The ISU wrestling team traveled to Evanston, Ill., with a weight on its shoulders after coming off a sweep of intrastate rival Northern Iowa on Dec. 19. The Cyclones boasted two wrestlers who were each two wins away from 100 collegiate career wins, among other things.

    At last year’s Midlands Championships, the Cyclones advanced five wrestlers to the championship match in their respective weight classes, only to have each wrestler lose his match to place second in the tournament.

    This year, Iowa State finished second with 144.5 team points, once again getting beaten out by top-ranked Iowa, who took the team title with 168.5 points. The Cyclones placed eight of their 19 wrestlers, four of whom managed to advance to the finals of their respective weight classes.

    Andrew Long squared off against his arch-rival, Iowa’s Matt McDonough. The redshirt freshman had faced McDonough on Dec. 6 in a dual meet, losing to the Hawkeye 125-pounder by a decision of 13-7. Despite valiant attempts to avenge that loss, Long fell to McDonough by a sudden victory decision of 9-7.

    Jon Reader defeated Iowa’s Ryan Morningstar for the second time this season by a decision of 3-2 in the semifinals of the 165-pound bracket. Reader had been 0-3 against Morningstar before beating him in the Dec. 6 dual meet, 4-3.

    The 165-pound junior advanced to the finals, where he lost to top-ranked Andrew Howe of Wisconsin by a sudden victory decision of 3-1. Reader defeated Howe at last year’s Midlands Championships in the semifinals before placing second.

    Jake Varner and David Zabriskie became the 33rd and 34th members, respectively, of the 100-win club in Iowa State history.

    Varner, a senior from Bakersfield, Calif., pinned American University’s Kenny Clessas with a fall time of 1:24 to notch his 99th victory in the first round of the two-day tournament. Varner earned his 100th career victory by defeating Pittsburgh’s Matt Wilps by a major decision of 13-2.

    “I didn’t really know, or pay attention to it,” Varner said in an interview with the Des Moines Register’s Rob Gray. “I guess it’s just another win.”

    Varner went on to defeat Iowa’s Chad Beatty for the second time this season by a decision of 4-1, proceeding to the finals where the reigning national champion became the Cyclones’ only individual champion by defeating Chippewa’s Wynn Michalak by a decision of 6-1. Last year, Varner suffered a heartbreaking loss in the final match, getting beat by Wisconsin’s Dallas Herbst by a decision of 2-1 to place second at 197 pounds.

    Varner is now 102-10 in his career at Iowa State.

    Zabriskie defeated Iowa’s Blake Rasing in a rematch of Dec. 6th’s dual meet, 3-2. The heavyweight from Branchville, N.J., got back to his old self by defeating Missouri’s Mark Ellis by a decision of 6-4 to notch his 100th career victory.

    “I was just happy to advance,” Zabriskie said in a press release. “I didn’t even know that was my 100th career win. It is definitely rewarding to get that win. The most important aspect of the victory is advancing in the tournament and getting team points.”

    Zabriskie’s run came to an abrupt end after being beaten by Central Michigan’s Jarod Trice by a decision of 3-2 in the finals to place second. The loss put Zabriskie at 101-21 on his career.

    Nick Fanthorpe (133), Mitch Mueller (149), Duke Burk (174), and Jerome Ward (184) also placed for the Cyclones.

Iowa State’s next destination will be Minneapolis, where the team will take on the fifth-ranked Minnesota Gophers this Sunday.