The Cyclones further cemented themselves as one of the top teams in the nation Monday with their undefeated outing at the Collegiate Duals in Nashville, Tennessee, including two top-15 victories against No. 5 Cornell (26-15) and No. 13 Pittsburgh (21-14). The team also took a 31-9 victory over Little Rock.
Iowa State improved to 6-1 on the year after a two-week break from action following its appearance at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Cyclones edge out No. 13 Pittsburgh
The Cyclones kicked off their successful day in Nashville with their second top-15 dual win of the season with a 21-14 victory over Pittsburgh.
The Cyclones got off to a hot start in the dual, jumping out to a 14-3 lead after the first five weight classes.
The match that highlighted the Cyclones’ early success was No. 8 Evan Frost’s win in overtime against Pittsburgh’s No. 23 Vinnie Santaniello (9-6). Frost secured one point from an escape with one second left in the third period to send the match to overtime, where he would eventually score a takedown to secure the victory.
Pittsburgh clawed its way back, cutting the Cyclones’ lead to four points going into the final match.
The final match was at 285 pounds and was a top-10 matchup between Iowa State’s No. 3 Yonger Bastida and Pittsburgh’s No. 10 Dayton Pitzer.
Bastida fended off a late rally from Pitzer, getting the win and securing the Cyclone’s first victory of the day.
Iowa State dominates Little Rock
The Cyclones did not have to sweat out against the Trojans like they had to against Pittsburgh as they cruised to a 31-9 lead over an outmatched Little Rock.
The dual did not get out to an ideal start though, as at 133 pounds, Frost had his most disappointing performance of the season, losing 15-0 to No. 21 Nasir Bailey, which gave Little Rock the early 5-3 advantage.
Despite the alerting result at 133 pounds, the Cyclones straightened things out.
The Cyclones won seven of the final eight matches of the dual, with five matches ending in bonus point victories for the Cyclones.
Cyclones defeat No. 5 Cornell in top-10 matchup
The final dual of the night saw Iowa State take its biggest victory of the season, as it defeated No. 5 Cornell 26-15.
The Cyclones fell behind early at 125 pounds when Kysen Terukina was pinned by Cornell’s Greg Diakomihalis but regained the lead quickly after Frost and Anthony Echemendia took victories at 133 and 145 pounds.
Echemendia secured his victory by major decision (13-4) which gave the Cyclones a 7-6 lead after three matches.
The Cyclones would then rattle off another four victories to extend their lead to 23-6, highlighted by No. 4 David Carr securing a pin against Benny Rogers.
At 184 and 197 pounds the Cyclones found themselves facing two top-10 opponents from Cornell. At 184 pounds Will Feldkamp fought hard but was edged out by No. 9 Chris Foca 8-7, while Cornell’s No. 7 Jacob Cardenas pinned McCrae Hagarty.
The dual had already been decided, but No. 3 Bastida put the bow on a great day of wrestling for the Cyclones, defeating No. 19 Lewis Fernandes 6-3.
The Cyclones will look to build on another successful road trip as they head to Arizona for their final non-conference dual against No. 22 Arizona State on Jan. 5.
