Last Chance Open showcases Cyclones’ future, helps starters
Mikinna Kerns/Iowa State Daily
Redshirt freshman Marcus Coleman walks on to the mat for his 174-pound match up against redshirt freshman Kyle Snelling during the Iowa State vs Utah Valley dual meet Feb. 3 in Hilton Coliseum. Coleman won by technical fall 17-2 and the Cyclones defeated the Wolverines 53-0.
February 17, 2019
After the Iowa state high school tournament wrapped up Saturday, the wrestling action continued about 40 miles north.
Iowa State hosted the Last Chance Open in Lied Recreation Center on Sunday morning.
The Cyclones rested most of their starters, but the Last Chance Open provided just that — a last chance — for redshirting athletes.
As the season dwindles, the number of tournaments redshirting athletes can compete in unattached also slows down. As a result, the Last Chance Open featured a majority of Iowa State’s redshirt athletes and underclassmen.
Starters
While seven of the 10 regulars sat out, Iowa State still registered heavyweight Gannon Gremmel, 174-pounder Marcus Coleman and 125-pounder Alex Mackall into the tournament.
One reason behind the trio competing is the three are near .700 in winning percentage against Division I opponents with Mackall and Gremmel slightly under and Coleman barely over entering Sunday.
Why is that important? To earn an allocation for their conference at their weight, one of the criteria is to possess a .700 winning percentage against Division I opponents.
It also helps them in a situation where they’d need an at-large bid to get in the NCAA Tournament.
With that said, Gremmel went 2-1 before medically forfeiting out of the last two matches.
Coleman went 3-0 before he medically forfeited out of the final 174-pound match.
Mackall picked up a pin before medically forfeiting his final three matches.
Young athletes
Outside of three previously mentioned, Iowa State also had over 20 athletes on its roster compete, mostly unattached.
Some of the results are somewhat skewed based on the volume of medical forfeits, but the Cyclones still had some impressive results from lesser-known athletes.
At 165 pounds, Zane Mulder — who burned his redshirt recently to fill in for an injured Logan Schumacher — secured first place, capped by a 6-2 decision.
Freshman 125-pounder Corey Cabanban finished his day with a 7-4 loss, but he managed to snag a second-place finish in his bracket.
Class of 2019 commit and 133-pounder Ramazan Attasauov turned in a second-place finish that ended with an 8-3 decision against Penn State’s Brody Teske.
At 141 pounds, redshirt freshman Ryan Leisure dominated, finishing first with a pin in the finals.
At 197 pounds, Kaden Sauer finished in second place after falling 7-2 in the finals.
