DES MOINES — Seven ISU wrestlers took to the mats Thursday in day one of the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

SESSION I (Thursday morning)

UPDATE: 11:25 a.m. — Pigtails

Boaz Beard began the tournament for Iowa State against Virginia’s Stephen Doty in the 184-pound pigtail match.

Beard scored the first takedown of the three-day tournament before countering for another 2 to end the first period with a 4-1 lead. He would go on to win 6-4 and will face No. 12-seeded Ethen Lofthouse of Iowa in the first round.

Matt Gibson immediately took the mat after Beard, competing against Utah Valley’s Adam Fager in the pigtail match at heavyweight. Gibson ended the first period accumulating a 3-point nearfall to take a 5-2 lead.

A takedown late in the second period and a reversal in the third put Gibson out to a comfortable lead, securing him a bonus point 10-2 major decision to advance.

Gibson will face American’s Blake Herrin in the first round.

UPDATE: 12:05 p.m. — First round

Luke Goettl was up next for Iowa State, facing off against No. 8 Nick Dardanes of Minnesota at 141 pounds.

Goettl gave up the first takedown off a high-crotch by Dardanes before finding himself in a 4-1 hole early. Goettl rode Dardanes for 1:20 in the second, but appeared to have gotten dinged up in that time. The nature of his injury is not yet known.

Goettl would go on to lose by 12-3 major decision to drop to the wrestlebacks.

UPDATE: 12:30 p.m. — First round

Max Mayfield’s one-and-only stand at the NCAAs was opened with a loss against No. 12 Eric Grajales of Michigan at 149 pounds.

Mayfield, a redshirt senior, scrapped with Grajales early, unable to convert on multiple shots and scrambles. Grajales finally snapped Mayfield down on the edge of the mat for a takedown to close out the first period.

Mayfield was ridden out and surrendered a 3-point nearfall in the second period to fall in a 5-0 hole with one to go. Grajales notched a reversal with a two back points to close out the 11-0 major decision.

UPDATE: 1:30 p.m. — First round

A 45-minute stall in action for the Cyclones was broken when Michael Moreno took the mat at 165 pounds against No. 10-seed Nick Moore of Iowa.

After giving up the first takedown of the match, Moreno stuck to Moore like glue while riding him out in the second period, accumulating 1:29 in riding time in the process.

Moreno nearly had Moore in a cradle with 1:20 remaining in the match, but settled for a takedown to take a 4-2 lead with riding time well in his favor.

Moore nearly tacked on a takedown in the closing minutes of the match but couldn’t get positioning to give Moreno the 5-3 win.

UPDATE: 1:48 p.m. — First round

Shortly after Moreno’s win, Tanner Weatherman took the mat against No. 10-seeded Daniel Yates of Michigan.

Yates got an early takedown before riding Weatherman for 1:51 in the first period. Weatherman was able to drive down the riding time to 1:05 with a takedown midway through the second period that knotted the score at 3-3.

A double-leg with 40 seconds remaining turned out to be the decision-maker for Weatherman in his 6-4 upset victory.

UPDATE: 1:58 p.m. — First round

Immediately after that match, Boaz Beard took on No. 12-seeded Ethen Lofthouse of Iowa at 184 pounds.

Beard fell behind early 3-0 before falling prey to a counter by Lofthouse to make it a 5-0 deficit going into the third.

Beard nearly had a sure takedown off a double-leg in the third period but couldn’t finish before getting taken down. Beard would continue his winless streak against Lofthouse, falling 8-2.

UPDATE: 2:23 p.m. — First round

The heavily awaited first-round match for the Cyclones came in the form of No. 6-seeded Kyven Gadson’s bout against Illinois’ Mario Gonzalez at 197 pounds.

It did not take long for Gadson to have his hand raised, as he slipped Gonzalez into a cradle and pinned him in 1:41 to advance.

UPDATE: 2:39 p.m. — First round

Matt Gibson concluded the first session for the Cyclones with his match against American’s Blake Herrin.

Gibson got an early takedown of Herrin to give him a 2-0 lead and 1:31 in riding time to close the first period.

Riding time was locked up by Gibson in the third as he would go on to win 6-1. Gibson will face No. 1-seeded Dom Bradley of Missouri on Thursday night.

SESSION II (Thursday evening)

UPDATE: 7:59 p.m. — Second round

More than one hour after the beginning of Session II, Michael Moreno kicked off the Cyclones’ night with a bout against No. 7 Conrad Polz of Illinois in the championship bracket of 165 pounds.

Moreno came out on edge, getting outscrambled to forfeit a takedown late in the first period. An escape in the second period knotted the score at 2-2 before a barrage of handfighting sent the match into the third with both wrestlers on edge.

Moreno didn’t let up against Polz in the third, riding him for almost one minute before giving up the escape. Polz managed a takedown with less than 20 seconds remaining to secure the 5-2 victory.

UPDATE: 8:08 p.m. — Second round

Immediately after Moreno’s loss — on the same mat, in fact — Tanner Weatherman faced off against Illinois’ Jordan Blanton at 174 pounds.

After giving up an early takedown, Weatherman nearly got Blanton on his back before securing the takedown to take a 3-2 lead midway through the first period.

Weatherman settled for a 2-point nearfall missing out on a pin before giving up a reversal to end the first period leading 7-5.

With the score knotted 8-8, Weatherman tallied a takedown and 3-point nearfall to head into the third period leading 13-8.

Late takedowns for Blanton wouldn’t be enough, as Weatherman would hold on to win 16-14.

UPDATE: 8:19 p.m. — Second round

In the closing moments of Weatherman’s match, Kyven Gadson took the mat against No. 11 Blake Rosholt of Oklahoma State.

Gadson got the first takedown, but slipped up to his back to give Rosholt three back points to close the first period trailing 6-2.

Gadson nearly had position for a takedown, but was ruled to be out of bounds before securing it late in the second period.

Rosholt fled from Gadson for the rest of the match to take it 8-7. Rosholt’s victory was met with a barrage of boos by those in attendance at Wells Fargo Arena.

UPDATE: 8:26 p.m. — Second round

Shortly after Gadson left the mat, Matt Gibson squared off against No. 1 Dom Bradley of Missouri in the second round at heavyweight.

Gibson vied for the upset, but was unable to pull it off as Bradley advanced with the 4-2 victory.

UPDATE: 8:52 p.m. — Wrestlebacks second round

Luke Goettl gave up an early takedown to McCade Ford of Wyoming to begin the wrestlebacks, soon requiring an injury timeout to check his right knee.

Goettl vied for a comeback that would go for naught, though, as Ford would go on to win 9-3. The loss eliminated Goettl from the tournament.

UPDATE: 9:07 p.m. — Wrestlebacks second round

Max Mayfield faced Alex Hudson of Chattanooga in the first round of wrestlebacks at 149 pounds.

Mayfield secured a takedown within the first 20 seconds of the match, proceeding to ride Hudson for 50 seconds before conceding an escape.

ISU coach Kevin Jackson was warned by the referee for his reaction to Hudson’s shots after the whistle. Jackson received a second warning as the result from an unspecified call toward the end of the second period.

Hudson tallied another 2 in the third period to take the match 10-5 and eliminate Mayfield from the tournament.

UPDATE: 9:54 p.m. — Wrestlebacks second round

Day one concluded the way it started: With Boaz Beard strapping it up.

The redshirt junior nearly pinned Virginia Tech’s Nick Vetterlein, but settled for a 5-point move to take a 5-0 lead after one period.

Beard went on to win 9-0 to tally bonus points for the Cyclones.