Close losses by the ISU Cyclones led to a tough, 22-15 loss to No. 3 Cornell in the semifinals of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals.

The Cyclones edged fellow-Big 12 conference member Nebraska, 20-19, for a third-place finish. Coach Cael Sanderson said he wasn’t concerned with the result, focusing instead on improving on the future.

“We just need to sharpen up in the little areas,” Sanderson said. “It takes the little things to win the big matches, and we know that. And that falls on the coaches really, you know, when you’re making those types of mistakes. So that’s something we’d correct.”

Although the dual was tied after four matches, Cornell put the dual out of reach by winning four straight matches.

The Cyclones were in for a fight after No. 5 Tyler Clark (125) dropped a close 4-2 decision to 2008 NCAA finalist Troy Nickerson to begin the meet. Junior Nick Fanthorpe (133) then lost, 7-5, in sudden victory to Mike Grey.

The Big Red took control of the dual after defending-NCAA champion Jordan Leen (157) won a 13-5 major decision over fifth-ranked Cyler Sanderson. The match was tied, 3-3, before Leen scored a reversal and four takedowns in the third period. No. 1-ranked Mack Lewnes (165) scored a third-period takedown to beat fifth-ranked Cyclone Jon Reader, 6-5.

Cornell’s third-ranked Steve Anceravage (174) and 17th-ranked Justin Kerber (184) won by pin and decision, respectively, to secure the victory.

The result was not what the Cyclones were looking for, but the team had to refocus and put the loss behind them.

“You can’t dwell on what happened in the past,” Clark said. “We had a couple of matches that we just didn’t finish, we just have to move on and go after the next one.”

The Cyclones responded to the loss in a big way. Clark opened the meet with a fall in 3:58 over Nebraska’s Andy Pokorny to give the Cyclones a 6-0 lead.

Fanthorpe, Nick Gallick (141 pounds) and Mitch Mueller (149 pounds) each picked up wins to extend the Cyclone lead to 17-0.

Nebraska responded to the Cyclones’ fast start by winning the next four matches, including a fall by No. 14 Vince Jones over redshirt freshman Jerome Ward.

Cyclone junior and two-time NCAA finalist Jake Varner (197) ended the Cornhusker run with a 6-2 decision over No. 1 Craig Brester.

Iowa State led by just four points going into the final match, and third-ranked heavyweight David Zabriskie fought from his back in the second period to avoid a fall against freshman Tucker Lane. He lost, 7-6, but the decision allowed the Cyclones to win the dual.

In Saturday morning’s opening round, Iowa State won all 10 matches against Indiana. The Cyclones trailed Boise State, 15-10, with two matches left in the quarterfinals before scoring a pin and a decision.

“A lot of us had top-ranked wrestlers from all of those teams [to compete against],” Clark, who knocked off Indiana’s defending-NCAA Champion Angel Escobedo on Saturday, 3-1. said “So just getting that experience … is a real advantage when it comes down to NCAAs.”

Even though the team did not come home with the championship, Sanderson knows they have potential for the rest of the season.

“We’re not far off. We’ve got a lot of strengths to work off of. You know, we’re a team that’s going to get better. We always do, and we always will.”

The Cyclones plan to get right back to work this week as the dual schedule begins to pick up. The team will travel to Corvallis, Ore., to meet the Oregon State Beavers next weekend.