A year ago, a young Iowa State wrestling team looked overmatched and overwhelmed at home against Iowa in a 35-6 loss with the only Cyclone win coming via a forfeit.

With another tall task in Iowa, the Cyclones faced another challenge.

Iowa State traveled to Iowa City, Iowa, and didn’t have the luxury of competing in Hilton Coliseum.

“We got three former Hawks on the staff, so we had them pretty keyed in to what Carver Hawkeye Arena was going to be like,” said Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser. “We yelled at them all week and made fun of them — called them names and everything else that you do.

“We got them ready.”

The tactic worked and the Cyclones challenged the Hawkeyes more than any other opponent this year.

In year two under Dresser, the Cyclones jumped out to a lead and lost in a one-point dual, 19-18.

“Gosh,” Dresser said. “They had to play all their cards today, right.”

One of those cards Dresser referenced was senior heavyweight Sam Stoll competing for Iowa. 

Stoll initially planned to sit out of the dual.

“When I was in the tunnel and music started playing for heavyweight [is when I found I was wrestling],” Stoll said.

Iowa needed Stoll to come up big because the Hawkeyes trailed 15-12 with three matches left.

Stoll executed, knocking off Gannon Gremmel 5-1 to tie the dual at 15. With two matches left, it appeared a win was in sight for Iowa, handing the reins over to the No. 1 125-pounder and bonus point specialist Spencer Lee and No. 10 Austin DeSanto (rankings via InterMat.com).

Lee secured a 40-second pin last season and seeked another big win. Iowa State’s Alex Mackall fell behind 11-1 and looked like a candidate to join the list of Spencer Lee technical fall victims, but the Rutgers transfer fought back.

After the 10-point deficit, Mackall trimmed it to nine with an energized third period in a 13-4 loss. More importantly, Mackall fended off the top 125-pounder without giving up five or six team points. 

With 125 finished, the most anticipated match of the day concluded the dual. DeSanto and No. 14 Austin Gomez met on the match with all eyes on the two.

The two split the first period, 3-3. Both added two in the second period, pushing the tie to 5-5 after two periods.

In the third chaos ensued. 

With a technical fall or pin, Gomez would secure Iowa State’s first win over Iowa since 2004. In the third period, Gomez briefly exposed DeSanto’s shoulders to the mat. DeSanto squirmed out of it, securing a reversal that Gomez escaped from.

After the dust settled, a review followed. After the review, the match went back to a tie, 8-8. Gomez continued to push the pace, and caught DeSanto on his back again. 

“He throws it out there,” Dresser said. “He’s not afraid. Look at the end of that match with all that controversy, there’s 1:13 to go. He’s looking at the scoreboard, and it’s tied 8-8. Most guys, what are they going to do? They’re going to try to go win 10-8. He tries to win the dual for the team.”

DeSanto avoided the pin and a team loss, slithering out of the bad situation. The third period buzzer went off and the No. 3 Hawkeyes remained undefeated.

“Gutsy,” said Iowa coach Tom Brands on DeSanto avoiding a pin.