The Iowa State wrestling team hosted the first match of the season against the Wartburg Knights on Sunday, dominating the Knights, 35-6 in the first dual.

Both teams had wrestlers competing in 10 varsity matches, 10 junior varsity matches and five extra matches. 

Out of the 10 wrestlers that competed within the varsity matches, four of them were freshmen.

Along with these younger guys, many of the Cyclones’ sophomores appeared Sunday as well.

Freshmen highlights

For his collegiate debut at 133, Zach Redding had a nearly flawless execution on the mat against Wartburg’s Joe Pins. In the first period Redding went on 56 seconds of riding time with two takedowns. 

To secure the dominance, Redding had an escape, a takedown and a two-point near fall against Pins in the second period. Redding finished Pins with a 16-1 technical fall. 

Redding got his first look at high level competition against Wartburg and didn’t miss a beat.

“I definitely feel that I wrestled to my ability, I pushed the pace and got the win” Redding said. 

An exciting performance came from freshman Yonger Bastida. At 197 pounds, Bastida took an early lead against Kobe Woods, notching a takedown to grab the first points. 

Bastida had an illegal hold and gave up an escape to Woods, leaving the two neck and neck going into the second period. 

Bouncing back quickly, Bastida made it difficult for Woods to keep up. Bastida had over a two minute advantage of riding time and ended up with a 15-8 win in the bout.

“Yonger was super excited, he just has to learn some of the rules,” sophomore David Carr said about his teammate. 

Cam Robinson, wrestling at 149 pounds, took home the win for his collegiate debut and for the Cyclones. Competing against Brady Fritz, Robinson had a 9-3 lead by the end of the second period with two take downs. 

By the end of the third period, Robinson had two more take downs and a four-point near fall, winning the dual against Fritz. This win extended the Cyclone lead to 19-0.

Senior show-outs

Iowa State is a young team, but there is a section of upperclassmen on the roster that showed out Sunday. Alex Mackall, Gannon Gremmel, and Ian Parker were apart of the 10 Cyclones on the varsity roster against Wartburg.

All three of the senior wrestlers who competed defeated their Knights opponent. 

At 125 pounds, Mackall started it off strong for the Cyclones, taking on Owen McClave from Wartburg.

McClave had a solid bite to begin but Mackall did not let that last long. Within two minutes and 55 seconds Mackall had a reversal and then pinned McClave. 

No. 4 Parker had a blank start to his match against Kris Rumph.

Parker scored in the second period with a take down and two escapes, putting him ahead 4-0 to conclude the second. 

To finish off the match and Rumph, Parker had a pair of take downs. 

Gremmel, who competed in the heavyweight division, dominated in the last match against Jordon Brandon. 

Off the bat, Gremmel got a takedown, bringing Brandon to his knees. Going into the third period, Gremmel led 13-1. 

With four take downs, a four-point near fall, two stalling calls, a pair of escapes and a riding time advantage, Gremmel won 17-4 major decision. 

The Cyclones will compete Sunday in Ames against Loras at 1 p.m. and then face Nebraska at Kearney at 3 p.m.