ISU wrestling fans got a treat Friday night as the Cyclones upset the third-ranked Missouri Tigers 20-15 at Hilton Coliseum in the team’s first home meet since Dec. 7.

The Cyclone victory came at the expense of Missouri’s heavyweight, Mike Whitehead. Whitehead squared off against Iowa State’s Scott Coleman in the final match of the meet as the Cyclones tried desperately to hold onto their lead and send the Tigers home with a loss.

Whitehead was penalized in the second period of the match for head butting and could not keep pace with Coleman, who sent the now-bleeding Whitehead to the locker room with more than just a sore skull.

“I thought it hurt him more than it hurt me,” Coleman said.

A visibly fired up Coleman would not let Whitehead’s penalty dictate the match. He held his own and left the crowd of 1,855 cheering for more.

Cyclone head coach Bobby Douglas said while Friday’s win was huge, the bulk of its importance lies in the seeding for the upcoming Big 12 conference tournament.

“We’ll see these same matches again at the conference tournament,” Douglas said. “It’s going to be the toughest conference tournament in the history of the Big 12.”

“Individually, it’s extremely important, because if you don’t get a high enough seed you have to wrestle a lot more,” Coleman said. “You have to wrestle against tougher guys, and you have a less likely chance to advance.”

Besides the importance of the upcoming tournament, Cyclone wrestler Nick Passolano said one thing that really shaped the course of events Friday night was the comfort of being back in Ames and having the crowd behind them, especially when they were down.

“I had the momentum going with me, and the fan support was just unbelievable. I’m warming up back here [in the locker room], and it’s just so loud that I don’t know what’s going on,” Passolano said. “It’s nice to be back [and not have to] worry about traveling or cutting weight on the road. It’s just nice to be back in good old Ames.”

Passolano’s contribution to the team came in grand fashion as he defeated last year’s Big 12 champion at 165 pounds, Tyron Woodley, in triple overtime. In a match that could have gone either way, Passolano hung on to win, scoring three crucial points for Iowa State and igniting the crowd.

The Cyclones will have the fans on their side for the remainder of the season as their last three matches are at home including the Big 12 tournament which will be held March 6 at Hilton Coliseum.