After losing their first meet of the year to the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Cyclone wrestling team will gear up for a pair of duels against North Dakota State and Dickinson State on Saturday.

Rebounding after a tough loss can be a hard thing to do, especially in a rivalry, but two first-year starters are not worried about a let down.

Duke Burk, Iowa State’s 174-pound junior, is coming off an injury and has wrestled only three matches, but doesn’t seem to be putting too much thought into the loss.

“The first two matches of the season were really rusty. This one I felt better,” Burk said after the meet. “I still just came out slow. I need to figure that out, but I think it’s coming along. I’ve been working on a lot of things with my tie-ups, and I think that worked a little bit against him in the second period, because I got into a couple shots. I just need to work on finishing, but things are coming along — slowly, I guess, but the beginning of December doesn’t really make or break your season.”

Another first-time wrestler rebounding from the first team loss of the year is redshirted freshman Jerome Ward.

“This team can go a long way. We just have to get back to working hard and focusing on where we can go from here,” Ward said.

The North Dakota State Bison will be hosting the triangular meet with the Cyclones and the Dickinson State Blue Hawks.

The Bison (1-1-1) have already wrestled a top-notch program this season, when they squared off against the Minnesota Gophers and lost 36-6. Although North Dakota State is not considered a national power that could give the Cyclones much trouble, getting out and wrestling new competition is a must.

Coach Cael Sanderson says he is looking forward to seeing where this team can go as the season pushes forward.

“Obviously our goal is to win every time we step on the mat,” Sanderson said. “And, really, all I want is my guys to wrestle and work on the things that we work on in practice every day, and we’ll take whatever result we get after that. And if we do those things as a team and everyone continues to work hard and believe in everything that we’re doing, then we’re going to have a nice year.”

The Blue Hawks are currently ranked No. 8 in the latest poll results of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, and are coming off a third-place finish at the NAIA National Championships last season.

The two duels will be the last ones for Iowa State until 2009, when they head to Corvallis, Ore., to face the Oregon State Beavers. The duel with North Dakota State is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and the Dickinson State match is slated for 5 p.m.