As the central Iowa weather gets colder, Iowa State wrestling continues to get hotter.

Iowa State looks to jump to 6-1 overall in duals and 3-0 in Big 12 duals when it visits West Virginia (2-10 overall, 2-3 Big 12) at noon (central time zone) on Sunday.

“We’ve been competing really well lately, as a team, as a unit,” said redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Sam Colbray. “Everybody’s weight is being managed really well.”

The Cyclones enter the dual with the Mountaineers with momentum on their side. 

On Thursday, Iowa State competed in New Jersey, knocking off Rider, 29-17. While the team tacked on another win, a couple of individuals had streaks snapped.

Redshirt freshman 133-pounder Austin Gomez and redshirt sophomore heavyweight Gannon Gremmel lost by pin in their matches against the Broncs. For the young duo, it was there first dual outside of the Midwest.

“It’s something I’ve never done before, really,” Gremmel said about the two-dual road trip. “I’m not big on the cutting weight, so I don’t have to cut much weight. I’m just going to stay focused, make sure I can get my good warmups in before.”

On the flip side, the Mountaineers’ dual record isn’t anything special, but West Virginia’s been battle-tested.

The two wins came from Northern Colorado and then-No. 20 North Dakota State. Out of its 10 losses, seven came via ranked opponents, and while the wins haven’t stacked up, the Mountaineers have managed to crack double-digit team points in all but three duals. 

Individually, West Virginia’s top athletes compete at weights that some of Iowa State’s top wrestlers do, setting up for some quality matches.

Gomez receives an opportunity to bounce back with InterMat’s No. 15 Matthew Schmitt waiting. Schmitt sports an 11-1 record — the lone loss coming from Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix — and shares a common opponent with Gomez.

Schmitt defeated North Dakota State’s Cameron Sykora (No. 16 by InterMat) by an 8-3 decision. No. 7 Gomez defeated Sykora 8-6 in sudden victory last week.

A couple matches later sets up for No. 11 149-pounder Jarrett Degen and West Virginia’s No. 16 Christian Monserrat. Monserrat is 2-0 in duals against Iowa State with wins over Kanen Storr at 141-pounds and Gabe Moreno. 

On the road again, the Cyclones may need strong performances from Gomez and Degen at West Virginia.

“I think it challenges you to do something that’s a little bit harder than it would be at home,” said Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser. “I mean, the travel — we’ll be in a bus; we’ll be in an airplane … They’re in strange training facilities, and obviously, there’s a weight-making component that we have to deal with.”