Gadson defeats No. 3 Rutt as Cyclones fall to Sooners

Redshirt+junior+Kyven+Gadson%2C+197-pound+weight+class%2C+grapples+with+his+opponent+to+swing+him+around+Jan.+12+at+Hilton+Coliseum.+Gadson+won+in+overtime.+Iowa+State+lost+the+duel+to+Oklahoma+11+to+27.

Redshirt junior Kyven Gadson, 197-pound weight class, grapples with his opponent to swing him around Jan. 12 at Hilton Coliseum. Gadson won in overtime. Iowa State lost the duel to Oklahoma 11 to 27.

Beau Berkley

It didn’t happen like Kyven Gadson wanted it to, but a win is a win.

The 197-pound All-American took home a 3-1 overtime victory against Oklahoman’s No. 3 Travis Rutt on Jan. 12 when No. 4 Oklahoma visited Hilton Coliseum. Oklahoma (7-0, 2-0) won the dual 27-11, as Iowa State took three of the ten matches.

The scoreless first period and one point escapes in the second and third periods by both Gadson and Rutt set the stage for the overtime thriller between No. 2 and No. 3. Twenty seconds was all Gadson needed before mustering the first and final takedown of the match, winning the 3-1 overtime decision.

The win comes off the heels of a second decision loss to No. 1 Scott Schiller of Minnesota, which occurred at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1 and 2.

“It’s nice to rebound, but kind of frustrating to win that way, but it’s nice to get a win under my belt,” Gadson said. “I still have some stuff I need to improve on and some aspects I need to get ready before March.”

Moving forward, Gadson hopes to regain some of his offensive prowess.

“It was a one takedown match and could have went either way if you really look at it, so I don’t think I found [my offense], but I think I found a little bright spot,” Gadson said. “I just have to figure out how to create more action and the points will come.”

Joining Gadson in the win column was fellow All-American Mike Moreno and heavyweight Quean Smith. With a 3-8 overall record, Smith came into his match against No. 14 Ross Larson as an underdog.

No one would have guessed that by the final score.

Smith came out of the gates scoring nine points in the first period with three takedowns and a near-fall. Smith continued with his offensive attack until the final whistle, taking the 13-2 major decision.

For Smith, it was all about the waiting game.

“I knew he was going to take some shots, so I had to think about it and a lot of heavyweights aren’t going to shoot on me, they’re going to wait until I take a shot,” Smith said. “So when he took him, I just smashed him out, dropped all my weight, got behind, let him up and tried to do the same thing.”

ISU coach Kevin Jackson felt the match was only a glimpse into what Smith can do. “There’s still a little more to him, but I think it’s a huge win for his confidence and what he can accomplish in his future here at Iowa State,” Jacskon said of Smith. “There’s a bunch of layers that we’re still peeling back to get to the real Quean Smith, but you saw a glimpse of that tonight.”