The ISU wrestling team has done something that the Cyclones never did during Cael Sanderson’s four-year career — start the season 12-0.

For the first time since the 1988-89 season, the Cyclones started the year with an unblemished record after 12 duals.

The third-ranked Cyclones defeated No. 17 Northern Iowa 25-16 Saturday in front of more than 2,000 cheering fans at Hilton Coliseum, with sophomore Kurt Backes and senior Scott Coleman leading the charge for the Cyclones.

Backes scored five team points with a technical fall after consecutive losses put the Cyclones behind 9-0.

“They beat us last year at the National Duals, and we just wanted to give them some payback,” Backes said. “We wrestled hard all week and wanted to go out there and wrestle hard. We didn’t want to train for nothing.”

After Trevor Smith dropped a hard-fought 6-4 decision to Sean Stender at 197 pounds, heavyweight Scott Coleman dominated Michael Shedek and pinned him in 2:16, cutting the deficit to 12-11 at halftime.

The Cyclones won all but one of the five matches after the intermission. Grant Nakamura, Jesse Sundell, Nate Gallick and Trent Paulson all had victories for the team.

In possibly the most dramatic match of the night, 165-pounder Travis Paulson was forced to forfeit by injury default in the third period against the Panthers’ Nick Baima.

Paulson, who was controlling Baima in headlock while looking for a takedown, twisted and injured his ribs. While attempting to leave the mat, Paulson could barely stand up and retreated to the locker room until his brother Trent wrestled to end the meet.

“It wasn’t a blow,” Travis said. “It was more of a twist. When I tried to toss him over, [my ribs] just popped, and I had a lot of pain there.”

Travis said he was unsure of when he will return to the mat but said he already has a date picked out.

“My goal is Oklahoma State,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to get them all year. I’ll do twice as much rehab as they say I need to get back for that match.”

The Cyclones will next take to the mat in Hilton Coliseum on Friday for a wrestling doubleheader. They face Lock Haven at 5 p.m. and Stanford at 7 p.m.