Gadson A Big 12 Champion, Cyclones Finish Second

The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State athletic communications. 

STILLWATER, Okla. – Kyven Gadson was crowned the Big 12 Champion at 197 pounds Saturday night at Gallagher-Iba Area, as the No. 20 Iowa State wrestling team (11-5 overall, 3-3 Big 12) finished second in the team standings with 74 points. Six ISU wrestlers total today, including Gadson, earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships March 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Gadson, ranked No. 7 nationally, defeated No. 11 Blake Rosholt in the finals with a 5-3 decision. It was Gadson’s third victory of the season over Rosholt. Gadson is now 25-2 on the year and extends his winning streak to 14-straight.

The Cyclones had six other wrestlers reach the finals, aiding in the team’s second-place finish. Luke Goettl started the day off with a win over Oklahoma State’s Julian Feikert by way of a 9-2 decision. Goettl’s win assured him a spot to the NCAA Championships. He would later fall to No. 1 Kendric Maple of Oklahoma in the finals.

At 149, Max Mayfield punched his ticket the NCAA Championships with a second-place finish. Mayfield started the day as the tournament’s No. 3 seed but pulled an upset of Oklahoma’s Nick Lester, who is ranked No. 16 nationally. Mayfield’s 4-2 victory over Lester assured him an automatic bid to Des Moines.

Mike Moreno finished third in a stacked field at 165-pounds, earning himself an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships with a 4-1 win over Ross Renzi in the third-place match.

Tanner Weatherman (174) and Boaz Beard (184) both made their way to the championship match in their respective weight classes, assuring both an automatic bid.

Ryak Finch made the finals at 125 after defeating West Virginia’s Shane Young by way of a 2-1 decision before eventually falling to Eddie Klimara of Oklahoma State in the finals. The Big 12 only received one automatic bid allocation at 125 pounds so Finch has not yet secured a bid to the NCAA Championships.

Similarly, Matt Gibson also made the finals after a 9-6 win over Keldrick Hall but fell in the finals to No. 2 Alan Gelogaev. Because Gibson did not get the Big 12’s lone automatic allocation at 285, he wil also need to receive an at-large selection.

Iowa State had seven Cyclones in the finals Saturday night in Stillwater. 

Final at-large bids to the NCAA Championships will be released on Wednesday. Both Ryak Finch (125) and Matt Gibson (285) are considered strong candidates to receive at-large consideration.

Oklahoma State took home the team title with 118.5 points.

The Cyclones will be back in action on March 20 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa for the NCAA Championships.

Complete Match-By-Match Results

125: Ryak Finch (ISU) dec. Shane Young (WVU), 2-1; Eddie Klimara (OSU) mdec. Ryak Finch (ISU), 15-5

133: No. 9 Cody Brewer (OU) mdec. John Meeks (ISU); John Meeks dec. Colin Johnston 11-6

141: Luke Goettl (ISU) dec. Julian Feikert (OSU), 9-2; No. 1 Kendric Maple (OU) mdec. Luke Goettl (ISU), 13-3

149: Max Mayfield (ISU) dec. No. 16 Nick Lester (OU), 4-2; No. 1 Jordan Oliver WBF over Max Mayfield, (1:19)

157: No. 9 Alex Dieringer (OSU) mdec. Logan Molina (ISU), 10-2; Logan Molina dec. Jason Luster (WVU), 4-2

165: No. 5 Bubby Graham (OU) dec. Michael Moreno (ISU), 5-2; Michael Moreno dec. Ross Renzi (WVU), 4-1

174: No. 20 Tanner Weatherman (ISU) dec. Bubba Scheffel (WVU), 3-1; Chris Perry mdec. Tanner Weatherman, 8-0

184: No. 15 Boaz Beard (ISU) WBF over Lance Bryson (WVU), (3:56); Chris Chionuma dec. Boaz Beard, 5-3

197: No. 7 Kyven Gadson (ISU) mdec. Brad Johnson (OU), 14-4; Kyven Gadson (ISU) dec. Blake Rosholt (OSU), 5-3

285: No. 19 Matt Gibson (ISU) dec. Keldrick Hall (OU), 9-6; Alan Gelogaev (OSU) WBF over Matt Gibson (ISU), (0:58)