For the Iowa State wrestlers, their trip to Cedar Falls for the NCAA wrestling tournament was a roller coaster ride.

For every sample of victory for one, there was someone else who tasted bitter defeat.

Of the two wrestlers who made it to the finals, 177-pounder Barry Weldon emerged with a sound win. But Chris Bono at 150 pounds lost in a heartbreaking, 5-3 overtime decision — to his nemesis from Iowa.

Dwight Hinson, who was one of three returning All-Americans along with Bono and Weldon, had advanced steadily to the semifinals, where he was set to meet Iowa’s Mike Mena. Hinson had beaten Mena earlier in the year, but Mena squeaked through with a 4-3 win.

“I felt OK when I was out there,” Hinson said.

“I let him get a shot, and he got two right off. That’s what gave him the match. I had to chase him from then on. It’s a hard loss.”

A victory over Mena, who was seeded fourth, would have funneled Hinson to the finals and a battle with Eric Guerrero of Oklahoma State, the two seed. Hinson never got the chance to clash with his conference nemesis.

“It just hurt,” Hinson said. “I’m disappointed. There’s not too much to say about it.”

Hinson came away with fourth place, and he earned All-American status for the third year in a row.

Some newcomers to the national tournament faired somewhat better, though. Cody Sanderson at 118 pounds, while a little disappointed with his finish — a 2-2 record overall — still put in a good performance at his first trip to the Big Dance.

Sanderson went against the third-seeded David Morgan of Michigan State in his very first match and lost in a 7-3 decision. The Cyclone came back in the consolations, though, with a string of victories and even a pin. He fell just short of placing with a 3-2 loss to seventh-seeded John Carvalheira of Rider.

“I’m just upset,” he said. “I feel like I made one mistake and it cost me being an All-American. … I’m tired of losing by one and two points at the end of the match.”

Trent Hynek at heavyweight also had trouble in the first round. He lost in a 6-3 decision to Shelton Benjamin of Minnesota.

Hynek had a better time in the consolations, defeating Boston University’s Dion Reed. Hynek lost his next match against Edinboro’s Pat Schuster and was eliminated.

John DeLeon at 158 pounds had a surprising time at NCAAs. Though he lost his first match, DeLeon tore it up in the wrestlebacks. He left Cassidy Schults of Bloomsburg and Josh Holiday of Minnesota in his wake with a pair of victories. DeLeon, who entered the tournament as a wildcard, left Cedar Falls with a 2-2 record.

Another great story is that of Bart Horton.

A 10th-seed, Horton demolished Jeremiah Miller of Cal Poly and Vertus Jones of West Virginia with two major decisions.

He couldn’t come up with the win over second-seeded Kevin Wilmot of Wisconsin, but Horton made a big impression in the consolation rounds.

He slammed home another major decision against Rider’s Chad Liott and went on to claim seventh place, earning himself All-American status, an honor he said he is proud to have.

Horton said he really wanted to have beaten Wilmot and gone on to the semifinals. “I wish I could take a couple of points from other matches and put them on the other one,” he said.

Two other Cyclones suffered disappointment early in the tournament.

David Maldonado, at 142 pounds, was immediately matched up with Kasey Gilliss of Iowa. The two had met twice in the regular season, with Maldonado dominating completely.

But it was Gilliss’s turn to dominate.

He got the fall at 37 seconds, his first pin of the season. Still, Maldonado went on to beat Shawn Enright of Ohio in the wrestlebacks before being eliminated.

Eleventh-seeded Matt Mulvihill at 190 pounds also had a taste of victory early with a 5-3 decision over Wisconsin’s Aaron Stark. He didn’t advance any further, though, and was eliminated in the second round of wrestlebacks.

The combined effort of all nine Cyclones at the national tournament was enough to earn fourth place for Iowa State with 70 points, a single point out of third. The finish was just behind what Coach Douglas had hoped for.

“We didn’t get the job done like we’d like to have gotten it done,” he said.