The Iowa State wrestling team continued to display its dominance by trouncing Minnesota State-Mankato 35-8 on Saturday.

“We were able to see what our conditioning was like and to work on our technique while scoring as many points as possible,” said Head Coach Bobby Douglas “(Minnesota State-Mankato) is not in the type of shape that we are in so we were able to generate some offense.”

In the 174-pound weight class, Scott Duffy was able to improve his record to 4-3 after a 9-4 decision over Brian Beste. Duffy was able to break a 3-3 tie after the first period with an early escape, then followed that up with a takedown to seize control of the match.

Stand out freshman Cael Sanderson provided the most entertaining match of the evening by recording a fall at the 5:29 mark. Sanderson is currently the No. 2 wrestler at 184 pounds, and it definitely showed. He repeatedly took down and let up Ryan Rettke to jump out to a 22-9 lead after two periods before his pin in the final frame.

Sanderson is a perfect 17-0 on the season, and he also claimed the individual title at the Midlands Championships in late December, which led to him to being named the Big 12 wrestler of the week.

At 197-pounds, Zach Thompson was able to hold on for a 3-2 decision, but he clearly was the better wrestler in the match. Shawn Ange was the No. 4 wrestler in Division II but repeatedly backpedaled and retreated from Thompson’s aggressive moves. Thompson is ranked fifth in his weight class and boasts a 15-3 record on the season.

At heavyweight, Mark Knauer outlasted a much larger wrestler to claim a 12-7 win over Isaiah Larson.

“Knauer has done an excellent job stepping in for (Trent) Hynek. He has some experience problems that he is overcoming, but he is gradually maturing into a Division I heavyweight,” said Douglas.

Knauer’s victory gave ISU a 15-0 lead heading into the lower weights, which would prove to be more than enough to seal the win.

Jesse West moved his record to 9-6 after a 7-4 win over Chris Maggard. The second period ended in a 3-3 tie, but West showed he was clearly the better conditioned athlete as he took control in the third period.

At 133-pounds, fourth-rated Cody Sanderson put together a match similar to Cael’s as he repeatedly took down his opponent at will. After running up a 16-3 score, Sanderson proceeded to pin Mark Natzke, the No. 6 wrestler in Division II.

Sanderson holds a 15-1 record this season with his only loss coming to third-ranked Eric Juegens of Iowa.

The Mavericks finally got on the board when No. 6 Travis Shives defeated Benjie Winegarden 9-1. This moves Winegarden’s record to 6-6, although he did hold his own by forcing scoreless second and third periods.

At 149-pounds, Cole Sanderson wasted no time in disposing of MSU’s Steve Kosloski by pinning him in 1:56. The Sanderson brothers recorded all three of ISU’s falls as Cole, the sixth-rated wrestler in his weight class, upped his record to 13-4 on the season.

Frank Kisley was given the opportunity to wrestle at 157 pounds with team leader David Maldonado sitting out the contest. However, Kisley dropped an 11-3 decision to Matt Gradient despite wrestling a tough third period.

Kisley has seen only limited action this season and has an 0-2 record. ISU held a 30-8 lead heading into the final match of the evening.

Joe Heskett showed why he is the No. 4 wrestler at 165 pounds by soundly whipping Beau Lucier 17-2. Heskett was not able to get the pin in the third period, but he still came away with a technical fall.

Heskett joined Cael Sanderson in claiming an individual title at the Midlands, and subsequently both wrestlers have been invited to participate in the National Wrestling Coaches’ All-Star meet in February.

The Cyclones will participate in the National Duals in Iowa City this weekend. ISU is currently ranked sixth and could face No. 4 Penn State as well as top-rated Oklahoma State, whom the Cyclones will wrestle next Tuesday.

“Nationals will be an important opportunity to get in a lot of matches and meet as many people as possible. Hopefully we can make it to the finals,” said Douglas.