Iowa State wrestling had a taste of Big 12 competition this past weekend against the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Cyclones traveled, for their first time of the season, to the University of Northern Iowa where they defeated the Sooners in a neck-and-neck performance. 

Both teams went back and forth, exchanging leads all day and coming down to the final bout, Iowa State found a way to hang on.  

Freshmen contributions 

As seen in the first four matches for the Cyclones, the freshmen on this young team have proved their worth. Iowa State had five freshmen a part of their varsity roster against the Sooners. 

Kysen Terukina was one of those freshmen who not only earned his way on the mat, but got the job done as well. Terukina set the tone for the Cyclones in the first match of the day, he took on Mason Naifeh at 125.

Terukina had the first points of the match, the two went back and forth with an escape, takedown and one more escape. It was 3-3 heading into the third period. 

With 15 seconds left, Terukina ended it all with a takedown, defeating Naifeh 6-4 decision.   

Julien Broderson, who has taken a few losses this season, turned it around against the Sooners. Broderson, at 174, went head to head against Anthony Mantanona. 

By the end of the first period, Broderson had already secured a takedown, leading 2-1. Mantanona answered back with an escape to tie it up. 

Broderson was able to grab an escape in the third, along with almost a minute of riding time. After another stalling call, Broderson wins over his Oklahoma opponent 4-3.  

After working out a ruthless victory, Broderson plans on getting back to where he left off.

“Just taking this match and building off of it, i’m not going to change much,” Broderson said. “I’m going to keep training like I have been. It’s good to get a win like this every once in a while”.

Sealing the deal 

Heading into the final bout of the day, Iowa State had fan-favorite, Gannon Gremmel on the mat. Competing in the heavyweight class, Gremmel took on Oklahoma’s Josh Heindselman.

The Cyclones were trailing 15-16 going into the final match, so it was all on the line for Gremmel. 

Gremmel came out fierce and he took the lead early on with a takedown. Heading into the third period, Gremmel had advantage over his opponent 3-1. 

Heindselman took the lead from Gremmel with an escape and takedown, leaving the score 4-3 with a little over a minute left. 

As the bout came to an end, Gremmel found a way to escape, pushing the ending to a tie. 

In the sudden victory round, there were no points given. In the tiebreaker period, Gremmel snuck out another escape, taking the lead back. 

Gremmel secured the win over his opponent and gave his team the lead over Oklahoma. 

Head Coach Kevin Dresser shared his feelings regarding the victory from Gremmel.

“I think the better guy won but he had to really work for it and earn it,” Dresser said.

Iowa State will continue competing this Sunday in Ames against Lindenwood (1pm), Iowa Central (3pm), and Oklahoma State (7pm).