Whether it was last-second comebacks, top-10 wins or both, it seemed the No. 4 Cyclones found a way to come through in the dual’s biggest moments, propelling them to a 29-11 win over No. 17 West Virginia.
Most of the night’s drama came in the first half of the dual, which created quite an intense environment in Hilton Coliseum before the Cyclones ultimately pulled away.
“It’s electric, it’s surreal out there, I love it. I think the guys on the other team are like ‘man I wish it were like this where I’m from,’” Casey Swiderski said on the environment in Hilton Coliseum.
“There is nothing like wrestling in Hilton,” David Carr said.
At 125 pounds, No. 25 Kysen Terukina started the night’s excitement in Hilton Coliseum. Trailing by two points late in the third period, Terukina scored a takedown in the final seconds to come back and win his match 10-7.
At 133 pounds, No. 8 Evan Frost made easy work of West Virginia’s Davin Rhoads, winning the match by technical fall (17-1), securing five points for the Cyclones.
At 141 pounds, Sam Hrabovsky’s name was called in place of No. 9 Anthony Echemendia. Hrabovsky did not step into an easy position in his dual debut, as he matched up with the Mountaineers’ No. 10 Jordan Titus. The sophomore put together a gritty performance but ultimately fell to Titus 11-3.
“Hrabovsky got a phone call at 7:30 right when he finished his weightlifting this morning. He was ready to go and he went out there and competed hard,” head coach Kevin Dresser said on the freshman’s debut.
At 149 pounds the meet saw its first ranked matchup of the night, with the Cyclones’ No. 10 Casey Swiderski facing off against the Mountaineers’ No. 7 Ty Watters.
The match lived up to the hype.
Swiderski secured a late takedown to send the match into a fourth period tied 4-4. It was clear Swiderski had all of the momentum towards the end of regulation, and he used it to score the winning takedown, securing the sudden victory 7-4.
“I should’ve gotten to the guy’s legs earlier, it would’ve been easier, wouldn’t have had to go to overtime,” Swiderski said. “It was a good learning experience, next time it won’t be like that. I’m getting there, a couple more matches and we’ll be dialed.”
At 157 pounds, the Cyclones’ No. 13 Cody Chittum came with a strong performance, defeating the Mountaineers’ Caleb Downing by major decision with a score of 13-5.
The match everyone had been waiting for was at 165 pounds, with Iowa State’s No. 2 David Carr facing off with No. 8 Peyton Hall, who last week nearly defeated Missouri’s No. 1 Keegan O’Toole.
Despite the hype, it looked like any other match for the Cyclone legend. Carr jumped out to an early lead with an aggressive offense and stayed in control the rest of the way. A late takedown made the score look close, but this was Carr’s match from the start, with the final score being 9-5.
“[Carr] is set up to be a four-time top three guy in the nation, there’s not many of them walking the planet, he’s been a catalyst for us,” Dresser said while reflecting on Carr’s storied career.
“Just super special today, super amped, super pumped just to wrestle with my brothers,” Carr said. “I see them working hard and it’s cool seeing them win.”
At 174 pounds, No. 13 MJ Gaitan made Hilton Coliseum erupt as he secured a pin 38 seconds into the first period, defeating the Mountaineers’ Brody Conley.
“Hilton erupted, there was just so much energy, I was not letting that thing go,” Gaitan said about his emotions as he pinned his opponent.
At 181 pounds saw another freshman making their dual debut, with Tate Naaktgeboren stepping up in the place of No. 8 Will Feldkamp for a matchup with West Virginia’s No. 30 Dennis Robin. The freshman put up a valiant effort, but ultimately dropped the match 15-5.
At 197 pounds, No. 30 Julien Broderson lost his match with the Mountaineers’ Austin Cooley, 10-4.
At 285 pounds, No. 3 Yonger Bastida kept his undefeated record rolling, winning by technical fall 23-8. Despite giving up his second takedown of the season, Bastida had no problem moving to 18-0, capping off a strong victory for the Cyclones.
