The Kevin Jackson era of ISU wrestling began with a win over South Dakota State on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones (1–0) defeated the Jackrabbits (0–1) with a score of 43–3, which included two ISU pins.

“We’re happy with the way we competed,” Jackson said after his first meet as head coach. “The guys, for the most part, are doing the thing we’re training them to do.”

The night began at 184 pounds with senior Joe Curran, who earned the spot from redshirt sophomore Jerome Ward. Ward was expected to start the season.

Curran recorded a technical fall by defeating South Dakota State’s David Michaud 17–2 in 5:52.

“Curran has made more connections to the things we’re trying to accomplish,” Jackson said. “He earned that opportunity tonight.”

While Curran held the 184 spot tonight, Jackson said the position will remain open as the season continues.

In the marquee matchup of the night, senior Jake Varner, No. 1 at 197 pounds,  took on Tyler Sorenson, a fellow NCAA qualifier. Varner won by decision 13–4 after a competitive showing from Sorenson. Varner got out to a 7–3 start in the first period and was able to keep the lead.

This was the first time Varner was wrestling back at 197 after a summer of wrestling at 211.

“That kid was pretty good,” Jackson said. “I’m happy with the way Jake performed.”

No. 5-ranked heavyweight, senior David Zabriskie scored the first pin of the night on Jeremy Swier. After a 8–2 lead in the first period, Zabriskie recorded the pin at the 4:17 mark in the second.

“This is the fun part,” Zabriskie said. “You get to go out there and put your hands on someone you don’t know. You’re not in the practice room anymore, so you just go out there and let everything go.”

The only win South Dakota State recorded all night was against ISU freshman Dallas Collier [125]. Collier was filling in for projected starter Andrew Long, who sat out the match due to a violation of team rules. Despite the loss, Jackson was pleased with Collier’s performance.

“He never expected he would step on campus in August and really wrestle as a starter for Iowa State,” Jackson said. “To see him go out and compete, I’m happy with the kid. I hope he feels good about it.”

Second-ranked Nick Gallick [141] dominated his opponent to a 13–2 major decision. Gallick used balanced first and second periods to get an early lead and eventually get the decision, giving Iowa State a 25–3 lead for the night.

No. 5 Jonathan Reader (165), a junior, recorded the second pin of the night by defeating Weston Blasius at the 1:42 mark in the first period.

“I just wanted to go out there and be the aggressor right away and set the pace for this year,” Reader said.

Mitch Mueller, ninth-ranked senior, won a tight 149-pound contest. South Dakota State’s Nick Hagar started to come back in the third period after trailing 9-3, but Mueller held him off for a 12-5 decision.

No. 12 senior Duke Burk (174) finished the night with the second technical fall for the Cyclones, with a score of 16-1. Burk dominated the Jackrabbits’ Joe Rasmussen from the start, scoring the fall in a time of 3:21.

While the victory was a lopsided one, Jackson and the team continued to stress that there is always room to improve.

“Everyone did a really good job tonight,” Gallick said.

“There’s still areas that we need to improve by the end of the year, but it’s a long season and we’re heading in the right direction.”