The Iowa State wrestlers turned their new mat into a pin cushion this weekend.

The Cyclones pulled off a total of eight pins against North Carolina State and Boston University at Hilton Coliseum Sunday and completely dominated their opponents.

Against Boston, 118-pounder Cody Sanderson set the mood for the rest of the meet with a pin over Dave Popaceno at 5:55.

Head Coach Bobby Douglas said ISU’s 118-pounder competed well this weekend and “did a good job.”

Sanderson said practicing with last year’s 118-pound national runner-up and wrestling’s administrative assistant Jason Nurre, and already having over 30 matches this season has really improved his wrestling.

“Nurre always seems to be picking out what I’m doing wrong,” Sanderson said.

“He still slicks me, but I feel like he’s improving me. I feel a lot more comfortable than I did before. … Last year I couldn’t ride anybody to save my life. Nurre’s been helping with that,” he said.

Dwight Hinson, ranked third at 126 pounds, kept up the pace with a pin of his own against Byron Nakamura at 2:25. That put ISU up, 12-0.

At 134 pounds, ISU’s Frank Kisley held his own with Boston’s Jason Hernandez, scoring a reversal and a takedown to match his opponent’s four points. But when time ran out, Hernandez had over a minute of riding time, putting him up, 5-4, and scoring Boston’s first decision.

Kisley said that while he has had a tough season, what’s important is what he’s learning on the mat.

“Winning right now for me is not the main thing,” he said. “That’s coming. The experience is helping. I’m just looking to improve again, to control the tie-up.”

Yet another Cyclone brought out the nail gun at 142 pounds as David Maldonado pounded Jason York flat to the mat at 4:56.

Even Chris Bono got into the action.

The announcer barely had time to introduce Bono as the returning national champion at 150 pounds before Bono had Gonomen Walbe on the mat in a takedown. It didn’t take long to transform that into a pin at 4:37.

“I’m just getting ready,” Bono said. “It’s getting to be tournament time.”

At 158 pounds, John DeLeon of Iowa State kept Dave Leonardo at bay to score the 6-4 decision. DeLeon’s win made the team score shoot to 27-3.

Bart Horton reintroduced the pinning at 167 pounds with a pancaking of Jim Cavin in 2:16.

Barry Weldon, ranked No. 1 at 177 pounds, had a little more difficult time with Grant Johnson. By the end of the match, both had scored only escape points, and the match went into overtime.

A minute into the extra period, though, Weldon pulled through with a takedown and grabbed the victory, 3-1.

“Barry Weldon had a great match with a very competitive wrestler,” Douglas said. The win propelled Iowa State to 36-3.

Matt Mulvihill also scored the decision on Boston’s Jameel Abdullah at 190 pounds, upping the team score to 39-3.

And heavyweight Trent Hynek closed the winning circle with a big decision over BU’s Dion Reed, 7-1.

Coach Douglas agreed that his heavyweight performed exceptionally.

“Trent Hynek wrestled just an outstanding wrestler from Boston,” Douglas said, “and he probably had one of his better matches.”

With Hynek’s win, the Cyclones pulled out a 42-3 stomping of Boston University.

Iowa State must’ve liked the sweet aftertaste of winning in its mouth, because North Carolina State met pretty much the exact same fate as the Terriers.

Sanderson again dominated his opponent, Lee Carroll of NCS, with a 15-2 major decision.

The Cyclone looked perfectly at home keeping Carroll on the mat and flipped him a few times for near-falls and scads of points.

Hinson also boasted a major decision against Carolina’s Greg Bauer. Though Bauer scored seven points (to Hinson’s 17), not a single one was for a takedown. The victory put ISU up, 8-0.

At 142 pounds, Iowa State had its first repeat pinner. Maldonado flattened James Kocher in 1:04, inflating the team score to 14-3.

And while Chris Bono didn’t quite get a pin against Joel Dramis, officials still had to stop the match early because of the massive point difference.

After a takedown, Bono would let Dramis up, only to take him down again a heartbeat later. Bono won, 24-8.

Next, DeLeon boasted a major decision at 158 pounds with a 10-0 romping of Ben Bache.

In the 167-pound match, Horton became the second double-pinner of the evening for the Cyclones. He nailed Jon Fowler’s shoulders to the mat at 2:01, upping the team score to 28-3.

Horton attributed his success to some extra rest over the weekend since he did not compete in Missouri on Friday.

“I took a little time off,” he said. “I was doing bad before; I always have that slump. I’m gearing up for Iowa: working out harder, with shorter, more intense practices.

“I was really working for the pin. It’s a good way to bounce back.”

At 177 pounds, Cyclone Matt Patitz got a chance to bash heads with a member of the Wolf Pack. Patitz kept one step ahead of Jeff Green to pull out the 7-4 decision.

Mulvihill got his chance to pin an opponent at 190 pounds. He ended the match at 0:42 with a steam-roll of Travis Withers. That put ISU at 37-3.

And again, at heavyweight, Hynek ended things on a sweet note for Iowa State.

He dominated his much-bigger, taller opponent, Troy Beadnell, with a technical fall at 4:21. The match termination boosted the team score to 42-3.

Hynek said Douglas’ method of conditioning gives all Cyclone wrestlers a distinct advantage over their opponents.

He himself wrestles bigger guys in practice so he can be prepared for bigger competitors on the mat.

“I’ll out-condition them,” Hynek said of his larger opponents. “The bigger they are, the more tired they’ll get.”

Coach Douglas said it can be difficult to determine the level of competition with such lopsided victories, but he was proud of his squad.

“We needed to take kind of a breather, to get home in a friendly environment,” Douglas said. “It’s hard wrestling on the road.”

Several wrestlers from both North Carolina State and Boston University used a lot of injury time during the course of the meets against Iowa State.

The Cyclones did not seem to be as affected by injuries.

Douglas said that “conditioning plays a major role, but everybody’s banged up a little bit this time of year.

“Our schedule’s kept us on the front battle lines, so we’re going to show signs of injury.”