ISU wrestler Jake Varner smiled after being asked what happened at the end of his match on Nov. 19 against Minnesota’s second-ranked Roger Kish.

“Just a little pushing,” Varner said. “Just a little pushing.”

The intensity of the seven-minute match between the two top-ranked 184-pounders boiled over in an altercation at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Eugene, Ore., over Thanksgiving break.

Varner shoved the senior Golden Gopher as time expired and continued to push before a referee intervened.

The two made their way back to the middle of the mat. The video of the match, which was broadcast on College Sports TV, shows that Kish said something to Varner while the Cyclone’s hand was being raised after his 2-0 victory.

Varner turned back toward Kish while the referee escorted Varner to the corner of the mat.

He said he didn’t know Kish had even said anything to him.

The heated rivalry between the No. 1 ranked Cyclone and the senior Golden Gopher is expected to highlight Sunday’s dual between the second-ranked ISU wrestling team and Minnesota.

“When we were going out of bounds, he was kind of pulling on my head gear and I pushed him,” Varner said.

“It was nothing big.”

Coach Cael Sanderson spoke to Varner and said that the sophomore “knows that stuff can’t happen.”

“I don’t know exactly what happened, but regardless you’ve got to be a good sport,” Sanderson said.

“And whether the guy cheap-shots you or not, you can’t retaliate because you’re the one that carries the blame and looks like the poor sport.”

Varner rode Kish for the entire second period, earning a riding time advantage that gave him one of his two points in the match. The Cyclone escaped early in the third period and then shut down Kish’s offense, who won the two regular-season meetings with Varner, 7-2 and 5-2, last season.

Varner beat Kish in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, 4-2, in overtime.

Sanderson said the close score of the NWCA match wasn’t indicative of how it was wrestled. The match is considered an exhibition, so it doesn’t count against Kish’s record.

“[Varner] controlled most of the match,” Sanderson said. “I think Jake has made a lot of progress. He is a lot stronger, he is better technically . even though the score was 2-0, I think he set the pace and really showed that he has made a lot of progress.”