The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State athletics communications.
BROOKINGS, S.D. – No. 14 Iowa State (0-1, 0-1 Big 12) dropped its season opener to South Dakota State (1-0, 1-0 Big 12) by a final tally of 27-9. The Cyclones took three matches on the night with wins coming from redshirt senior Kyle Larson, redshirt senior John Meeks and redshirt junior Patrick Downey III.
The dual got off to a slow start for the short-handed Cyclones. SDSU took four out of the five matches to open the night, with Iowa State’s lone win coming at 197-pounds. The Jack Rabbits led 14-3 at the break.
Downey, who weighed in at 184-pounds, was slotted at 197-pounds for ISU. He took on No. 9 Nate Rotert. Late in the first, Downey busted open the scoring with a takedown and two-point near-fall. He tacked on an escape and a takedown in the second to stretch his lead. The 2016 All-American knocked off No. 9 Rotert, 8-6.
After the break, Larson notched the Cyclones another victory. He was pitted against SDSU’s Ben Gillette. The match was locked at 0-0 in the middle of the second when the West Des Moines, Iowa, native brought Gillette to the mat and turned him for two. Larson added an escape and a stall point in the third to take his match 6-1.
At 141-pounds, Meeks locked up a win for the Cardinal and Gold. He defeated the Jack Rabbits’ Henry Pohlmeyer by 5-3 decision. Late in the bout, the score was 3-2. Meeks sealed the victory with a slick go-behind with eight seconds left in the match.
Match of the Night: 197-pounds
After some last-minute lineup adjustments, Downey came up big for the Cyclones. The original plan was for him to wrestle at 184-pounds, but the Baltimore, M.D., native went up to 197-pounds and knocked off a top-10 opponent.
Next Up
Iowa State has a quick turnaround as they head north to take on North Dakota State. The Cyclones and Bison will square off on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. at the Scheels Center in Fargo, N.D.
ISU vs. SDSU Match-by-Match
165: Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) maj. dec. Colston DiBlasi (ISU), 14-2.
174: David Kocer (SDSU) dec. Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU), 3-1.
184: Martin Mueller (SDSU) maj. dec. Carson Powell (ISU), 19-6.
197: Patrick Downey III (ISU) dec. Nate Rotert (SDSU), 8-6.
285: Alex Macki (SDSU) dec. Nick Nolting (ISU), 3-1.
125: Kyle Larson (ISU) dec. Ben Gillette (SDSU), 6-1.
133: Seth Gross (SDSU) tech-fall Nathan Boston (ISU), 16-0.
141: John Meeks (ISU) dec. Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU), 5-3.
149: Alex Kocer (SDSU) tech-fall Blayne Briceno (ISU), 17-2.
157: Colin Holler (SDSU) dec. Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (ISU), 5-2.
