AMES, Iowa – For the third time in his career, Iowa State wrestler David Carr has been named the Gary Thompson Iowa State Male Athlete of the Year. Carr is the second Cyclone to win the award three times in his career, joining Cael Sanderson (1999, 2001-02).

Carr posted a 27-2 record in 2023-24 and won his second national title to become the 17^th Cyclone wrestler to win multiple national titles and the first since 2010 (Jake Varner). David and his father, Nate, are one of four father-son duos in NCAA Division I history to each win at least two national titles.

The Canton, Ohio native won Amateur Wrestling News’ Hammer Award for winning the most competitive weight class at the NCAA Championships. The path to his national title included wins over the No. 1, 2 and 5 seeds, and four of his five opponents in the tournament either finished on the podium or had earned All-American honors at some point in their career.

As the No. 4 seed, Carr defeated eventual All-American Hunter Garvin (Stanford) in the second round, returning two-time All-American No. 5 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) in the quarterfinals, two-time defending national champion No. 1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) in the semifinals and undefeated freshman No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) in the national finals.

At the Big 12 Championship, Carr fell to his rival, top-ranked O’Toole of Missouri, in the finals, 8-2. Carr would avenge the loss just two weeks later in the national semifinals on a takedown with 10 seconds remaining to win, 8-6. It capped a historic rivalry where the pair met five times in a two-year span with Carr holding a 3-2 advantage in the series.

Carr owned a 40:3 takedown ratio during the 2023-24 season (80 for, 6 against) and registered 19 bonus-point wins (six falls, nine tech falls, four major decisions). He defeated 10 top-10 opponents, wrested in 14-of-15 duals and led Iowa State with 67 dual points.

Carr helped Iowa State to its first Big 12 team title since 2009 and a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the Cyclones’ best finish since 2010.

An all-time great, Carr leaves a winning legacy at Iowa State. He finished with a 120-5 career record, tied for the 15th-most wins in school history, and his .960 career winning percentage ranks fourth in program history (min. 100 wins) behind Cael Sanderson (1.000), Dan Gable (.990) and Tim Krieger (.967). Carr never lost a dual match as a Cyclone (67-0).

Carr became the first five-time All-American in program history and the 12th Cyclone to finish on the podium four times at the NCAA Championships. He never placed worse than third at the national tournament, following his 2021 national title with a third-place finish in 2022, a runner-up in 2023 before securing a second title in 2024.

In May, Carr completed his master’s degree in education with a 3.81 GPA. He was named a 2024 National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American.

Carr will be honored at a football game this fall.