The eighth-ranked ISU wrestling team decided Friday night’s dual against No. 13 Wisconsin with six wins in the first eight matches.

Two losses by pins in the final two weight classes tarnished a 24-18 victory over the Badgers, but coach Cael Sanderson still left Hilton Coliseum considering the meet a success.

“We were wrestling extremely well until those last two weights,” Sanderson said. “Everybody is stepping it up, but when you’re getting pinned, that just means that we need to spend some time on the mat with those two guys, and that’s an easy thing to correct. So, overall, I’m happy with the way things are going. We just need to keep on moving.”

The Cyclones (10-3 overall) jumped out to an early lead in their last dual before the start of the Big 12 season. True freshman Tyler Clark made his Hilton debut with a win over a ranked opponent, and seventh-ranked Nick Fanthorpe worked No.12 Zach Tanelli four takedowns in an 11-4 decision.

Mitch Mueller (149) scored a technical fall, and Jon Reader (165) turned a reversal into a first-period pin.

After a decision victory by Aron Scott, No. 1-ranked Jake Varner dominated 14th-ranked Trevor Brandvold to seal the team win in the meet, recording a 14-2 major decision. Varner, now 17-0 on the season, scored four takedowns and four stalling points on his fellow sophomore, Brandvold.

At that point, Iowa State could not lose the dual lead.

Sixth-ranked Badger Dallas Herbst (197) overcame an early 4-0 deficit and pinned 17th-ranked David Bertolino. Wisconsin heavyweight Kyle Massey, ranked 13th in the country, then upset fourth-ranked David Zabriskie, becoming just the second wrestler to pin the Cyclone in collegiate competition.

“It’s a long season; it’s a tough season; but I think we’re right on track for where we want to be – just got to keep working hard and wrestling hard,” said Fanthorpe. “You know, [there is] nothing to worry about [with] those last two weights. Those guys are going to step up; they’re wrestling good; they just got caught in bad positions, which happens. As a team I think we’re right where we want to be.”

Sixth-ranked Cyler Sanderson (157) tried to break through the defense of second-ranked Badger Craig Henning for three periods but ultimately played into the hands of the two-time All-American in a 6-5 loss. Despite reaching Henning’s legs with shots on multiple occasions, the Wisconsin senior was able to counter all but one of those shots.

With the score tied at 1-1 late in the third period, Henning was able to lift and turn Sanderson from the sitting position on the mat, scoring a takedown and a three-point near-fall with 18 seconds remaining. Sanderson escaped and scored a takedown in the final seconds.

Clark rode Wisconsin’s 18th-ranked Collin Cudd to victory, giving up three reversals but building 2:31 in riding time advantage to score the deciding point in a 7-6 victory.

Iowa State travels to Norman, Okla. to wrestle the 17th-ranked Sooners on Friday before heading north to Stillwater to wrestle second-ranked Oklahoma State on Sunday.