With a chance to tie for the Big 12 dual-season title, the ISU wrestlers took full advantage of the opportunity, dismantling the No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers, 30-10, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb, on Sunday.

Going into the dual with Nebraska, the ISU wrestlers knew that ending the regular season on a high note would be crucial in gaining momentum as they go for their third consecutive Big 12 championship.

The first match was a great sight for many Cyclone fans as junior Nick Fanthorpe (133) made his first appearance since injuring his leg in January.

Fanthorpe wasted little time showing the Cornhusker crowd there would be no rust with an 11-3 major decision over Matt Vacanti.

From that point on, the Cyclones (15-3, 3-1 Big 12) dropped only two matches on the day and also saw a couple of payback wins by sophomore Jon Reader (165) and junior David Zabriskie (HWT).

Back in January at the National Duals, Iowa State defeated Nebraska, 20-19, to secure a third-place finish, but Reader and Zabriskie each suffered tough losses in their respective individual matches.

Sunday, Reader repaid the loss to the Cornhusker’s sixth-ranked Stephen Dwyer. Seventh-ranked Reader used a couple of takedowns and then held off Dwyer for a key 7-4 victory.

Zabriskie, rated No. 1 at HWT, suffered one of his two losses on the year at the National Duals to Nebraska’s outstanding freshman, No. 15 Tucker Lane. The match was tied at one apiece when Zabriskie used a defensive counter to get around the young Cornhusker and ultimately seal the victory.

One of the most intriguing matches of the day was at 197 pounds where No. 1 Jake Varner took on Nebraska’s second-ranked Craig Brester. The two met at the National Duals, with Varner coming out on top, 10-3. Sunday’s match was more of a defensive struggle with a lot of circling and jockeying for position. Varner landed a deep shot for the deciding takedown and held off a late attempt by Brester to win, 3-2.

The loss dropped Nebraska (17-3-1, 3-1 Big 12) into a three-way tie with Iowa State and Missouri for the best dual record in the conference. Despite the loss, the Cornhuskers will be right back in their home environment when they play host to the Big 12 tournament on March 7.

Results

125 – No. 10 Tyler Clark (ISU) won by forfeit

133 – No. 7 Nick Fanthorpe (ISU) major dec. Matt Vacanti (NU), 11-3

141 – No. 4 Nick Gallick (ISU) major dec. Patrick Aleksanyan (NU), 11-1

149 – No. 19 Mitch Mueller (ISU) dec. Robert Sanders (NU), 10-3

157 – No. 3 Jordan Burroughs (NU) major dec. No. 8 Cyler Sanderson (ISU), 12-3

165 – No. 7 Jon Reader (ISU) dec. No. 6 Stephen Dwyer (NU), 7-4

174 – No. 18 Duke Burk (ISU) major dec. Alex Ward (NU), 19-7

184 – No. 11 Vince Jones (NU) won by Fall No. 18 Jerome Ward (ISU), 1:31

197 – No. 1 Jake Varner (ISU) dec. No. 2 Craig Brester (NU), 3-2

HWT – No. 1 David Zabriskie (ISU) dec. No. 15 Tucker Lane (NU), 3-1