The following news release is courtesy Iowa State Athletics Communications:
ST. LOUIS — The No. 8 Iowa State wrestling team grabbed two wins in the first session of the 85th NCAA Wrestling Championships. No. 6 Earl Hall and No. 3 Kyven Gadson both advanced on the front-side of the bracket.
The Cyclones are currently in 22nd with 3.5 points. Ohio State is leading the team race, picking up 13.5 points in the opening matches.
Hall got the scoring going early for the ISU grapplers. He took down Nebraska’s Eric Montoya by 7-4 decision. In his match, the Homestead, Fla. native grabbed three takedowns and worked hard on top, garnering 1:50 in riding time.
In his first ever NCAA Championships appearance, Dante Rodriguez was edged by Lehigh’s Randy Cruz, 4-0. Rodriguez was brought to his back in the first, giving up a three point near-fall. With the loss, Rodriguez will wrestle back for third on the backside.
Following the Rodriguez-Cruz decision, Iowa State would drop the next four matches.
At 149, No. 9 Gabe Moreno was defeated by Central Michigan’s Collin Heffernan, 5-3. Moreno’s shoulder injury from the Big 12 Championships plagued him in the first period of this match.
Two-time All-American and No. 2 Michael Moreno suffered a loss to Nebraska’s Austin Wilson, 7-5. Wilson jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, taking Moreno to the mat and turning him for a three-point near-fall as time expired in the first. That would be enough for the Cornhusker to secure the upset over Moreno.
No. 13 Tanner Weatherman drew Cal Poly’s Dominic Kastl in the first round of the 174-pound bracket. Weatherman held a 6-5 advantage late in the third, but a Kastl takedown with less than 30 seconds in the period would secure the decision 7-6, advantage Kastl.
Lelund Weatherspoon wrestled Oklahoma State’s No. 12 Nolan Boyd in the first round this afternoon. A reversal to begin the second period gave Boyd a 2-0 advantage over Weatherspoon. A pair of Weatherspoon escapes tied the match at two all. Boyd would secure one more takedown to ultimately win the bout, 4-3.
At 197-pounds, the Cyclones would finally bounce back.
Gadson leaped out to an early lead, taking a high single-leg on Basil Minto of Northern Iowa to secure two points. Gadson wasn’t done scoring on the takedown, tilting the Panther twice in that period, giving him a 7-0 lead after one. From there, the two-time All-American cruised. He added four more takedowns and 4:04 in riding time locked in the 19-4 technical-fall for Gadson.