Photo Courtesy of Iowa State Athletic Communications
AMES — Iowa State kicked off its long-awaited wrestling season in dominant fashion on Sunday via a 25-6 win over Wartburg.
Head coach Kevin Dresser had six Cyclones make their Hilton debut and four veterans wrestle in the win.
In summary, Dresser was happy to finally get his guys back out on the mat.
“It was a young group out there but I thought we did a good job. Obviously, there are some talented young guys out there. It’s exciting,” Dresser said. “Definitely, something to build off of moving forward.”
The Cyclones were the main aggressors
The growth of this team is already evident. Although it was only the first dual of the season, overall, the Cyclones were aggressive and consistent. Overall, Cyclones up and down the lineup competed for all seven minutes in each of their matches.
Wins were secured by reasonable margins. Bonus points were abundant on Sunday.
“It was a good start,” Dresser said. “Obviously, we’re going to get the same level of feel next week with Nebraska Kearney and Loras, but then reality slaps us in the face really hard the following week when we get Arizona State and Missouri back to back which are two top-10 teams. Today was good but we need to keep building off of this. But it was a good start.”
The freshman looked very good
Of the six Cyclones who made their debuts, three are true freshmen: Zach Redding (133), Cam Robinson (149) and Yonger Bastida (197).
Redding won his match 16-1. Robinson won his match 15-3. Bastida won 15-8.
All three rookies looked confident, well conditioned and hungry. Although the lineups will likely be changing from week to week, it is refreshing to see depth on the roster.
It won’t be a complete surprise if these freshmen become regulars to the starting lineup.
“It was definitely good to get out there and wrestle at Hilton,” Redding said. “I definitely felt that I wrestled to my ability and pushed the pace.”
Dresser updated that during the wrestle-offs that were held Thursday, Redding has established himself as the starter after winning again over Ramazan Attasauov.
Robinson will most likely be the guy again next weekend as starter Jarrett Degen is currently out with a sprained knee. His return could be seen by the end of the month.
Bastida has only been in the country for 40 days and has just begun to train and learn how to wrestle folkstyle. Yet, he went out there and looked dangerous. The enjoyment he feels wrestling is very clearly displayed in every move he takes on the mat. He will be very interesting to watch as he continues to develop.
This could be a very special season for the Cyclones
This Cyclones began this season ranked third by FloWrestling. That’s the highest ranking for Dresser and the highest team ranking since the 2009-10 season.
The Cyclones only have one weight class that is still inexperienced and could be a problem throughout the season.
Having a strong lineup from top to bottom is always the goal. But the depth and talent overall in most weight classes should make for a great season, and could result in a fun show in the Big 12 and NCAA Championships.
The real test will be when the Cyclones take on top-10 teams but as of now, the cardinal and gold is looking to set up to have a very impressive season.
Iowa State will return to Hilton Coliseum next weekend to face off against Nebraska Kearney and Loras. Wrestling will begin at 1 p.m. with Nebraska Kearney and then right away will move on to Loras.
Match-By-Match
125: Alex Mackall (ISU) pinned Owen McClave (WC), 2:55.
133: Zach Redding (ISU) tech fall Joe Pins (WC), 16-1, (7:00).
141: Ian Parker (ISU) maj dec. Kris Rumph (WC), 9-1.
149: Cam Robinson (ISU) maj. dec. Brady Fritz (WC), 15-3.
157: David Carr (ISU) tech fall David Hollingsworth (WC), 17-0, (4:42).
165: Zane Mulder (WC) dec. Isaac Judge (ISU), 8-6.
174: Kyle Briggs (WC) dec. Julien Broderson (ISU), 8-1.
184: Tate Battani (ISU) maj. dec. Jodran Bushey (WC), 15-7
197: Yonger Bastida (ISU) dec. Kobe Woods (WC), 15-8
285: Gannon Gremmel (ISU) maj. dec. Jordan Brandon, 17-4.
125: Kysen Terukina (ISU) maj. dec. Brenden Baker (WC), 11-2.
133: Ramazan Attasauov (ISU) pinned Noah Padilla (WC), 1:45.
141: Todd Small (ISU) maj. dec. Brock Rathbun (WC), 12-4.
149: Ben Monroe (ISU) dec. Zayren Terukina (WC), 7-5.
157: Carter Schmidt (ISU) dec. Dallin Ewart (WC), 4-1.
165: Grant Stotts (ISU) pinned Matthew Doyle (WC), 1:25.
174: Mac Southard (ISU) maj. dec. Jacob Hermann (WC), 10-2.
184: David Papach (WC) won by injury default DeMichael Franklin (ISU).
197: Cody Fisher (ISU) won by forfeit.
285: Ethan Andersen (ISU) maj. dec. Eli Pannell (WC), 13-4.
141: Charlie Klepps (ISU) maj. dec. Nick Meling (WC), 13-5.
149: Jacob Perez-Eli (ISU) dec. Jacob McBride (WC), 7-5.
157: Carter Schmidt (ISU) dec. Blake Bauer (WC), 4-2.
157: Andrew Huddleston (ISU) dec. Carter Proffitt (WC), 7-4.
165: Brandon Tessau (ISU) dec. Braxton Doebel (WC), 8-4.
