After four straight duals on the road, the ISU wrestling team returned to Hilton Coliseum and put on a show for the fans they hadn’t seen in over a month.

The No. 2 Cyclones (12–2, 3–0 Big 12) defeated No. 17 Missouri (7–7, 1–3) by a score of 28–10 in front of a raucous Hilton crowd Sunday afternoon.

“We’ve been going from one coast to the other, and there’s nothing better than wrestling in front of your home crowd, and especially a crowd like ours,” said junior Jon Reader. “They’re family to us and we’re wrestling for them.”

The 174-pound matchup exemplified the meet’s theme of tightly contested battles and proved to be the emotional victory of the afternoon. Senior Duke Burk held a 1–0 advantage over Missouri’s Dorian Henderson going into the third period, but Henderson tied the score with an early escape.

After a stalling warning against Henderson in the second overtime period, Burk grabbed the lead on a quick reversal and pinned Henderson with four seconds left on the clock. The pin got the crowd roaring and gave the Cyclones a 17–0 lead early in the afternoon.

“When you’re on the road and the crowd goes crazy, obviously it’s because things aren’t going well for you,” Burk said. “I’m always a big believer in when you have support like that, with 3,500 people yelling and screaming for you, it gives you that extra boost you’re going to need, like a third wind.”

Mitch Mueller got the crowd on its feet early in the 149 matchup with Missouri’s Scott O’Donnell. Mueller used a strong second period to go into the third with a 9–2 lead. It was all Mueller from that point on, as he grabbed a 20–7 major decision with O’Donnell’s only points coming on escapes.

In the most highly anticipated match of the meet, the second-ranked Reader took on third-ranked Nicholas Marable at 165. Reader was close to a pin when Marable called for a medical timeout in the middle of the second period. A takedown at the 1:20 mark of the third period gave Marable the advantage, but Reader notched an escape 22 seconds later to tie the score at two. Reader’s 1:29 of riding time would give him a 3–2 win, his first ever over Marable.

“Jon Reader beating Marable was a big win, I mean it was a hurdle,” said coach Kevin Jackson. “It just shows that he has gotten better.”

Maxwell Askren put Missouri’s first points on the board with a 9–1 major decision over Jerome Ward in the 184 weight class. Askren took a 5–0 lead in the second period with a takedown and three-point near fall and would hold on with little action in the third.

At 197, Jake Varner used high-scoring second and third periods to record a 14–5 major decision. Varner removed Haynes’ headgear and threw it to the ground in the first period and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct in the third when he shoved Haynes out of bounds.

Jackson said that Varner became frustrated after Haynes was simply trying to hang in the match and not wrestle Varner directly, which is something Varner has been experiencing all season.

“We do have to control that frustration a little bit; we can’t let our emotions override the right things to do, and Jake understands that,” Jackson said. “I’ll never fault the guy for his emotional effort, but at the same time it can’t cost the team or cost himself penalty points.”

David Zabriskie defeated defending heavyweight national champion Mark Ellis in his typical fashion. Zabriskie used a takedown with 10 seconds left in the second period and an escape at the beginning of the third to squeak out a 3–1 decision.

“That’s always a tough match for Zabriskie,” Jackson said. “Zabriskie coming through like he has a tendency to do helped us win the match and kind of helped us run away with it pretty easy.”

Redshirt freshman Andrew Long (125) was given the night off to rest his shoulder. Fellow redshirt freshman Trevor Dearden took his place and was defeated in a close 6–3 decision to Missouri’s Eric Wilson.

The Cyclones will be back in action against Nebraska next Sunday at Hilton Coliseum. The meet is the last regular season dual for the Cyclones before the Big 12 Championships on March 6.