AMES — Iowa State wrestling officially started its season on Saturday night with a 39-9 win over California Baptist in Hilton Coliseum.
Being heavily favored as the No. 9 team in the nation, Kevin Dresser wasn’t especially focused on winning or losing, but how his team stepped up in the details that directly impact success on the mat.
Is the team eating right, getting enough sleep, or just properly training and preparing for a one-hour weigh-in?
“As a coach, you’re really looking to see how good guys feel and maybe not so much how good guys wrestle,” Dresser said. “Which is always important but you’re really curious when this is the first time we stepped on the scale and wrestled one hour later.”
Some wrestlers met the expectation. Specifically Paniro Johnson, who opened the dual for the Cyclones. The true freshman has stepped up at 149 pounds, which is why Dresser felt it was important to have him open the dual over the traditional 125 pound class.
“I wanted to send a statement out there so I picked 149 (pounds) tonight. I wanted to put Paniro out there first because I wanted to show everybody all the good things he’s been doing in training,” Dresser said. “He has been doing all the little things right. For him to step out and be the first guy off the scale like a 125-pounder I thought he did a great job. Good for him.”
In his first time ever wrestling inside of Hilton, Johnson defeated Chaz Hallmark 12-2 to bring the Cyclones a bonus point win to start the night.
“I was just trying to keep scoring points to show everyone what they’re going to be seeing for a long time,” Johnson said. “That was just a starting point. I’m going to keep getting a lot better every single week.”
Jason Kraisser (157), David Carr (165), and Julien Broderson (174) followed Johnson’s lead by racking in bonus point wins for the Cyclones.
Yonger Bastida continues to show the dominant presence he is on the team with a 22-7 technical fall win over his opponent bringing Hilton to its feet. Which is something he looks forward to.
“Hilton is my favorite place to wrestle. I love the fans and they love me. It feels good. This is my home,” Bastida said.
Unfortunately, Kysen Terukina (125) and Zach Redding didn’t find luck on the mat.
“We have to grow up and learn there that this is an everyday thing. You can’t be 80 percent in,” Dresser said. “That’s kind of why their careers are rollercoasters right now. They can’t seem to do the little things that it takes consistently to get the results they want to have.
Terukina lost 4-2 and Redding was pinned in four minutes.
“The good news is that it’s early. Sometimes the best wrestlers are the hardest-headed dudes,” Dresser said. “You can tell them over and over again but until they feel it, see it and get embarrassed in front of a bunch of people maybe then they’ll go back to the drawing board and do things the way you’re supposed to. If you don’t, then you won’t be the guy.”
Match-by-Match
Iowa State 39, California Baptist 9
149: Paniro Johnson (ISU) maj. dec. Chaz Hallmark (CBU), 12-2
157: Jason Kraisser (ISU) pinned Joey Mora (CBU), 2:55
165: David Carr (ISU) pinned Mateo De La Pena (CBU), 3:33
174: Julien Broderson (ISU) maj. dec. Zach Rowe (CBU), 10-2
184: Marcus Coleman (ISU) dec. Peter Acciardi (CBU), 10-4
197: Yonger Bastida (ISU) tech. fall Elijah Sobas (CBU), 22-7 (6:00)
285: Sam Schuyler (ISU) pinned Chris Island (CBU), 4:18
125: Elijah Griffin (CBU) dec. Kysen Terukina (ISU), 4-2
133: Hunter Leake (CBU) pinned Zach Redding (ISU), 4:35
141: Casey Swiderski (ISU) tech. fall Edison Alanis (CBU), 28-13
