The mats were brought out for the first time in Hilton Colosseum on Saturday for the Cyclone Open and the Cyclones had a few small victories and disappointments.

Miklus dominates

Redshirt senior transfer Willie Miklus won the tournament for his weight class and he did it relatively easily.

This was somewhat expected, coming into this weekend as Miklus is a three-time All-American.

“I thought it was a great start for him,” said coach Kevin Dresser.

In his first match, Miklus pinned Matthew Wenzel in 52 seconds. He followed that up in the semifinals with a 54-second pin against Wisconsin’s Brady Welter. In the finals, he faced off against Evan Hansen from Grand View University, who put up a much better fight against Miklus, but ultimately it was Miklus who won the tournament.

Miklus is ranked No. 5 in the nation at his weight of 197, and he showed why on Saturday.

Tough first bout for Carr

Freshman David Carr competed in his first collegiate tournament, and after getting a first-round bye, Carr was bounced in his first career match.

Carr would later come back to win the rest of his matches on the day and salvage third place.

“He found out college wrestling’s not as easy as it looks,” Dresser said.

Ultimately, it was a test of character for Carr, and he ended the day in the win column.

Carr’s debut was highly anticipated by Cyclone wrestling fans, but it’s likely he will redshirt this year, which keeps him out of contributing directly to the team for a year.

Big day for Duggan

Another freshman that had a notable day was heavyweight Francis Duggan.

Duggan was wrestling in the freshman/sophomore group, and he was able to win his tournament.

“Duggan came back and beat a guy who beat him a couple times in high school,” Dresser said.

Duggan was able to secure victory over a tough rival and it impressed his coach.

It’s also likely that he will redshirt this season.