More than a year has passed since Jerome Ward has wrestled someone other than a teammate.

Tonight the 184-pound freshman will get his chance, as the second-ranked ISU wrestling team begins its dual season at Hilton Coliseum against Utah Valley.

Ward beat teammate Joe Curran in wrestle-offs last Friday, which he said took away some of his nerves heading into his first true collegiate match. Still, the 19-year-old expects to feel butterflies before he steps on the mat.

“Pretty much I’m nervous in every match,” Ward said. “I consider everyone a threat.”

Since tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee, Ward’s main opponent has been his own body. The highly-touted Illinois recruit spent his redshirt season rehabbing the injury, which occurred during the ASICS Junior National Championships in July of 2007.

Ward said he didn’t begin wrestling again until this past June.

“That’s been the hardest part,” he said. “I hope I never have to go through that again. I’d rather have never torn it at all — just broke my leg. It’s tough, man. It’s like learning the sport all over again.”

Ward had to relearn and regain the capabilities of his body, but said that “everything is coming back at a rapid pace.”

The freshman was a third-team high school All-American, and was listed as the third-best prospect at his weight by Amateur Wrestling News.

“He’s a kid that’s extremely talented. He’s working really hard, which I’ve been very impressed with,” said coach Cael Sanderson. “I know the rest of our staff has been as well. He’s just a good kid — I’m excited to see him step out there on the mat, because I know he’s a competitor. He’s a guy that’s going to be at his best in competition.”

Ward will wrestle one of the Wolverines’ four returning starters, sophomore Casen Eldredge. Utah Valley sophomore Ben Kjar (125) is ranked 18th in country and led the NCAA in wins (39) during the regular-season.

Sanderson said the Cyclones are eager to get in front of the home crowd.

“We’re fired up. I would imagine the crowd is going to be fired up because of the team we have … We’ll get a good feel for that tomorrow,” he said. “We’re excited to step on the mat. We’ve got our new singlets, a new logo, a fresh team, a couple new faces in the lineup, so it’s going to be a big day.”

The eight returning NCAA qualifiers from last season will start, along with Ward and junior Chris Pursel (174). Junior Northern Illinois transfer Duke Burk (174) is recovering from a minor injury and will not compete.

After BYU canceled its wrestling program in 2000, the state of Utah didn’t have a Div. I school with wrestling. ISU assistant coach Cody Sanderson started the Utah Valley wrestling program in 2003.

The Wolverines are in their last of six seasons of NCAA provisional status, which means they can’t compete in the national tournament until 2010. The team starts eight underclassmen, and has no seniors and no heavyweights on its roster.

“We’re trying to help them out,” Cael Sanderson said. “We care a lot about college wrestling, especially in Utah, being that’s where we grew up, and there just not being many opportunities there. So any chance we can help that program out we’re going to do that.

“But they are coming out here because they want a good match. There’s nothing friendly about the dual meet. This is wrestling.”

Gimmicks only go so far

Competing is more fun in front of a large crowd.

The second-ranked wrestling team is using several promotions to try to attract fans Thursday, but coach Cael Sanderson said drawing fans is mostly based on how the team wrestles.

“We have to entertain the crowd,” he said. “We can promote and market and do everything that we want to do, but the bottom line is the fans being proud of the product that we put out there, and the effort we put out there, and then having a good time.”

Season-ticket sales are slightly behind last year’s totals, Sanderson said, which is understandable since Iowa is not on the home schedule. No exact number of ticket sales could be gathered before press time.

The first 500 students who attend the match tonight will receive a free Iowa State Wrestling T-shirt. Doors open at 6 p.m., and admission is free with a Cy’s Sports Pass.

Tickets are $5 for everyone who brings a non-perishable food item to the dual. The items will go to Mid-Iowa Community Action, which is a non-profit organization that supports low-income families.