At points in the dual, it looked like it could be the year the Cyclones erase their 18-match losing streak to the Hawkeyes. After suffering some close losses and being on the other side of a couple of upsets, the Cyclones fell to the Hawkeyes once again 18-14.
The dual started off with a less-than-ideal result for the Cyclones at 125 pounds.
Iowa State’s Kysen Terukina (No. 8) took an upset loss to Iowa’s Drake Ayala (No. 17) 7-1. This was a tough loss for the Cyclones as this was a match projected to go their way.
At 133 pounds, though, the Cyclones struck back with an upset of their own.
Iowa State’s Evan Frost (No. 19) upset Iowa’s Brody Teske (No. 8) 8-1, which brought the dual back to even at 3-3.
“He was real tired. I started to wear on him, and I ended up getting it,” Frost said on his first Cy-Hawk victory.
At 141 pounds the Cyclones suffered their first of multiple heartbreaking close losses.
Iowa State’s Anthony Echemendia (No. 19) had Iowa’s Real Woods (No. 1) on the ropes, almost securing a last-second win in the third period with a takedown before ultimately losing 4-1 in overtime, giving the three-point advantage back to the Hawkeyes.
Iowa State’s Casey Swiderski (No. 14) got those three points right back after securing a top-10 win over Iowa’s Victor Voinovich (No. 9), winning 6-3.
At 157 pounds the Cyclones suffered another heartbreaking loss.
Iowa State’s Cody Chittum (No. 18), down two with just seconds left on the clock, took a shot and looked to have secured a three-point takedown as time expired. After video review, it was ruled that the time had run out, giving the win to Iowa’s Jared Franek (No. 2).
At 165 pounds Iowa State’s David Carr (No. 2) made easy work of Iowa’s Michael Caliendo (No. 5), defeating him 16-4 and securing the first bonus points of the match, which gave the Cyclones a 10-9 lead.
“He’s David Carr. He’s a stud; that’s what studs do,” head coach Kevin Dresser said.
At 174 pounds the Cyclones were once again victims of a last-second defeat.
After falling down 12-4 heading into the third period, MJ Gaitan went on a furious rally, bringing the match within one point before time expired, giving Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy the 14-13 victory to give Iowa the lead back.
“That one will keep me awake for months, and months, and months and years. We thought we had riding time in the heat of battle, and we didn’t,” Dresser said.
After that match at 174 pounds, it seemed as though the Cyclones had lost momentum, as they dropped the next two matches at 184 pounds and 197 pounds when they desperately needed at least one of them to go their way.
Julien Broderson’s loss to Iowa’s Zach Glazier at 197 pounds put the dual out of reach going into the final match, as Iowa extended their lead to eight.
At 285, Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida (No. 6) went out with an impressive victory, despite its insignificance in the dual’s outcome.
Bastida defeated Iowa’s Bradley Hill 17-6, making the final score 18-14 in favor of the Hawkeyes.
“Sometimes, you get a dual meet you don’t deserve to get, and sometimes you lose dual meets you probably don’t deserve to lose. And I think that was the case today,” Dresser said.
Despite the defeat, Dresser is confident in his team moving forward.
“This is a good team at Iowa State. We just didn’t get one thing to fall our way today, but that’s sports sometimes,” Dresser said.
The Cyclones will be back in action Friday at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
