It was business as usual for head coach Terry Dowd and the ISU Boxing Club at the National Collegiate Boxing Association regional tournament last weekend.

The Cyclones took four boxers to the tournament at Xavier in Cincinnati last weekend and crowned one champion and a first runner-up.

Ryan Allan, sophomore in exercise and sport science, is 4-0 with one knockout and won the 156-pound championship at the regional tournament.

Teammate Josh Demmer took second-place honors and advanced to nationals in the 165-pound weight class.

Dowd has coached 23 national champions in more than a 25 years of coaching. He said Allan will be number 24.

“Ryan will be a national champion,” Dowd said.

Allan beat the defending champion, Nick Carter, in the final of the regional tournament.

“[The team] has done really well this year,” Dowd said. “They all work very hard.”

The Cyclones finished third in Cincinnati in a seven-team field that included Buffalo, The Citadel, Kentucky, Miami of Ohio, Navy and Xavier.

Allan was 2-0 in the tournament and said he is continuing to work hard in preparation for the National Collegiate Boxing Association national tournament, which will be held April 1-3 in Reno, Nevada.

“I’ve put a lot of time in and worked hard,” Allan said.

“I’m training hard to win. If I win, that’s cool. If I lose, that’s cool too.”

This is Allan’s second year in the boxing club and his first year in competition.

He said most of his success comes from his work ethic, as well as his study of the sport.

“Watching it on TV got me interested,” he said.

“I like to watch tapes and learn from the pros.”

He said he trains a lot outside of practice to give himself more endurance in the ring.

“I run three or four miles about three times a week in addition to practice,” he said.

“I do sprints while I’m running the miles to get speed work in too.”

Boxers like Allan have had great success under Dowd. He has coached 43 All-Americans, and his teams have finished second at nationals three times.

Dowd said most people on the team don’t compete but rather come in for the intense workout.

“We practice Monday through Friday from about 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m.,” he said.

“If they have to leave to study that’s fine — grades come first.”