Young Cyclone team squeaks out its first dual win
November 6, 2010
Iowa State won its first dual meet of the season, defeating No. 26 Virginia Tech, 17-16, at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va.
The 30th-ranked Cyclones (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) came back to defeat the Hokies (0-1, 0-0 ACC) after dropping the first three matches to trail, 10-0.
Heavyweight Matt Gibson and 125-pounder Patrick Hunter wrestled in their first-ever Division-I matches after transferring to Iowa State. However, both lost in decisions of 7-4 and 7-2, to start the dual meet.
At 133 pounds, unranked Hokie Devin Carter defeated Cyclone Ben Cash by a technical fall of 23-8 that lasted the entire seven minutes. According to NCAA rules, since Carter did not record either a two-point or three-point nearfall during the match, his technical fall victory only awarded the Hokies four points on the scoreboard to go up, 10-0, on the Cyclones after three matches.
Senior transfer Chris Drouin won his first match as a Cyclone, defeating No. 8 Chris Diaz by a 2-1 decision. The former All-American at Arizona State notched a reversal with 1:24 left in the third period to take a 2-1 lead that he sustained to put the first points of the season on the board for the Cyclones.
Nate Carr Jr. won in a 6-4 sudden victory decision over No. 16 Brian Stephens after managing a takedown with 0:08 left in the initial overtime period of the 149-pound match. The senior moved down to 149 pounds to fill a vacancy at that spot in the offseason.
Andrew Sorenson and Jon Reader gave the Cyclones some extra momentum, each recording a major decision in their respective matches. Sorenson and Reader were both making their debuts at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively.
True freshman Matt Riley lost in a close match to No. 11 Tommy Spellman by a 1-0 decision. At the beginning of the second period, Riley chose the neutral position and went on to go scoreless. Spellman chose the down position to begin the third period, where he went on to record the 184-pound match’s only point with an escape 16 seconds into the final period.
Heading into the final match down, 16-14, Jerome Ward sealed the deal for the Cyclones with a 6-4 decision over Chris Penny to give his team the three points it needed for the win.
The Cyclones have another meet this afternoon against Kent State at 3:30 p.m. in Salem, Va.