AMES, Iowa — Ahead of Friday’s home dual, Iowa State Wrestling’s Kevin Dresser, Connor Euton and Rocky Elam met with media to talk about takeaways from the inaugural Cyclone Invitational, leadership in the room and what’s ahead for the team as Hilton Magic returns to wrestling season with the season opener against Nebraska-Kearney.
Kevin Dresser
Head Coach Kevin Dresser opened by reflecting on the team’s performance at the Cyclone Invitational and the outlook for the upcoming stretch:
“The Cyclone Open was kind of what we needed. We needed to get some matches in, and to be able to get two guys per weight was really nice. It gives us a little clarity on how to go forward. This weekend’s exciting — you get to start over each weekend. We’ve got to figure out ten guys to wrestle Friday night, then we’re going to take the rest of the guys to Grand View (Open), maybe even might double up on Saturday.”
Yonger Bastida’s return was a highlight of the Cyclone Invitational. After missing nearly a full year, he stepped back on the mat and finish at the top of the podium at 285 pounds. He did have a tough battle against No. 18 Braxton Amos (WIS). A big, experienced heavyweight with about 30 pounds on him. But he was able to get a late takedown to win 5-4. Here’s what Dresser had to say about his performance.
“The Wisconsin kid is a tough kid. (Brandon) Amos has been around a long time. He’s a big body. He outweighed us by probably 30 pounds, and so we made some technical mistakes. But Yonger’s toughness, heart and his shape is what won that match. I think that’s exciting for us to know, that he’s winning matches with his shape right now this early in the season. So it was good to see him back out there.”
Dresser had a lot of praise for Connor Euton’s discipline and the way he’s handled the comeback from injury.
“Connor’s an all-star in the training room — unfortunately, he’s been in there too much, so we’ve got to keep him out of there. His rehab, according to our athletic trainer Tim Wiesner, has been excellent. If you know Connor at all, he’s the most blue-collar kid we’ve got on our team. You always try to label which guy is your hardest-working guy, and he might be one of the hardest-working guys we’ve got in the program right now.
He didn’t come from a big background out of high school — he wasn’t a Rocky Elam or a David Carr out of high school. He’s really worked hard, it’s important to him, and he’s a smart guy. I’m excited to see him have the weekend he did.”
What are Dresser’s expectations from this guy this weekend?
“We tell them all the time: you guys are entertainers. It’s time to go entertain. I like the way we dominated and separated ourselves last weekend. Now we need to do that every time we step out there.”
Rocky Elam
When I asked what it means to wrestle for Iowa State, Elam reflected on the pride of joining a program with deep roots and a rich history.
“I was really looking forward to being at Iowa State when I first committed — thinking about the tradition, the robes we get to wear, and all the great athletes who have come through this university and done so well. I’ve even had coaches who wrestled here, I trained under Kevin Jackson for a year or two at the Olympic Training Center when he was here, and now I get to wrestle under Coach Dresser, who’s a great athlete from Iowa. There’s such a rich tradition here.
I also get to work with Nate Carr, one of our RTC (Cyclone Regional Training Center) coaches, and it’s cool to be part of a program with that kind of history — and to realize I can be a part of it. One of my high school coaches reached out to me the other day and said, ‘The Iowa State tradition is very rich, and you have an opportunity to be a part of that.’ I really took that to heart. It made me think about what I need to do to live up to that.
The biggest things I can do to carry on that tradition are the Iowa dual and the postseason. Those are always at the center of my mind in my preparation.”
Connor Euton
After suffering a season-ending ACL injury following last year’s Cy-Hawk dual, it’s been awhile since we’ve heard much from Euton. During media availability, his straightforward and humble personality came through, along with his honesty and humor about what drives him.
I shared with him that, for the past two seasons, when I’ve asked his teammates to name someone on the team who’s flying under the radar or not talked about enough, every single one of them said his name. Here’s what he had to say about that.
“I just try to come in and do what I’m supposed to do, do what I’m asked, and I try not to complain a whole bunch. Maybe some of the guys see that and they like that sort of thing. I try to bring good energy and a level of discipline. I’ve always been more of a lead-by-example guy. I’ve never really been a huge, outspoken leader — well, in the weight room I am. I love lifting weights. But in other workouts and things, I’m more of a lead-by-example type, and maybe some of the guys are seeing that and picking it up.”
“That’s pretty cool. That definitely gives me some fuel. I try not to let my head get too big — just brush it off and stay humble. But it’s very cool that they’re acknowledging me. And I’ll tell you what, I could rattle off about 20 guys on this team that I’d say the same thing about. So it’s pretty cool.”
PROJECTED LINEUP vs. Nebraska-Kearney:
125: No. 7 Stevo Poulin
133: Carter Pearson
141: No. 6 Anthony Echemendia
149: No. 2 Paniro Johnson
157: No. 3 Vinny Zerban OR Jacob Frost
165: Connor Euton
174: No. 12 MJ Gaitan
184: No. 9 Isaac Dean
197: No. 2 Rocky Elam OR CJ Carter
285: No. 1 Yonger Bastida OR McCrae Hagarty
**Note: Rocky Elam did share during media availability that he is most likely not wrestling and would be focusing on being in the best shape for the Cy-Hawk dual taking place on Nov. 30.
