The second-ranked Cyclones grappled in a tournament and faced four dual meets in an eight-day stretch during winter break that left some Cyclones injured and none undefeated.

Midlands Championships

The wrestlers started their string of matches in Evanston, Ill., at the Midlands Championships. The team finished second behind Illinois after losing a slim lead it held during the first day of competition.

Senior and two-time All-American Zach Roberson and freshman Trent Paulson both finished the tournament undefeated.

Trent was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler after his performance at 149 pounds, beating second-ranked Dustin Manotti of Cornell 8-5 after nearly pinning him in the third period.

The Cyclones took a hard hit when 141-pounder Nate Gallick was injured.

Seeded fourth, Gallick wrestled his way to the championship match before injuring his ankle against Central Michigan’s Jason Mester. Gallick led the second-seeded wrestler 3-1 before forfeiting because of the injury.

Nick Passolano continued to wrestle back from an early-season injury. He finished third at 165 pounds, beating Joe Mazzurco 6-4.

Kurt Backes placed sixth for the Cyclones at 184 pounds. The freshman from Neshanic Station, N.J., wrestled well early in the tournament, but ultimately finished sixth after losing to Ohio State’s Blake Kaplan.

Cyclone assistant Chris Bono, wrestling for Sunkist Wrestling Club, was upset by Alex Tirapelle 2-1 in overtime in the 157-pound final.

Cyclone freshman Travis Paulson, ranked fourth nationally at 157 pounds, had a disappointing tournament after being upset in the first round and failing to place.

Sun Devil Duals

Heading west to the old stomping grounds of head coach Bobby Douglas, the Cyclones were handed their first dual defeat.

After erasing a 16-0 deficit in an 18-16 win over Cal Poly, the Cyclones were unable to repeat the feat against Arizona State.

Iowa State fell behind 16-0 against the Sun Devils and couldn’t come all the way back, losing 22-20.

The Cyclones lost the first three matches in the meet that started at 184 pounds.

Iowa State then forfeited at 125 pounds, forcing the team to have to battle back from a 16-point deficit.

Roberson bounced back after losing 7-3 against Cal Poly’s Darrell Vasquez by beating Sun Devil Mike Simpson 4-1.

Trent Paulson and Passolano also collected victories. Jesse Sundell, filling in for the injured Gallick at 141 pounds, lost 15-9 to Jeremy Mendoza. Jason Knipp wrestled at 157 pounds in place of Travis Paulson and was defeated by Brian Stith 6-2. Kevin Amesquita won by forfeit in the last match at 174 pounds.

San Francisco State/Fresno State

The Cyclone wrestlers proved capable of bouncing back from a loss, beating San Francisco State and Fresno State two days after losing to Arizona State.

The Cyclones again forfeited the 125-pound match in each dual, but it proved not to be a problem.

The team won all but three matches against San Francisco State. Knipp dropped his match at 157, and Kevin Amesquita lost 9-3 at 174 pounds.

Against Fresno State, the Cyclones had two first-time occurrences in the 26-15 win. Trent Paulson lost his first match of the year, losing 8-7 to No. 13 Casey Olson, and heavyweight Scott Coleman saw his first action of the year. Coleman lost to No. 20 Clint Walbeck 6-3.

Iowa State’s 3-1 record over the break gave the Cyclones an 11-1 record in dual meets this season.

The team will compete in the National Dual tournament in Cleveland Saturday and Sunday.