The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State athletics communications.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Iowa State wrestling team (1-3, 1-3 Big 12) closed out competition at the 35th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with a 12th-place team finish. The Cyclones scored 49 team points on the weekend.
The Cardinal and Gold sent four wrestlers to the podium. Redshirt senior, No. 3 Lelund Weatherspoontook fourth place, while redshirt freshman, No. 8 Markus Simmons, redshirt freshman Chase Straw and redshirt senior Quean SmithClick here to hear it all garnered eighth-place honors.
Iowa State returns to the mat on Saturday, Dec., 10 as the Iowa Hawkeyes await in the 2016 installment of the Cy-Hawk dual. Wrestling is set to begin at 7 p.m. at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
Consolation Finals
In the final session, No. 3 Lelund Weatherspoon was the lone Cyclone remaining. In the third-place match, he drew Michigan’s No. 7 Myles Amine.
After one period, the match remained scoreless. Weatherspoon rode hard in the second, accumulating 1:25 in riding time. Late in the period, Amine was able to score on a reversal. Weatherspoon clambered to his feet and it was 2-1 heading to the third.
In the final frame, Weatherspoon began with an escape, but not before Amine sliced Weatherspoon’s riding time to below one minute. After three periods, the score was locked at 2-2.
In the overtime period, Amine fired a single leg attack that led to a scramble. Weatherspoon was able to hold off the Wolverine temporarily, but it wasn’t enough. In sudden victory, it was Amine over Weatherspoon, 4-2.
Semifinals and Consolations
In the quarterfinals, No. 3 Lelund Weatherspoon faced Arizona State’s No. 2 Zahid Valencia. It was all Sun Devils in this one, as Weatherspoon was sent to the wrestlebacks by 10-2 major-decision.
Weatherspoon earned a spot in the consolation finals in a rematch against Christian Brucki of Central Michigan. The Jackson, Mich., native secured 1:03 in riding time en route to a 10-3 decision.
The Cyclones posted a 3-2 record in Saturday morning’s blood round. No. 8 Markus Simmons, Chase Straw and Quean SmithClick here to hear it all picked up victories to reach the podium.
Simmons was pitted against No. 3 Josh Terao of American. Points were abundant in this match. At one point, Simmons held a 12-1 advantage over Terao, but the Eagle would come screaming back. The Broken Arrow, Okla., native outlasted a late Terao attack to pull off the upset, 16-14.
Unfortunately, after suffering an injury late in the match to Terao, Simmons was forced to medical forfeit out of the tournament for eighth-place.
In the 149-pound wrestlebacks, Chase Straw continued to knock off seeded wrestlers. This time, it was CSU Bakersfield’s Coleman Hammond by 6-4 decision.
Straw would drop his next two matches, falling to Wyoming’s Cole Mendenhall, 5-3 and Wisconsin’s No. 5 Andrew Crone, 11-3. The redshirt freshman posted a 3-3 record, that included wins over two seeded opponents, to finish in eighth place.
Smith closed out the first and second periods of his matchup with Newton Smercheck (Central Michigan) with takedowns. The scoring in short time lifted him to a 5-2 decision over the Chippewa.
Just as Simmons did, Smith was forced to medically forfeit to an eighth-place finish.
