AMES — Coming off a complete thrashing at the hands of the Virginia Tech Hokies, the ISU wrestling squad bounced back during their first two home duals of the season against the Midland University Warriors and the Boise State Broncos on Thursday night in Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones kicked off the doubleheader against the Warriors and this dual was all Iowa State.
At one point in the match, the Cyclones reeled off four straight first period pins. Altogether, Iowa State claimed six falls, which was the most since a 1998 bout when Iowa State defeated Cornell College. Also in this dual, the Cyclones tallied 51 points, which was the highest point total since Dec. 13, 2008 when they scored 52 against Dickinson State.
Iowa State won all 10 matches against Midland.
After an hour wait, the Cyclones hit the mats for the second dual of Thursday’s doubleheader to take on Boise State.
Iowa State lost the first match of the dual but after that, it was all Cyclones.
The Cyclones only claimed one pin against the Broncos, after owning six against the Warriors. Iowa State’s largest non-pin win against Boise State was the 133-pound bout when Earl Hall beat his opponent 13-0.
Now it is time for Observational Takedowns:
Aggressiveness:
ISU coach Kevin Jackson recently said he wanted to see more aggressiveness out of his team. He got just that on Thursday night.
“I was happy with our aggression,” Jackson said. “When we were expected to dominate, we dominated.”
Jackson however did mention that his team could have been more aggressive against Boise State.
“If we would have won the first weight class [125], we probably could have been at a higher level,” Jackson said.
Though the Iowa State could have been more aggressive in the second dual, the Cyclones won 19 out of 20 matches, which was impressive considering how they performed against Virginia Tech to open the season.
Moreno is back at it:
Gabe Moreno’s shoulder wasn’t a problem on Thursday night.
After not competing against the Hokies because of his surgically repaired shoulder, Moreno made his long awaited return into the Cyclone starting lineup.
“I was nervous,” Moreno said.
But Moreno put his nerves aside and claimed a victory to begin his 2015-16 season. In his first match back, Moreno beat Boise State’s Luis Sifuentes with a score of 4-2 in the third period. However, even though Jackson put Moreno into the Iowa State lineup, he is still concern about his shoulder.
“I was a little bit hesitant to put him out there,” Jackson said. “I’m not even sure if I’m going to allow him to participate in the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open because he would possibly wrestle five matches and I don’t want to risk him getting injured.”
Jackson and Moreno both stated during the press conference after the doubleheader that they want him to be fully healthy come Iowa on Nov. 29.
The Battle for 141:
All season long, Coach Jackson has had an internal battle on who start at the 141 position for the season. And the doubleheader against Midland and Boise State made his decision even more difficult.
Both Dante Rodriguez and John Meeks have been dueling it out to see who would claim the 141-position for this season. On Thursday they both had an opportunity to show Jackson who deserves it more.
Meeks started for the Cyclones against Midland and he was impressive in his bout. He pinned Midland’s 141-wrestler with 1:25 left in the first period.
Rodriguez on the other hand started for Iowa State against Boise State and pinned his opponent 28 seconds into the period.
“Dante is a monster,” Jackson said.
Although Jackson hyped up Rodriguez a little more than Meeks during the post-dual press conference, Jackson stated that he is fine with having two solid options at the 141 position.
Up next for the Cyclones
Iowa State will hit the mats again come Sunday when they host the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open.
“You’ll see everyone who competed tonight at the open, except for any wrestler who is injured,” Jackson said.
Midland results
125: Larson (ISU) beat Perez (Midland) 8-2 in three periods
133: Hall (ISU) pinned Berg (Midland) with 34 seconds left in the first period
141: Meeks (ISU) pinned Martinez (Midland) with a 1:25 left in the first period
149: Briceno (ISU) pinned Sifuentes (Midland) with 1:18 left in the first period
157: Rodriguez-Spencer (ISU) pinned Ridder (Midland) with 1:55 left in the first period
165: Weatherman (ISU) beat Self (Midland) with a technical fall in the second period
174: Weatherspoon (ISU) beat McMichael (Midland) 14-1 in three periods
184: Pestano (ISU) pinned Dyer (Midland) with 2:02 left in the second period
197: Egli (ISU) pinned Ball (Midland) with 2:28 left in the first period
285: Scanlan (ISU) beat Rafalko (Midland) 6-0 in three periods
Final Score: Cyclones 51 Warriors 0
Boise State Results
125: Larson (ISU) lost to Haddadin (Boise) 4-5 in three periods
133: Hall (ISU) beat Newberg (Boise) 13-0 in three periods
141: Rodriguez (ISU) pinned Velarde (Boise) with 2:32 left in the first period
149: Moreno (ISU) beat Martinez (Boise) 4-2 in three periods
157: Breitenbach (ISU) beat Castillo (Boise) 6-4 in three periods
165: Weatherman (ISU) beat West (Boise) 10-5 in three periods
174: Weatherspoon (ISU) beat Dewey (Boise) 6-1 in three periods
184: ISU won by forfeit
197: Pestano (ISU) beat DiLulo (Boise) 8-3 in three periods
285: Smith (ISU) beatEdmo (Boise) 8-3 in three periods
Final score: Cyclones 34 Broncos 3
