The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State athletics communications.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Six Iowa State wrestlers went into battle at the Las Vegas Convention Center this evening, finishing the night 3-3 with one Cyclone punching his ticket to the semifinals.
No. 5 Michael Moreno earned a 9-4 decision over Cornell’s Dylan Palacio in the 165-pound semifinals, racking up1:22 of riding time in the match. Moreno’s win helped the Cyclones in the team race, earning them seven-points. Moreno, the top-seed at his weight, has No. 5 seed Cooper Moore of UNI tomorrow in the semifinals.
Gabe Moreno, the younger brother of All-American Michael, picked up a first period fall over Boise State’s Travis Himmelman in 2:08. The Urbandale, Iowa, native is alive still in the 141-pound consolation bracket and will face Purdue’s Danny Sabatello tomorrow morning.
At 184 pounds, Tanner Weatherman got the job done defeating Cal Poly’s Sean Dougherty 6-0. Weatherman rode Dougherty the entire second period en route to racking up 3:21 of riding time in the match. Weatherman faces unseeded Kyle Lux of UNI next in the wrestle backs.
Earl Hall had a late 10-7 lead on No. 4 seed Dylan Peters of UNI at 125 pounds, but he was caught late in a cowcatcher and was pinned with 30 seconds to go in the match. Hall, a native of Homestead, Fla., will face No. 7 seed Conor Youtsey of Michigan in the wrestle backs next.
157-pounder John Nicholson and 174-pounder Lelund Weatherspoon both fell in the quarterfinals to a pair of nationally ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in No. 4 James Green and No. 4 Robert Kokesh.
Nicholson was in on shot late trailing 5-3, but the top-seeded Green countered his shot for a takedown to seal the 7-3 win. Weatherspoon was unable to get his offense going in his quarterfinal match, falling 15-2 to Kokesh, the No. 2 seed at 174 pounds.
Iowa State is in 11th in the team standings after session II of the Cliff Keen Invitational with 31 points. For the complete team standings and brackets, click here.
Session III begins at 11 a.m. CDT tomorrow morning, as the Cyclones look to make a final push in the team standings on the final day of the tournament.
