Photo Courtesy of Jacqueline Cordova
AMES — A Marcus Coleman pin and a Gannon Gremmel disqualification headlined Iowa State Wrestling’s big return to Hilton Coliseum for a much anticipated 2019-20 season.
The No. 12 Cyclones started the year out with a comfortable win over the Bucknell Bison, 24-15. Iowa State only lost three bouts on the day, in addition to a disqualification from heavyweight Gannon Gremmel.
Iowa State was a heavy favorite heading into the dual, which proved to be a quality opportunity to see where all 10 starters truly stand before top teams come to town – notably rival Iowa next weekend.
“Anytime you do the first dual meet, the first one hour weigh in, with the exception of heavyweight, what we’re trying to evaluate is how everybody feels,” head coach Kevin Dresser said. “Who maybe is cutting their weight right. Whose hydrated? A little more of a scientific approach than just take downs, reversals and escapes. I think we learned a lot from that.”
What was learned?
Alex Mackall (125), Ian Parker (141), Jarrett Degen (149), David Carr (157) and Marcus Coleman (174) delivered. All of them, with the exception of Degen, recorded the first takedown in their matches.
*** Mackall started the Cyclones off with a 10-3 decision (3:06, riding time) in which he stayed scrappy from start to finish.
*** Degen did exactly what Degen does, which is bring in a bonus points with a 15-5 major decision. He might be notoriously known for not getting the first takedown in a match but what separates the All-American from the rest is that he can always be counted on to deliver. Degen garnered six takedowns after allowing the first.
“He wins with his gas tank. He’s relentless,” Dresser said about Degen. “Guys can stay with him for two or three minutes but then as time goes on he’s pretty darn good.”
*** Carr made his much-anticipated collegiate debut and did not disappoint the fans in attendance. The son of a Cyclone legend didn’t allow his opponent to make a single point for the first two periods. He held an 11-0 lead at the start of the third. Although Bucknell’s Jaden Fisher put up a good fight to do his best to not allow himself to be pinned, Carr still racked up almost five minutes of riding time.
“I don’t care who you are, when you step out there for the first time and you’re really wearing the Iowa State singlet it’s different,” Dresser said. “He pushed and he pushed and he pushed. He got the tech at the end. He kept wrestling the whole time. He walked off the mat he was exhausted. That’s exactly what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to go out there and give it your all and then when you walk off the mat hopefully you don’t collapse and he made it to the chair.”
*** Coleman gave Hilton the highlight of the day and got everyone on their feet when he pinned his opponent in 4:59.
The 174 pounder led 3-0 in the second period after a scoreless first. He was up and out to get the escape and secured the takedown to go on and dominate his way on top.
“I was just kinda waiting for an opportunity,” Coleman said. “I wasn’t scoring points. I wasn’t moving my feet as well as I’d like to. I just needed to calm down and wait for him to get kind of tired and wear him out. Wait for an opportunity and he rolled and I had a half and I just kind of stepped over.”
*** Todd Small (133 pounds) and Joel Shapiro (197) made their Hilton debuts but did not come away with victories. Both had scoreless first periods. Both were called for stalling and both allowed riding time to go in their opponents favor.
“A guy like Todd Small who has a lot of talent just got tired the first time in Hilton Colesium. First time down a weight, first time off the scale you have to wrestle an hour and seven minutes after you weigh in after a stingy opponent,” Dresser said. “I know he doesn’t feel great right now but to me it’s just a learning experience. We have so much to go.”
*** The third loss surprisingly came from Chase Straw, who made his debut at 165 pounds. Straw held the lead for the first two periods but lost it in the third when he was first called for locked hands. He then allowed his opponent to get an escape and takedown.
“Chase Straw, obviously let that one get away. That’s on Chase not understanding that you have to have that sense of urgency at the end,” Dresser said. “Maybe he got a little bit tired at the end.”
*** The dual came to an abrupt stop when Gremmel was sent back to the locker room after the referee gave him two unsportmanlike calls. The first came after it seemed Gremmel was upset about a stall called on him. The second came when Gremmel continued to wrestle when he wasn’t supposed to. The whistle, however, was never blown for Gremmel to stop.
The dual was over at that point. Gremmel’s opponent, Nathan Feyrer, ran over to Dresser to shake his hand following the call after Gremmel had run off to the locker room.
The disqualification will not effect next week’s dual vs. Iowa.
“It’s about going back to work,” Dresser said. “I’m excited for Monday. I learned so much from watching our guys compete.”
The Cyclones will have a week’s turnaround to take what they learned from their first dual to prepare to host the No. 2 team in the nation, the Iowa Hawkeyes next Sunday in Hilton Coliseum.
