Wrestling: Beard wins title

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

DES MOINES, Iowa – Eight Cyclone grapplers placed at the Grand View Open Saturday, led by senior Boaz Beard, who took home the title at 184 pounds. 

The Wichita, Kan., native was dominant en route to the finals, going 4-0 with two major decisions and two pins. Beard defeated Wisconsin freshman Ricky Robertson 5-4 in the championship match. The two-time NCAA-qualifier’s season record now sits at 8-3 overall.

Redshirt freshman Cameron Thomson finished second at 174 pounds. Thomson went 3-0 to clinch a berth in the title bout with a tech fall and two wins by decision. The Barrington, Ill., native fell in the championship match 6-1 to Iowa’s Alex Meyer. 

125-pounder Kyle Larson took third-place after finishing the tournament 4-1. Larson fell 4-2 to Iowa’s Phil Laux in overtime of his semifinal match, but followed it up with back-to-back wins in the consolation bracket.

In the consolation championship, Larson downed Ellsworth Community College’s Da’Wayne Robertson 5-4. Larson is now 18-8 overall on the season.

Heavyweight Ben Perna lost his opening match 4-3 to Missouri’s Justin Heberlie. He battled back and tallied five-straight wins to advance to the consolation championship, where he was downed by Grand View’s Dean Broghammer 5-2. The senior from Rolling Meadows, Ill. went 5-2 en route to fourth-place. 

Four more Cyclones placed in the top-six at the tournament in freshman Bubba Hernandez (149), Daniel Woiwor (165), Dane Pestano   (197) and sophomore Tyler Swope (285). Hernandez, Woiwor and Pestano took fifth at their respective weights. Swope finished sixth at heavyweight, posting two wins by fall in the tournament.

For the complete brackets from the 2014 Grand View Open, click here.