The Iowa State wrestling team dropped a tough 19-18 dual meet to Big 12 conference opponent Nebraska on Sunday.

The Cyclones are still winless in conference competition with losses to the seventh-ranked Huskers and Oklahoma State as well as a tie with Oklahoma.

Iowa State was able to jump out to an early lead after the match began at the 165-pound weight class. Second-ranked Joe Heskett was able to extend his perfect record by defeating Josh Henson, 7-1. Heskett is now 23-0 on the season.

Perry Parks continued to show improvement and finally was able to notch a win by defeating Charles McTorry, 8-7.

“It felt great to get a win for the team because that was one of the key matches to put us in a position to win. It was great that I could contribute, but it was tough to lose the meet by just one point,” Parks said.

Since moving up from 165-pounds, Parks has been ISU’s starter at 174. After losing a close match against Oklahoma, he was able to come away with a victory against the Cornhuskers.

“I feel I’ve adjusted well to the starting role. Basically, I’m just trying to keep my weight up and get stronger because I’m wrestling bigger guys,” said Parks.

Nebraska forfeited the next match, as the Cyclones were prepared to send No. 2 Cael Sanderson to the mat with his unblemished 24-0 record.

Zach Thompson was able to extend ISU’s lead to 15-0 after winning a 5-3 decision over ninth-ranked Scott Munson.

Heavyweight Mark Knauer lost a hard-fought 5-3 decision to No. 8 J.R. Plienis which gave the Huskers their first points of the meet.

After ISU forfeited the 125-pound match, Cody Sanderson came through with a 3-1 victory over Todd Beckerman.

However, the Cyclones dropped the final three matches and were handed only their fifth loss of the season. After Benjie Winegarden and Cole Sanderson were defeated, the dual came down to No. 8 David Maldonado and No. 7 Brian Snyder.

Snyder used the home crowd’s energy to score a first-period takedown and eventually win the match by a slim 3-2 margin.

Thompson, Heskett and Cael followed up their dual performances with victories at the NWCA All-Star meet on Monday night in which Heskett knocked off top-ranked Kirk White of Boise State.

“I am ecstatic. It is exciting for those young men and for our entire team,” head coach Bobby Douglas said. “This is definitely something to build on, and it will give us momentum for the second half of the season.”

Iowa State is in the midst of a road trip that will continue this week as they travel to the Sandersons’ home state of Utah to face BYU on Friday.

The Cyclones will then be faced with the difficult task of taking on Missouri on Sunday afternoon and then traveling to meet Truman State later that evening.

“We’re just looking to get a few wins, and personally I’m looking for improvement,” Parks said.

“Hopefully I can get some key wins in and continue to adjust to 174 [pounds] for the conference championships and maybe go to the national tournament.”