The Iowa State wrestling squad will commence their 2021-22 home season on Saturday in back-to-back dual meets. The Cyclones first face off against Army and then take on California Baptist University. They will return to Hilton Coliseum on Sunday to participate in the Harold Nichols Open.

The Cyclones started off the season on Nov. 21 at the Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D., where they came away with four individual titles and ten wrestlers finish in the top three of their respective weight classes.

One of those title winners included redshirt sophomore David Carr, the defending NCAA Champion in the 157-pound division. Carr, who is also currently ranked #1 in his weight class by Intermat, started off the 2021-22 season by going 4-0 and defeating Nebraska’s Peyton Robb in the finals of 157-pound weight class by a score of 7-5. The Canton, Ohio, native is now on a 37-match winning streak that dates back to December of 2019.

Carr said of his goals for the 2021-22 season that, “The goal is just to score points for the team, whether it be a tech (technical fall) or pin. Whatever I did last season is in the past, and what I can do this season is all I’m focused on right now.”

Sophomore Kysen Terukina has also had a strong start to the new season, with an 8-0 record on the year. After taking the 125-pound weight class title at the Grand View Open on Nov. 13, Terukina took home the top prize again at the Daktronics meet, Nebraska’s Liam Cronin in the semifinals (4-3 on decision) and then teammate Corey Cabanban in the finals 3-1.

The undefeated start to the season has propelled Terukina’s position from unranked to No. 22 in the country for 125 pounds ahead of Iowa State’s first dual meets of the year. The Ewa Beach, Hawaii, native capped off his freshman season last year by qualifying for the NCAA Championships, as well as a sixth place finish at the Big 12 Championships.

Sophomore Zach Redding and redshirt senior Jarret Degen rounded out the champions from the Daktronics Open, and both could wrestle in the starting lineup for head coach Kevin Dresser on Saturday.

Redding took first place in the 141-pound weight class last time out for Iowa State, while Degen started off his season in strong fashion by winning all four of his matches to win the title in the 149-pound category.

Degen also has company in the 149-pound weight class in fellow senior Ian Parker, who is currently ranked 10th in the country as per Intermat’s latest rankings.

Parker has yet to compete in a match this season, having finished runner-up at the Big 12 Championships in the 141-pound division and earning a qualifying spot for the national championships.

“It’ll be interesting for sure,” Degen said at media day on the current competition in his weight class. “When I transferred here, it wasn’t my spot, and so I had to earn it then too. Ian is obviously a top-notch wrestler, but I’m not saying it’s his spot or mine, so we’ll see where it goes.”

Iowa State is currently ranked 13th in the NWCA Coaches Poll. Both of their opponents in Army and Cal Baptist have yet to win a dual meet this season. Army was defeated by No. 2 Penn State 32-7 on Nov. 18, while the Lancers have lost their last two meets to No. 25 North Dakota State and Utah Valley by scores of 43-3 and 20-13 respectively.

The Cyclones wrestle at 1 p.m. against Army with the dual against Cal Baptist set to begin around 2:30 p.m. Both duals will are being live streamed on ESPN+, with live stats also available on TrackWrestling.com.