The heavier weights of Iowa State’s wrestling squad are starting to make a big impression on their opponents, and nowhere was it more apparent than in their 24-20 comeback victory over Mankato State this weekend.

Even though Mankato State jumped out to an early 15-3 lead, the upper weights of the Cyclone squad rallied to push ISU to victory.

After an ISU forfeit at 118 pounds and a victory over Matt Nurre at 126, the Cyclones were ripe for a win.

Dwight Hinson, ranked fourth at 134 pounds, delivered in a major way with an 11-5 decision over Travis Shives.

After a fast pin of Frank Kisley by Mankato State’s Mark Szydel at 142 pounds, ISU’s David Maldonado came back to beat Kelly Block with a 6-3 decision at 150 pounds.

Maldonado wrestled in place of defending national champion Chris Bono. Bono did not compete in the tournament because Cyclone Head Coach Bobby Douglas decided to rest him.

Douglas kept Bono out of the tournament in order to meet the allotted amount of tournaments in which he may compete. It also allowed Douglas to see some of his other wrestlers in action.

“It was good experience for our guys, a lot of guys had matches for the first time,” Douglas said.

John DeLeon’s trouncing of Mankato’s Ted Smith at 158 pounds by a score of 12-1 pulled up the team score to 10, but the Cyclones still lagged behind Mankato by five points.

The 167-pound match that ended in a victory for Steve Fredrichs of Mankato by match termination ballooned their score to 20 points, with Iowa State at 10. But from then on, it was all Iowa State.

At 177 pounds, Barry Weldon, ranked No. 2 at 167 pounds, mangled Prentice Smith, ending with a match termination that piled five points onto the team score.

Iowa State’s Matt Mulvihill followed suit at 190 pounds with a whipping of Ross Johnson.

The 20-4 match termination added another five points to Iowa State’s tally, thus knotting the score at 20-20.

With the score tied, the tournament came down to a high pressured heavy weight match. But Trent Hynek, the Cyclone heavyweight, dispelled any tension that may have built up in the room.

His convincing victory over Ryan Rettive, 10-1, pushed ISU to a team victory over its opponent, 24-20.

Hynek said he did not feel the match was different from any other, despite the score.

“I didn’t feel that pressured. You’re just out there to win,” Hynek said.

Hynek said he felt the score would not have been as close had the Cyclones not forfeited any matches, and had Bono competed. “That [Bono vs. Block] would have been an easy win,” Hynek said.

Douglas said he considered the comeback a show of team strength for ISU. “Coming from behind, I think, shows team unity,” Douglas said.

The outlook is optimistic as ISU heads to Lincoln, Neb., for the National Collegiate Dual Championship this weekend.

“We have never finished higher than fifth, and we’re hoping to improve on that,” Douglas said.