CEDAR FALLS — For the Iowa State wrestlers competing at the NCAA tournament, seeding made all the difference.

Of the nine Cyclones who qualified to strut their stuff in front of the record crowd of 14,520, five emerged victorious at the end of the first round. All five of these—Dwight Hinson, Chris Bono, Bart Horton, Barry Weldon and Matt Mulvihill — were seeded in the top 11.

First-seeded Hinson had an easy time in his first 7 minutes on the mat.He breezed by Steve Garland of Virginia by a score of 15-8.

Hinson kept up the pace in his second match, where he tangled with Zack Zimmerer of Stanford. The Cyclone maintained a wide margin of victory as in his first match, crushing Zimmerer, 11-5.

Hinson’s previous appearances at the NCAAs gave him an advantage. “I’ve been here before, and I know what to expect,” Hinson said.

Bono had a chance to show everyone why he earned the national championship last year at 150 pounds. He also coasted through the first round, but he wasn’t satisfied to merely beat Michael Douglas of Arizona State. Bono was hungry for the pin, and he got it at 5:44.

Bono dished out some more punishment in his next match against Craig Welk of Cal Poly. The defending national champ pummeled his opponent with takedown after takedown until he’d piled up enough points to stop the match at 6:32.

Tenth-seeded Horton hit the mat with some aggression as well. His opponent, Jeremiah Miller from Cal Poly, didn’t even have a chance. Horton steam-rolled Miller for the 14-3 major decision.

Next, Horton clashed with Vertus Jones of West Virginia. Horton put his foot down, though, and halted Jones’s streak, with a 18-6 victory.

“I’m going to go out there and try to be as aggressive as I can,” Horton said. “I’m serious but I’m going to enjoy it while I’m here.”

At 177 pounds, second seed Barry Weldon coasted through the competition. He battled Nathan Funk of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Weldon earned a major decision with a 22-9 win over Funk.

It wasn’t quite so lopsided in Weldon’s second match. His battle with Dan Corpstein of Cal-Bakersfield stayed tight, but Weldon hung on for the 3-2 decision.

Mulvihill’s match against Wisconsin’s Aaron Stark was a bit closer in score than the others, but not in action. Mulvihill dominated throughout and held on for the 5-3 victory.

The second round did not prove as fortunate for Mulvihill. He suffered an 8-7 loss in a close match with Mark Bodo of Pittsburgh.