TULSA — Yonger Bastida and Rocky Elam walked off the mat Saturday night as Big 12 Champions.
But if you expected Iowa State’s celebration to feel like a team satisfied with what it accomplished inside the BOK Center, you would have been mistaken.
Yes, Bastida captured the heavyweight title. Yes, Elam battled to win at 197 pounds. And yes, the Cyclones finished second in the team race behind Oklahoma State while qualifying nine wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
But the feeling around this team when the night ended wasn’t satisfaction.
It was hunger.
That tone has been building all season inside Kevin Dresser’s wrestling room. A room full of competitors who, as Dresser has said all year, don’t need to be told to work harder because they already demand it of themselves.
You could see it in the biggest moments Saturday night.
Start with Bastida.
The top-ranked heavyweight captured his second career Big 12 title with a 4-1 decision over Oklahoma State’s Konner Doucet. It wasn’t flashy. Bastida secured the only takedown late in the second period.
Moments earlier, Elam did something similar.
After giving up an early takedown to Wyoming’s Joey Novak, the Cyclone didn’t panic. He stayed composed, built his way back into the match and delivered in the third period with a takedown and a rideout to secure a 5-4 win and his second Big 12 title.
But the story of Saturday night wasn’t only the wrestlers standing at the top of the podium.
It was also the ones who came painfully close.
Stevo Poulin showed that in the 125-pound title match.
He led Oklahoma State’s Troy Spratley heading into the third period before the match flipped. A reversal. Near-fall points. Suddenly the clock was working against him.
And as the final seconds ticked away, the emotion on Poulin’s face told the entire story.
Heartbreak.
You could see how much it meant to him. You could see how badly he hated losing.
In nine years covering Dresser’s teams, you start to understand how these athletes are wired. You learn how to read them. You learn what it looks like when someone leaves absolutely everything they have on the mat.
Poulin did exactly that. There wasn’t another ounce left. And if that’s what he brought to the Big 12 Championships, imagine what the 125 pounder might bring to Cleveland.
Anthony Echemendia followed with the match the entire arena had been waiting for.
There’s a reason the Big 12 or whoever is paid to make those big decisions chooses to close its championships at 141 pounds.
The people making those decisions know what they’re doing. They look at the bout sheet and decide which match will draw the most eyes, the most tension, the most electricity inside the arena.
Saturday night, that match was Anthony Echemendia vs. Sergio Vega. And it delivered.
The two wrestlers battled while tied 1-1. They scrambled, fought through positions and pushed each other into double overtime in a match that had the entire BOK Center locked in.
Echemendia is usually one of the most composed wrestlers in Iowa State’s lineup. Tactical. Calculated. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But Saturday night was different. You could feel how badly he wanted it. The calm gave way to pure fight as he battled Vega in every position.
In the end, Vega escaped late and rode out the final seconds to secure a 2-1 decision.
But the final moment of the match said just as much as the wrestling itself.
Before the official handshake, the two competitors embraced. A moment of respect after going toe-to-toe in one of the toughest matches of the night.
Two heartbreaking losses.
But they also revealed something important about this Iowa State team. Because minutes later, Bastida and Elam stood on top of the podium as champions, and the tone afterward still pointed toward something bigger.
Elam said it plainly after his win.
“This is all preparation for Nationals,” he said. “Continue to wake up and get better.”
Dresser carried that same mindset all night. And if you watched him closely from the corner, you could feel it. I’ve watched Dresser coach for years. Long enough to recognize his rhythms on the mat. The smiles after a win. The moments where he lets himself enjoy what just happened.
But this weekend felt different.
More intense. More animated. More urgent. Not angry but just locked in a different way.
As wrestlers came off the mat, even from a distance you could tell he already had something to say. A comment. A correction. A technical note. There was no settling into the moment. Even after wins. Because if there is one theme Dresser has preached all season, it’s toughness.
And Saturday night in Tulsa, it felt like that message had reached another level.
These wins mattered. They always will. Big 12 Championships carry weight. Moments like Bastida and Elam standing on top of the podium are part of Iowa State history.
But the tone around this team made one thing clear.
Tulsa wasn’t the destination. Cleveland is.
And this Iowa State team left the Big 12 Championships looking like a group that is ready to chase something bigger.
MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
*No. 2 Stevo Poulin (125) – Runner-up
R16 – W-MD vs. Anee Vigil (ASU), 14-3
QF – W-Inj. Def. vs. No. 7 Trevor Anderson (UNI), 0:36
SF – W-D vs. No. 6 Ezekiel Witt (NDSU), 9-3
Finals – L-D vs. No. 1 Troy Spratley (OKST), 5-2
*Garrett Grice (133) – 6th Place
R16 – L-TF vs. No. 1 Jax Forrest (OKST), 15-0 (2:59)
Consis. Rd. 1 – W-D vs. Tristan Daugherty (NDSU), 5-2
Consis. Rd. 2 – W-MD vs. No. 7 Luke Willochell (WYO), 11-2
Consis. Rd 3 – W-MD vs. Carter Schmidt (OU), 17-8
Consis. Rd. 4 – L-MFF vs. No. 5 Julian Farber (UNI)
5th-Place Match – L-MFF vs. No. 6 Gage Walker (MIZ)
*No. 2 Anthony Echemendia (141) – Runner-Up
R16 – W-TF vs. David Saenz (WYO), 22-6 (6:33)
QF – W-D vs. No. 7 Carter Nogle (AF), 11-4
SF – W-D vs. No. 6 Tyler Wells (OU), 2-1
Finals – L-D vs. No. 1 Sergio Vega (OKST), 2-1 TB-1
*No. 2 Jacob Frost (149) – 4th Place
R16 – WBF vs. Kenneth Evans (UNCO), 6:52
QF – W-TF vs. No. 7 Paul Kelly (CBU), 19-4 (6:32)
SF- L-D vs. No. 6 Caleb Rathjen (UNI), 4-3
Consis. Rd. 4 – W-D vs. No. 8 Gabe Willochell (WYO), 11-4
3rd-Place Match: L-D vs. No. 3 David Evans (UVU), 12-5
No. 3 Vinny Zerban (157) – DNP
R16 – W-D vs. Daishun Powe (UNCO), 7-2
QF – L-MFF vs. No. 6 Cael Swensen (SDSU)
Consis. Rd. 2 – L-MFF vs. Drayden Morton (CBU)
*No. 5 Connor Euton (165) – 3rd Place
R16 – Bye
QF – W-D vs. No. 4 Max Mayfield (MIZ), 8-6
SF – L-MD vs. No. 1 LaDarion Lockett (OKST), 11-2
Consis. Rd. 4 – W-MD vs. No. 7 Sloan Swan (WYO), 12-2
3rd-Place Match – W-D vs. No. 2 Ryder Downey (UNI), 13-12
*No. 4 MJ Gaitan (174) – 3rd Place
R16 – W-MD vs. Murphy Menke (UNCO), 12-3
QF – WBF vs. No. 5 Jared Simma (UNI), 4:40
SF – L-D vs. No. 1 Alex Facundo (OKST), 7-3
Consis. Rd. 4 – W-D vs. No. 6 Moses Espinoza-Owens (SDSU), 8-5
3rd-Place Match – W-D vs. No. 2 Carter Schubert (OU), 5-2 SV-1
*No. 7 Isaac Dean (184) – 6th Place
R16 – W-MD vs. Brock Fettig (SDSU), 11-2
QF – W-Inj. Def. vs. No. 2 Zach Ryder (OKST), 3:15
SF – L-D vs. No. 3 Eddie Neitenbach (WYO), 5-1
Consis. Rd. 4 – L-MFF vs. No. 8 Aidan Brenot (NDSU)
5th-Place Match – L-MFF vs. Mahonri Rushton (UNCO)
*No. 1 Rocky Elam (197) – Champion
R16 – W-D vs. Colton Hawks (ASU), 5-0
QF – W-MD vs. No. 8 Devin Wasley (NDSU), 9-1
SF – W-D vs. No. 5 DJ Parker (OU), 9-4
Finals – W-D vs. No. 2 Joey Novak (WYO), 5-4
*No. 1 Yonger Bastida (285) – Champion
R16 – W-TF vs. Brock Kehler (WVU), 24-6 (5:23)
QF – W-TF vs. Rylan Kuhn (AF), 22-6 (4:49)
SF – WBF vs. No. 4 David Szuba (ASU), 1:57
Finals – W-D vs. No. 2 Konner Doucet (OKST), 4-1
*Denotes NCAA Qualifier
