Freshman wrestler Jon Reader prepared all week to stay calm in his first collegiate match.

“In the wrestle-off, I went out a million miles an hour,” Reader said.

The 165-pounder kept his cool and worked Northern Illinois’ Bryan Deutsch throughout the first period, then earned the first pin of the season for the ISU wrestling team.

The third-ranked Cyclones (1-0) dominated in their season opener, winning nine out of 10 matches under the spotlight at Hilton Coliseum on Thursday night, beating the Huskies (0-1) 39-4, in front of a crowd of just over 3,000.

Reader and eighth-ranked heavyweight David Zabriskie earned the only two pins of the night. David Bertolino (197) also added bonus points, scoring a technical fall, while 15th-ranked Mitch Mueller (149) added a major decision.

Northern Illinois forfeited the 184-pound match to first-ranked Jake Varner.

Reader, ranked ninth in the nation, led 11-0 after the first period. The clock ran out in the first period before he could finish a pin, but Reader reversed Deutsch and put his shoulders to the mat with 18 seconds left in the second period.

“I wasn’t trying to pin him. I was just going out there just wrestling, and that’s how it goes,” Reader said. “I kind of just fell right into the pin.”

Seventh-ranked sophomore Nick Fanthorpe (133) pulled out a close match against 11th-ranked Pat Castillo, winning 6-1. Fanthorpe finished a takedown with a minute left in the match, then tilted the former NCAA qualifier to secure the win.

Iowa State gave up four takedowns in the meet – all coming in the one loss of the meet. Head coach Cael Sanderson wasn’t impressed with the number.

“That sounds like a lot,” Sanderson said. “[But] that’s good considering we had a solid team [to wrestle against]. We’ve got our areas that we need to improve on. This is obviously all preparation for the end of the season. We are going to go back to the drawing board, and we’ll be a better team the next time we step on the mat.

Freshman Mitch Artist (174) couldn’t get anything going against 14th-ranked sophomore Duke Burk, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament at 184 pounds last season.

Burk had two first-period takedowns, then pulled away in a 14-2 win.

Zabriskie ended the meet with a pin, picking up a single-leg shot, headlocking Huskie heavyweight David Benner. Zabriskie then tripped him straight to his back for the fall in the third period.

The sophomore said he didn’t think he would get a pin.

“It’s nice to start [the season] with a win,” Zabriskie said. “A pin is pretty nice, start building up your confidence early. This will probably be a pretty tough weekend.”

No. 3 Iowa State 39, Northern Illinois 4

125 – Ben Hanisch (ISU) dec. Timothy Wunnicke, 2-0

133 – No. 7 Nick Fanthorpe (ISU) dec. No. 11 Pat Castillo, 6-1

141 – No. 14 Nick Gallick (ISU) dec. Patrick McLemore, 7-3

149 – No. 15 Mitch Mueller (ISU) maj. dec. Kalen Knull, 12-3

157 – No. 11 Cyler Sanderson (ISU) dec. Aaron Owen, 12-5

165 – No. 9 Jon Reader (ISU) pin Bryan Deutsch, 4:42

174 – No. 14 Duke Burk (NI) maj. dec. Mitch Artist, 14-2

184 – No. 1 Jake Varner wins by forfeit

197 – David Bertolino (ISU) tech fall Jake Smith, 16-1 (6:13)

HWT – No. 8 David Zabriskie (ISU) pin David Benner, 6:12

Attendance: 3,081