The #9 Cyclones are out in Norfolk, Virginia this weekend to take on Old Dominion, who are coming off an upset victory of #8 Wisconsin last weekend. Old Dominion has beaten us the last two years and matches up pretty well against us. This will probably come down to which team's ranked wrestlers can get more bonus points. Even though we are a much better tournament team than Old Dominion the individual matchups make this a one of our tougher meets. I'm being homerish in my predictions. My gut says we lose this one by 4-7 points.
To follow:
When: Sunday, November 24th @ 12PM Central
Live TV: ODU Stream $$
Live Blog: Will post once available
Twitter: @CyclonesWR
My projected lineups:
*Rankings are Intermat/D1Wrestling/AWN
Weight by Weight thoughts:
125: Robinson hasn't wrestled yet this year so I'm not sure if he'll take the mat. His replacement, Brandon Jeske was a blue chip recruit last year. He's showed why so far by going 15-3 with all three losses coming against ranked wrestlers. Whether it is Robinson or Jeske who takes the mat they will be favored. At the end of the season I think Hall might be able to win this, but he is still adjusting to Folkstyle and I don't see him beating ranked guys yet (and Jeske is like Weatherspoon, only not ranked because he's filling in for a ranked guy).
Iowa State 0 - 3 Old Dominion
133: Scott Festejo spent most of last year hovering in the high teens in the rankings and beat Meeks pretty handily last year. Hopefully Hallman keeps it to a decision.
Iowa State 0 - 6 Old Dominion
141: Mecate is the best wrestler on Old Dominion's team, Gabe or Shaydon need to make sure this stays to a major.
Iowa State 0 - 10 Old Dominion
149: I haven't been impressed with Goettl so far this season. Richardson is a returning NCAA qualifier and has had some decent wins already this season. This would be a great statement win for Goettl but he hasn't shown me anything to make me think he'll pick up a win here.
Iowa State 0 - 13 Old Dominion
157: Nicholson spent four years at ODU and I think he's going to be hyped up for a homecoming match. Warner is a solid wrestler but I have liked what I've seen from Nicholson so far and I think he gets the win to put ISU on the board.
Iowa State 3 - 13 Old Dominion
165: This is a big match, not because I'm worried about Moreno getting the win, but because we need him to come through with a tech fall or pin against an overmatched ODU wrestler.
Iowa State 8 - 13 Old Dominion
174: Curling beat Mikey England last season and is a returning NCAA qualifier. Tanner can't have a lapse like he did against Grandview. Tanner will be favored and should pick up a decision.
Iowa State 11 - 13 Old Dominion
184: Last season Dechow beat Beard 8-3 and he's already picked up some nice wins this season. Weatherspoon will have his hands full in what is realistically a toss up match or Dechow being the favorite. But we have to get a win here to win the meet. So I'll cross my fingers and hope for a win.
Iowa State 14 - 13 Old Dominion
197: Henderson was able to keep it close against Kyven last year but Kyven needs to score some serious points for us to put the match out of reach, especially if we don't get the win at 184. Kyven has been pretty tentative so far this year so I'd like to see this be a breakout match for him. I look for Kyven to get a major or better.
Iowa State 18 - 13 Old Dominion
HWT: Commence operation "Don't get pinned".
Iowa State 18 - 17 Old Dominion .
Final score prediction: Iowa State 18 - 17 Old Dominion
But I'm being a homer for that. If we drop 184 and get pinned at HWT that quickly becomes a 15-22 loss. However, if Hall or Goettl can get the wins they are capable of in the lower weights then we'll be able to breathe more easily after the intermission.
Key matches
125: Hall has beaten elite wrestlers in Freestyle many times. Can he beat a quality opponent in Folkstyle this early after coming back?
149: Has Goettl settled in to 149 and is he ready to start making progress?
157: How will Nicholson do against an old teammate?
184: Can Lelund defeat a ranked wrestler while bumping up a weight class?
Iowa State will win if: We win one of the first five matches and Weatherspoon gets the win at 184
Old Dominion will win if: They get bonus points out of their ranked guys and Lelund isn't able to knock off their 184 pounder
Last year's results:
125 pounds - No. 17 Jerome Robinson dec. No. 15 Ryak Finch, 5-4
133 pounds - No. 19 Scott Festejo dec. John Meeks, 7-3
141 pounds - No. 16 Justin LaValle dec. No. 18 Luke Goettl, 5-3
149 pounds - Alex Richardson WBF (1:15) Matt White
157 pounds - No. 19 John Nicholson major dec. Logan Molina, 12-3
165 pounds - Michael Moreno dec. Adrin Taylor, 7-2
174 pounds - Billy Curling dec. No. 17 Mikey England, 7-3
184 pounds - No. 15 Boaz Beard major dec. Austin Coburn, 10-2
197 pounds - No. 15 Kyven Gadson dec. Jacob Henderson, 4-2
285 pounds - No. 17 Matt Gibson dec. Matt Tourdot, 4-3
To follow:
When: Sunday, November 24th @ 12PM Central
Live TV: ODU Stream $$
Live Blog: Will post once available
Twitter: @CyclonesWR
My projected lineups:
| - | ISU Wrestler | Record | Ranking | ODU Wrestler | Record | Ranking | |
| 125 | Earl Hall FR | 6-1 | NR/NR/NR | vs | Jerome Robinson JR | 0-0 | 14/NR/16 |
| or | Kyle Larson FR | 12-4 | NR/21/NR | or | Brandon Jeske True FR | 15-3 | NR/NR/NR |
| 133 | R.J. Hallman | 6-5 | NR/NR/NR | vs | Scott Festejo SR | 1-1 | NR/NR/NR |
| or | Micheal Hayes FR | 4-3 | NR/NR/NR | ||||
| 141 | Gabe Moreno FR | 5-3 | NR/NR/NR | vs | Chris Mecate SO | 7-2 | 13/9/10 |
| 149 | Luke Goettl JR | 4-2 | NR/25/NR | vs | Alexander Richardson SO | 6-2 | 16/NR/24 |
| 157 | John Nicholson SR | 6-0 | NR/NR/NR | vs | Tristan Warner JR | 5-2 | 17/NR/22 |
| or | Logan Molina SO | 6-2 | NR/NR/NR | ||||
| 165 | Mike Moreno JR | 8-0 | 3/3/3 | vs | Dillon Geoghegan SO | 1-4 | NR/NR/NR |
| 174 | Tanner Weatherman SO | 6-2 | 10/10/10 | vs | Billy Curling SR | 2-1 | NR/NR/NR |
| 184 | Lelund Weatherspoon FR | 9-1 | NR/NR/NR | vs | Jack Dechow FR | 5-2 | NR/20/22 |
| 197 | Kyven Gadson JR | 6-1 | 3/3/3 | vs | Kevin Beazley FR | 5-2 | NR/NR/NR |
| or | Jacob Henderson JR | 4-1 | NR/NR/NR | ||||
| HWT | Quean Smith FR | 2-4 | NR/NR/NR | vs | Matt Tourdot JR | 5-2 | NR/NR/NR |
| or | Joe Scanlon FR | 5-4 | NR/NR/NR | ||||
| or | A Lucky Fan | 0-0 | The winner is you |
Weight by Weight thoughts:
125: Robinson hasn't wrestled yet this year so I'm not sure if he'll take the mat. His replacement, Brandon Jeske was a blue chip recruit last year. He's showed why so far by going 15-3 with all three losses coming against ranked wrestlers. Whether it is Robinson or Jeske who takes the mat they will be favored. At the end of the season I think Hall might be able to win this, but he is still adjusting to Folkstyle and I don't see him beating ranked guys yet (and Jeske is like Weatherspoon, only not ranked because he's filling in for a ranked guy).
Iowa State 0 - 3 Old Dominion
133: Scott Festejo spent most of last year hovering in the high teens in the rankings and beat Meeks pretty handily last year. Hopefully Hallman keeps it to a decision.
Iowa State 0 - 6 Old Dominion
141: Mecate is the best wrestler on Old Dominion's team, Gabe or Shaydon need to make sure this stays to a major.
Iowa State 0 - 10 Old Dominion
149: I haven't been impressed with Goettl so far this season. Richardson is a returning NCAA qualifier and has had some decent wins already this season. This would be a great statement win for Goettl but he hasn't shown me anything to make me think he'll pick up a win here.
Iowa State 0 - 13 Old Dominion
157: Nicholson spent four years at ODU and I think he's going to be hyped up for a homecoming match. Warner is a solid wrestler but I have liked what I've seen from Nicholson so far and I think he gets the win to put ISU on the board.
Iowa State 3 - 13 Old Dominion
165: This is a big match, not because I'm worried about Moreno getting the win, but because we need him to come through with a tech fall or pin against an overmatched ODU wrestler.
Iowa State 8 - 13 Old Dominion
174: Curling beat Mikey England last season and is a returning NCAA qualifier. Tanner can't have a lapse like he did against Grandview. Tanner will be favored and should pick up a decision.
Iowa State 11 - 13 Old Dominion
184: Last season Dechow beat Beard 8-3 and he's already picked up some nice wins this season. Weatherspoon will have his hands full in what is realistically a toss up match or Dechow being the favorite. But we have to get a win here to win the meet. So I'll cross my fingers and hope for a win.
Iowa State 14 - 13 Old Dominion
197: Henderson was able to keep it close against Kyven last year but Kyven needs to score some serious points for us to put the match out of reach, especially if we don't get the win at 184. Kyven has been pretty tentative so far this year so I'd like to see this be a breakout match for him. I look for Kyven to get a major or better.
Iowa State 18 - 13 Old Dominion
HWT: Commence operation "Don't get pinned".
Iowa State 18 - 17 Old Dominion .
Final score prediction: Iowa State 18 - 17 Old Dominion
But I'm being a homer for that. If we drop 184 and get pinned at HWT that quickly becomes a 15-22 loss. However, if Hall or Goettl can get the wins they are capable of in the lower weights then we'll be able to breathe more easily after the intermission.
Key matches
125: Hall has beaten elite wrestlers in Freestyle many times. Can he beat a quality opponent in Folkstyle this early after coming back?
149: Has Goettl settled in to 149 and is he ready to start making progress?
157: How will Nicholson do against an old teammate?
184: Can Lelund defeat a ranked wrestler while bumping up a weight class?
Iowa State will win if: We win one of the first five matches and Weatherspoon gets the win at 184
Old Dominion will win if: They get bonus points out of their ranked guys and Lelund isn't able to knock off their 184 pounder
Last year's results:
125 pounds - No. 17 Jerome Robinson dec. No. 15 Ryak Finch, 5-4
133 pounds - No. 19 Scott Festejo dec. John Meeks, 7-3
141 pounds - No. 16 Justin LaValle dec. No. 18 Luke Goettl, 5-3
149 pounds - Alex Richardson WBF (1:15) Matt White
157 pounds - No. 19 John Nicholson major dec. Logan Molina, 12-3
165 pounds - Michael Moreno dec. Adrin Taylor, 7-2
174 pounds - Billy Curling dec. No. 17 Mikey England, 7-3
184 pounds - No. 15 Boaz Beard major dec. Austin Coburn, 10-2
197 pounds - No. 15 Kyven Gadson dec. Jacob Henderson, 4-2
285 pounds - No. 17 Matt Gibson dec. Matt Tourdot, 4-3
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