As the ISU wrestling team slowly trickled into the wrestling room for practice Wednesday, something was different.

The No. 8 Cyclones will return to Hilton Coliseum on Thursday night, Nov. 7, to kick off their season, and every wrestler knows it is time to compete.

“It’s going to be really exciting to be in front of the fans in Hilton again,” said Michael Moreno. “It’s the experience that no one should take for granted. The best of the best have gone through Hilton. The most exciting part just has to be wrestling in front of those fans.”

Iowa State will host Drexel at 5:30 p.m. and Grand View 7:30 p.m. in a double-dual meet Thursday night.

And while this might not mean much to some of the wrestlers on the team, they know that they have to stay focused.

“Its going to be a good test for us to see where we are. This meet is like the Super Bowl to these teams,” Moreno said. “It will be a good chance to get our feet wet. We’re a much different team than we were last year.”

Iowa State will not be competing at full strength, however. Senior Boaz Beard suffered an elbow injury last week in practice. And although Beard is starting to practice again, the coaching staff didn’t want to risk a re-injury.

Instead, Lelund Weatherspoon, 174-pound redshirt freshmen from Jackson, Mich., will take his place.

“I think he will perform at a high level, I really do,” said ISU coach Kevin Jackson of Weatherspoon. “His only disadvantage is that he is a 174 pounder. We are asking him to perform at about seven pounds above what he usually wrestles at. But we do expect him to perform at a high level for us.”

Last season, Weatherspoon was a FILA Junior National Champion, as well as the Kaye Young Open champion. Even though he is stepping into the lineup at the last minute, Weatherspoon is still just focused on improving.

“I just want to gain experience and focus on my mistakes,” Weatherspoon said. “It’s my first time wrestling at Hilton, so it’ll be good to get this one under my belt.”

And while Jackson noted he’s looking for two wins Thursday, he also made clear that he is looking for more.

“I want to see us wrestle the way that we have been training, and to make sure that we are winning and competing at must win positions,” Jackson said. “We have the talent, but we need to add that toughness factor. If we can do that, then we will have something special.”