The Iowa State wrestling team dominated the Simpson Duels last Saturday by winning all five of its dual matches.

The Cyclones defeated 24th-ranked Augustana (Ill.) 40-6, Coe 47-6, Simpson 37-9, Cornell 48-6 and Ellsworth 44-9, which moved ISU’s dual record to a perfect 9-0.

Freshman Joe Heskett dominated his opponents by recording a 5-0 record that included four falls and a forfeit. Heskett, the sixth-rated wrestler in his weight class, was subsequently named MVP of the tournament and pushed his record to 9-0 on the season.

David Maldonado duplicated Heskett’s feat by also collecting four falls on his way to a perfect 5-0 day. Maldonado currently is ISU’s highest-rated wrestler at fifth and holds an unblemished 9-0 record on the season.

Maldonado is surprised how fast the team is coming along with the considerable amount of youth in the starting line-up.

“The team is coming along well considering how many freshmen we have on the team,” Maldonado said.

Another experienced leader on the team is junior Cody Sanderson, who remained perfect on the season by running the table at the Simpson Duals. Sanderson went 5-0 on the day with three pins pushing his season mark to 9-0.

Maldonado, the team’s only starting senior, along with Sanderson have taken on the leadership roles and helped guide the Cyclones to nine straight dual wins.

“Cody and I are two of the oldest guys on the squad, and our success is by helping the team come together, but I think the freshmen have really stepped it up well,” Maldonado said.

On the day, the Cyclones recorded 21 pins, which will help them in preparing for the Hawkeyes this Friday.

“This was an excellent opportunity to get more match time,” said Head Coach Bobby Douglas. “I would rather have had a chance to see more wrestling than pins, but anytime you get a fall, you have to be pleased with the result,” he said.

Jesse West and Cole Sanderson continued to wrestle well this season as they both won all five matches with Cole recording two falls.

Benjie Winegarden collected two falls in his three wins and elevated his record to 5-1 in his first season as a Cyclone.

Eighth-rated freshman Cael Sanderson continued to impress by collecting five wins, three of which were by fall. He is one of six ISU wrestlers with perfect records this season.

Zach Thompson, the seventh-rated wrestler at 197-pounds, went 5-0 with a pin on the day, and heavyweight Mark Knauer won all four of his matches, half of which were by fall. Both he and Thompson moved to 8-0 for the season.

Dan Griffith won his only match of the day at heavyweight by a 7-4 margin against Bryan Oderkirk of Ellsworth. ISU forfeited the 174-pound weight class which prevented them from completing any clean sweeps of its opponents.

Sixth-rated Cody Sanderson attributes the team’s early success and enthusiasm to the younger wrestlers on the squad.

“It’s been a surprise to see how our young guys have come on strong so early,” Cody said. “Our freshmen are performing at a high level and they’ve had a lot of pins, which has excited the team.”

On Friday, Cody will lock-up with fourth-rated Eric Juergens of Iowa. The two wrestlers split a pair of matches last season as both matches were decided by a single point.

Another intriguing match-up will be Thompson taking on second-rated wrestler Lee Fulhart. Thompson dropped a close 2-0 decision in their only meeting last season and will seek revenge.

Iowa enters the match with a 2-0 record and is currently ranked third in the country, and the Cyclones will bring in a perfect 9-0 record along with their number six ranking.

“This is our opportunity to see how much progress we’ve made and to measure ourselves,” Douglas said.

ISU will battle the returning national champions at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Friday at 7 p.m.