ORIENTATION GUIDE: ISU wrestling builds on turnaround season
Redshirt sophomore Kyven Gadson attempts a leglock on Minnesota’s Scott Schiller during the third day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 23, 2013, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Gadson lost 6-2, which placed Gadson in sixth at 197 pounds.
May 31, 2013
The ISU wrestling team bounced back impressively in 2013 following the worst season in program history. The Cyclones finished 2012 with a 35th-place finish in coach Kevin Jackson’s third season at the helm.
This season, the Cyclones finished 11-5, crowned a Big 12 champion and sent seven wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, three of whom were named All-Americans.
The Cyclones finished second out of four teams at the Big 12 Championships this season. Their lone conference champion was 197-pounder Kyven Gadson, who earned All-American honors after his sixth-place performance at the NCAA Championships in Des Moines.
Gadson has just finished his redshirt sophomore season and is Iowa State’s most capable wrestler, having been ranked in the top 10 nationally through the entire the season.
The other two All-Americans on the Cyclones’ roster were redshirt sophomore Michael Moreno at 165 pounds and redshirt senior Matt Gibson at heavyweight.
Moreno had an incredible turnaround in 2013, finishing the season with a 30-9 season after going 4-13 the season before.
Jackson arrived at Iowa State prior to the 2010 season, and has a 37-30 dual meet record in his four years in Ames. He signed a contract extension through 2015 before the NCAA Championships in March. He is a former Cyclone All-American and won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling in 1992.
Next season, the Cyclones will return eight starters from this year’s roster, including five NCAA qualifiers and two All-Americans in Gadson and Moreno.
The Cyclones wrestle their home dual meets at Hilton Coliseum and practice in the wrestling room on the second floor of Lied Recreation Athletic Center.
