At the beginning of the 2010 wrestling season, two wide eyed in-state recruits stepped into ISU coach Kevin Jackson’s wrestling room. They were hungry and looking for success, something that would initially elude them.

Almost four years later, Kyven Gadson and Michael Moreno are both two-time All-Americans and, with the culmination of the 2013-14 season, both have just one more year to don the cardinal and gold singlet.

After redshirting their initial freshman seasons in 2010-11, Gadson and Moreno ran into some turbulence as redshirt freshmen.

Gadson wrestled only one match, a 6-1 loss to Keldrick Hall of Oklahoma, in which he injured his shoulder — a season-ending surgery.

Moreno’s struggles came in the win/loss column, as he won only four matches during the 2011-12 season.

However, the pair found their careers in a state of flux during the next season in 2012-13 as redshirt sophomores. Gadson won 30 matches and Moreno had his hand raised 31 times en route to becoming All-Americans at 197 and 165 pounds, respectively. That came just a year after Iowa State left the 2012 NCAA Championships with no All-Americans for the first time in 50 years.

This season, both repeated as All-Americans. Gadson said the two have helped each other the past two years just by simply having an understanding of their situations.

“Our first two years didn’t go the way we wanted and we kind of had to flip that switch,” Gadson said. “Having someone like that to understand what you went through, its nice to have someone like that you can lean on.”

As their eligibility clock begins to wind down, the “gruesome twosome,” a nickname coined describing the duo, will be joined by an experienced cast of wrestlers in 2014-15.

All six wrestlers who competed at the 2014 NCAA Championships, including Gadson, Moreno and fellow All-American, Earl Hall, will be returning. Tanner Weatherman, 174, and Luke Goettl, 149, are also both two-time NCAA qualifiers.

Shayden Terukina, 133, and Quean Smith, 285, also spent significant time in the Cyclones’ starting lineup this past season. John Meeks, 141, also competed in his freshman year before redshirting this past season.

Moreno said the amount of returning experience the team will have next season will play a big role in how well the team performs.

“We’re returning all of our qualifiers and we have some guys that can step in at the weights that we’re going to be missing next year, so I think we’re going to have a good run at it and it will have a lot to do with the guys that are returning and have that experience,” Moreno said. “It’s a big step for the program considering where it was two years ago to now.”

With the end drawing near, Moreno and Gadson are well aware of their roles on the team, as well as what they need to do as leaders in order to keep the progress of the wrestling team on track after they are gone.

“You don’t just have to rely on the leadership of one person, you have two guys that have been there and can help you out and that’s pretty valuable for the team,” Moreno said of his and Gadson’s roles on the team. “[We need to] make strides and get better in the off-season. That’s how championships are won.”