LAS VEGAS – The Iowa State wrestling team placed fourth in team competition behind five top-four finishes Saturday at the 33rd-annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Two-time All-American Kyven Gadson highlighted the day with a title-winning performance at 197.
Session One
The day got off to a slow start, as Cyclone wrestlers lost their first four matches of the day. Kyven Gadsonrighted the ship at 197, picking up a 3-2 decision over Ohio State’s No. 7 Kyle Snyder. The No. 3-ranked Waterloo, Iowa, native scored a takedown and an escape in the effort. Gadson’s victory secured a spot in the 197-pound finals against Minnesota’s Scott Schiller.
Iowa State got rolling in the consolation semifinals, as all four back-side wrestlers advanced to their respective third-place matches. No. 13 Earl Hall notched a hard-fought 4-1 decision over the Division II No. 1-ranked Daniel DeShazer, advancing to take on Ohio State’s No. 8 Johnni DiJulius.
At 149, Gabe Moreno earned a 14-3 major decision over The Citadel’s sixth-seeded Matthew Frisch. Moreno scored several takedowns and a pair of two-point near-falls to advance to the third-place match against Nebraska’s Justin Arthur.
Michael Moreno scored a 4-0 decision over CSU-Bakersfield’s Adam Fierro. He moved on to wrestle in-state rival and No. 12 Cooper Moore of Northern Iowa.
In an exciting consolation semifinal, Tanner Weatherman pulled off a dramatic victory over Michigan’s Davonte Mahomes, winning 7-5 in the first sudden-victory period. Weatherman tied it up at 5-5 with a takedown late in the third period and converted a single-leg in SV-1 to secure the win. With the win, Weatherman advanced to take on Minnesota’s top-ranked Logan Storely in the consolation final.
The Cyclones were in fourth place entering the final session of competition with 95 team points.
Session Two
All five Cyclones that took the mat Saturday notched top-four finishes. Earl Hall took fourth after a loss to Ohio State’s No. 8 Johnni DiJulius.
|
ISU CKLV Placers |
WT |
Place |
|
197 |
1st |
|
|
165 |
3rd |
|
|
149 |
3rd |
|
|
174 |
3rd |
|
|
133 |
4th |
Gabe Moreno took third in the 149-pound bracket after a 6-1 victory over Nebraska’s Justin Arthur. Moreno scored a pair of takedowns, the biggest coming out of a scramble that saw the Urbandale, Iowa, native secure a single-leg for two points. Moreno tacked on an escape and a minute and a half of riding time to take the win.
At 165, Michael Moreno was pitted against UNI’s No. 12 Cooper Moore. The two started slow in the first period, but the two-time All-American scored a takedown and put the Panther on his back en route to a pin in 2 minutes, 36 seconds. No. 3 Moreno improves to 3-0 all-time against Moore with the victory.
Tanner Weatherman accepted a forfeit in the 174-pound consolation final to take third place over Minnesota’s Logan Storely.
In the Cyclone finale, No. 3 Kyven Gadson went head-to-head with Minnesota’s top-ranked Scott Schiller in the 197-pound title match. Gadson was immediately on the offensive, scoring a takedown 9 seconds into the match. The No. 3-ranked Waterloo, Iowa, native tacked on a second takedown late in the third period on a counter move to seal the victory, 5-3.
The fourth-place team finish is four higher than last year’s showing, scoring 41.5 more points than a year ago.
Next Time Out
The Cyclones are back in action Jan. 1-2 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the Southern Scuffle.
