ranked 20th in the world.

"I'm looking forward to following my Olympic dream in Ames with the Cyclone RTC," Colon said. "I'm excited to be back in my home state! It's where my wrestling journey first began. I want to thank Coach Dresser and the rest of his staff for this opportunity."

In Senior Level competition, Colon is as decorated in accomplishments as they come. In 2018, Colon made the United States World Team and brought home a World Bronze Medal for the US at 61 kg. That year, he also claimed Gold at the Pan-American Championships, the U.S. Open and was a member of the Men's Freestyle World Cup team that brought home the team title.

Colon is a Dave Schultz Memorial International and Bill Farrell International Champion, and has won the Pan American Championship on two occasions.

Most recently, Colon was the runner-up at Final X (2019) and earned a spot on the U.S. National Team. He took eighth at the 2019 Ivan Yarygin Gran Prix, fifth at the 2019 Dan Kolov International and finished second at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone International.