Iowa State stretched its win streak to 11-straight dual wins with a 27-12 win over the Air Force Falcons in the final home dual of the season on Saturday.
The Cyclones took care of business winning seven of the 10 bouts with standout wins at 125 and 197 pounds.
At 197 pounds, Yonger Bastida continues to show the nation that he isn’t one to go down easy. He didn’t allow the match against Kayne Hutchinson to go the full seven minutes because he secured a tech fall win by the end of the second period.
“Yonger (Bastida) wants to try to master the sport in every position right now. He’s out there like a kid. He’s obviously getting better at the bottom. He’s pretty phenomenal on his feet. He’s gonna get a really tough test in Missouri and his Big 12 weight is loaded,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said. “We just we have to keep improving but he’s just been been great. The biggest difference with Yonger is I see a guy in a practice room that’s willing to get uncomfortable now.”
The physical dominance of Bastida is unmatched. Prior to this weekend’s dual, he led the team with the most takedowns of the season (46). For perspective, the person in second place is David Carr with 29.
“If he isn’t already, he’s going to be a crowd favorite,” Dresser said.
At 125 pounds, Kysen Terukina got Hilton to their feet when he was able to recover after allowing his opponent to score two near-fall points at the end of the second period.
In the third period, Terukina was able to showcase his offense by securing a takedown with two seconds left to win.
“I think all that have been following Kysen this year see that there’s a pretty talented guy in there,” Dresser said. “You know, good for him. You get caught and you have to fight to come back and he fought to come back and win that at the end. So got the crowd off their feet.”
The dual came to a bittersweet end as Iowa State fans gave a standing ovation for redshirt senior, Jarrett Degen, who closed out his Hilton career with an 11-7 major decision.
“He’s just meant a lot to our program,” Dresser said. “He’s been a guy that, it’s really hard to teach guys to go out and just get exhausted in seven minutes. That’s the thing I’ll always remember about Jarrett. That he’s not afraid to go out and throw it out there. He got to the podium a couple years ago just on the pure fact that he just is willing to push so hard for seven minutes and that’s special.”
The season however isn’t over. Iowa State will prepare to take the trip to Cedar Falls to take on UNI on February 11th. The Panthers are currently on a five dual win streak which includes a win over Oklahoma State.
The Cyclones are excited for the challenge.
“It’s a war they want, it’s a war they’re going to get,” Joel Devine said. “I’m pretty excited to just go send it out there and fight.”
