The No. 6-ranked Cyclones are gearing up for their season opener against No. 20 Stanford. From freshmen stepping up to veterans refining their skills, this season opener will have a little bit of everything. Here’s what head coach Kevin Dresser, Anthony Echemendia, and Evan Frost had to say about the road ahead, growth in the offseason, and their dedication to building a powerhouse team.
On the Match Against Stanford
Echemendia:
“I’m really excited. I look forward to every match. I don’t care if you’re ranked or not, I’m just going out there to wrestle hard for seven minutes and put on a show. Wrestling should be fun — even though it’s hard, you have to enjoy it.”
The No. 6-ranked 149-pounder is looking at a potential top-10 matchup this Friday. What did he have to say about his opponent, No. 10 Jaden Abas?
“Man, I’m not gonna lie to you. I know that he’s a good wrestler, but I never watch any of the guys that I have to wrestle against because when I go out there, I’m focused on doing my style. I’m chasing, I’m wrestling hard, and that’s what I always do. I just try to go out there and put on a show.”
Dresser:
“Well, we got our hands full this first Friday night. I can tell you, on paper, this is the toughest team we’ve ever started out with, and I think I’m in my seventh or eighth year of home openers. Really impressed with what Stanford’s done the last couple years. I think they’ve got potentially six out of 10 weights ranked in the top 20. It’s a lot for us to jump into right now, especially considering we’ve got a really young squad.”
On Growth and Development
Echemendia:
“I scrap with everybody. Man, I literally scrap sometimes with a 174-pounder or a 165-pounder. I scrap with everybody because all these guys are super good. Sometimes you need to get different feels, and that’s what you get here in this room. Everybody is tough, and everybody wants to get better. I just try to get better every day and focus on the things that I can control in the moment.”
The 149-pounder was asked what he’s done to build off the success he had last season finishing as an All-American and Big 12 champion:
“Keep my head down, listen to my coaches and do what they tell me to do. Just show up every day. You know, that’s how you get better; you keep showing up. Some days are gonna be tough, and sometimes you’re dealing with things outside of wrestling that, you know, it’s kind of hard sometimes to manage both at the same time, but you just gotta keep showing up. That’s it.”
Frost:
“I worked a lot on my pace and offense, especially hand placement. I’m learning how to use my gas tank to its fullest, pushing harder than ever with the help of the coaches.”
Thoughts on a Young Roster
Echemendia:
“I’m telling you, these freshmen are dangerous. They’re hungry, and they’re not going to take a step back for anybody. These guys wanted to be at Iowa State for a reason.”
Frost:
“It’s pretty exciting to see (the freshmen). Obviously, Iowa State’s developing. That’s what that’s showing. Iowa State’s coming off of fourth place last year. We’re becoming a contender team, and I think all of our guys believe it. Obviously, younger guys believe it. Those guys wrestle with a chip on their shoulder, and they wrestle really, really hard every time, throughout all the positions they get put in. I’m excited for those guys.”
Frost says the team isn’t focused on rankings and outside noise.
“We’re just going out there and wrestling really hard. We don’t really care about these other teams; we’re just going out there to wrestle hard and beat them. I don’t think we’re too focused on the top-10 team or top-five team matchup. We’re just going out there and wrestling how we wrestle.”
Friday’s lineup will feature three true freshmen in the starting lineup: Adrian Meza (125), Kane Naaktgeboren (157), and Daniel Herrera (285). Here’s what Dresser had to say about their debuts:
“I mean, you don’t get many times that you’re hanging your top-10 ranking on three true freshmen, so I think it says a lot about them. But you know, sometimes, as a coach, it’s a little scary. You like to have a little bit more maturity in there, but I got a lot of confidence in these three young guys.”
On the Power of a Competitive Training Room
Dresser:
“We’ve got a really competitive room right now. The battle cry as a staff has been to make sure everyone is showing up and pushing each other. Hopefully, when they step onto the mat on Friday, it will feel easier than it does here in training.”
Updates About the Wrestle-Offs and Lineup Decisions
Dresser:
“Well, right now it looks like we’re leaning towards redshirting Cody Chittum. He had a concussion, and he’s had a couple in the year, so we got him evaluated, and the evaluation was good, but they’re going to want to sit him for about four or five more weeks. Everything can change in a month, but right now, it’s going to be Anthony Echemendia at 149 (pounds) and Paniro Johnson at 157 (pounds). Then next year we’ll probably look at redshirting Casey (Swiderski).”
Here’s what Dresser had to say about putting together a starting lineup for Friday:
“You know, it wasn’t a perfect puzzle. I can tell you, the coaching staff, we’ve had hours and hours of meetings, of hypotheticals, and sometimes an injury — just an injury — will force your hand a little bit. And sometimes you’ve got guys that want to go down, and then, you know, we were surprised to find that Swiderski did want to go down when he started looking at the scenarios. Anthony was adamant he didn’t want to go down. So sometimes things work out in your favor.”
Wrestle-offs will continue as the team finalizes its starting lineup, with more changes and updates expected. Kysen Terukina, Osmany Diversent, Johnson, MJ Gaitan, Jacob Frost, Sawyer Bartelt, Nando Villaescusa, and Yonger Bastida have been held out until a later date.
In late October, it was announced Bastida suffered a slight knee sprain, which forced him to withdraw from the NWCA All-Star Classic. He anticipates returning on Friday, Nov. 15, for the dual against Navy.
Information for Friday’s Dual
The dual is set for Friday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. CT at Hilton Coliseum. Fans are encouraged to prepare for a gold-themed event.
How to Watch:
The dual will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Tom Kroeschell and Kyven Gadson on the call. You can also listen to the dual on the Varsity App/Cyclones.com where you can listen to Joe Sinclair, Ryan Rohlk and Nate Carr.
Projected Matchups:
125: Adrian Meza (0-0) or Garrett Grice (0-0) vs. #10 Nico Provo (0-0)
133: #5 Evan Frost (0-0) vs. #20 Tyler Knox (2-0)
141: Zach Redding (0-0) vs. Jack Consiglio (1-1) or Aden Valencia (0-0)
149: #6 Anthony Echemendia (0-0) vs. #10 Jaden Abas (2-0) or EJ Parco (0-0)
157: Kane Naaktgeboren (0-0) vs. Grigor Cholakyan (2-0)
165: Connor Euton (0-0) vs. #8 Hunter Garvin (1-1) or Zach Hanson (3-1)
174: Aiden Riggins (0-0) vs. #21 Lorenzo Norman (2-0)
184: #19 Evan Bockman (0-0) vs. Tye Monteiro (3-1) or Luke Duthie (2-0)
197: Christian Carroll (0-0) vs. #13 Nick Stemmet (1-1)
285: Daniel Herrera (0-0) vs. Jackson Mankowski (1-1)
*FloWrestling Indiv. Rankings (11/5/2024)
**NWCA Team Dual Rankings (11/5/2024)
You can view the interview videos with Dresser, Frost and Echemendia here.
