All it took was two fights. One win and one loss was enough for junior Ryan Allan to qualify for the National Collegiate Boxing Association’s national meet.

At the NCBA Midwest regional meet in Louisville, Ky. on Friday, Allan won his first match. During the 156-pound championship match Saturday, he lost a decision to Alejandro Loya of the Naval Academy. Two of the judges had the match scored even, while the final judge had Loya by a point.

ISU boxing coach Terry Dowd said Allan did great but had trouble in the corner during the second round.

“He lost by one point, but that’s bull. I thought he should have won. All Ryan had to do was land one more punch, and he would’ve won the whole thing,” Dowd said. “[Allan] just got a little tired. The kid got lucky and caught Ryan with a punch.”

Allan said being fatigued was the reason he had trouble with the Naval Academy athlete.

“He was just better conditioned than I was,” Allan said. “So when I started to lose energy, he started to pick it up. He was a little more active in the ring than I was.”

Dowd said he does not blame Allan for the loss.

“[The loss] was my fault, not his,” Dowd said.

“Ryan is in shape, and I made the mistake by not telling him to be more aggressive and to go get him.”

The National Boxing Association had three different regionals over the weekend. The first and second place boxer in each weight class, as well as two alternates, advance to the NCBA national meet in Colorado Springs, Colo. Allen said the experience in Louisville let him know what to do to get ready for the national meet.

“I am going to build up my training,” Allan said. “I need to get in better cardiovascular shape, and running and sparring will help me out in that area.”

Dowd said the training for Allan will get more intense. He said he is going to keep pushing Allan harder, which will help him at nationals.

“Ryan should end up first or second,” Dowd said.

“But there is this one kid from the Air Force Academy that is pretty good. If he sees Loya again, he can beat him. Loya is a good boxer and a good kid, but Ryan can beat him.”

Allan will probably fight Loya again at Colorado Springs, but he said he thinks he knows how to win.

“I think if I increase my endurance and study the tape, I will be able to beat him,” Allan said. “He has a weak body and raises his hands a lot. So if you throw a couple of punches in his face, he will raise his hands and you can work his body down below. I actually knocked him down in the fight once doing that.”

Even with only one boxer at the regional meet in Louisville, Iowa State received third place out of eight teams.

Two other ISU boxers were set to compete but were unable to make the trip. Chris Gonzales missed regionals because of academics, and Tony Simms didn’t show up to catch the bus.

Allan will compete in the NCBA National Meet during the weekend of April 1.