CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The Panthers are still perfect.

That’s the headline the ISU wrestling team will remember for quite some time. The Panthers defeated the Cyclones on Feb. 8, and it wasn’t pretty.

“They scored bonus points in three matches, and that’s what it comes down to,” said ISU coach Kevin Jackson. “We need a little more effort from a couple guys on our team. You can’t come into an environment like this and give up bonus points.”

Northern Iowa won six out of ten possible matches, defeating Iowa State 24-13 in front of a sold out crowd.

All-American Kyven Gadson started out the meet at 197 pounds. The Waterloo native was back wrestling in what he considers his hometown, and in front of some pretty special people.

“It’s nice, it’s really nice,” Gadson said. “My mom was here, and some people from the club I grew up wrestling in were here, so it was really nice. It was nice to get the win in front of a crowd from right down the street.”

Gadson defeated UNI’s Basil Minto 11-3, giving Iowa State the early 4-0 lead.

The four-point lead, however, was the last lead the Cyclones would see all night. Northern Iowa then went on to win five-straight matches, taking a near insurmountable 21-4 lead.

“We didn’t finalize,” Jackson said. “We had some matches that went down to the wire, but again it comes down to bonus points. We need to make some better connections on this team, and compete.” 

The win was the Panthers’ first win against the Cyclones since 2004. Northern Iowa, even though they boast a perfect record, are still looked at by some as the “little brother” to Iowa State wrestling.

“We’re not a little brother; I didn’t see little brother out there,” said UNI head coach Doug Schwab. “You can call us that, but I didn’t see little brother out there. We want to continue so that the perception of ‘little brother’ is gone. Our guys have worked hard to make that statement, and it showed tonight.”

The Panthers, now 10-0, are the first UNI team in more than 60 years to win 10 matches without a loss. They are also one of three remaining unbeaten programs in Division-I wrestling.

Iowa State on the other hand still has work left to do. The Cyclones will head to Columbus, Ohio next weekend to compete in the NWCA National Duals, and then will host No. 2 Minnesota the following week.

With many important meets ahead of him, Gadson isn’t going to dwell on the loss. He has other plans.

“I saw some stuff tonight that I can fix — that will be fixed — by March,” Gadson said. “It’s nice to win, but the goal is to win in March. When that time comes, I think I’ll be a little happier than I am now.”