ISU wrestling’s trio of freshman standouts — Trent Paulson, Travis Paulson and Kurt Backes — said at the start of the season they would be disappointed finishing with anything less than a national championship.

All three wrestlers proved their determination by winning their matches against third-ranked Lehigh Friday to help the Cyclones to a 23-18 upset of the Mountain Hawks.

Head coach Bobby Douglas said it was an important meet to win.

“It was an exciting meet. Exciting for the fans, hell for the coaches,” Douglas said. “[Lehigh] has a great following. They were scalping tickets outside for as much as $800.”

The man of the match, however, was another freshman — heavyweight Richard Schopf. The Cyclones were down 18-17 when Schopf took to the mat for the last match of the night. The heavyweight pinned No. 12 Joe Sahl in 4:15 to give the Cyclones the win. Schopf, a Bondurant native, was thrust into the starting lineup when the Cyclones’ regular heavyweight, Scott Coleman, was injured during the offseason.

Douglas said Schopf almost quit as a true freshman, but now he’s a key contributor.

“Richard was behind by a couple of points. We wanted him to win and I think he wanted the fall,” Douglas said. “Richard’s doing a fine job.”

The Cyclones opened the night in a hole when Grant Nakamura lost 7-5 in overtime to Mario Stuart. They bounced back quickly when All-American and fourth-ranked Zach Roberson won a major decision over Matt Ciasulli 13-2. Nate Gallick won his first match of the year. Rated seventh to start the year, Gallick beat ninth-ranked Cory Cooperman.

Tenth-ranked Trent Paulson furthered his record to 3-0, beating No. 13 Tommy Rohn at 149 pounds. Trent Paulson came out hot as he did against Minnesota State-Mankato and Boston, and never trailed during his match, taking a 14-5 major decision.

The biggest upset of the night came at 157 pounds. Travis Paulson dominated third-ranked All-American Derek Zinck 6-1. Travis Paulson, ranked 14th to start the year, was the underdog. Douglas said the win didn’t surprise him.

“I wasn’t surprised with our performance,” he said. “We were well prepared. We did our homework.”

The Cyclones slipped a little at the heavier weights, losing at 165, 174, and 197 pounds. Last year’s runner-up at 165 pounds, Lehigh’s Troy Letters, is ranked first and pinned ISU freshman Grant Turner in 1:28. ISU sophomore Nels Matson didn’t fare much better.

Matson was pinned in 4:58 by third-ranked Brad Dillon at 174 pounds.

The Cyclones got a big win at 184 pounds from Kurt Backes. Backes, ranked fifth to start the season, wrestled sixth-ranked Travis Frick to a 4-4 tie in regulation before scoring a takedown to win 6-4. After the match, the Cyclones were winning 17-15.

Unranked Matt Cassidy beat Cyclone Trevor Smith 5-4 to give the Mountain Hawks a 18-17 lead.

That set up Schopf to be the hero. With the pin, Schopf earned six points and a 23-18 Cyclone victory.

“The team is making great progress,” Douglas said. “They’re going to be a good team down the road but one match doesn’t make a season.”

The Cyclones will wrestle Saturday at the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha, Neb.