Iowa State is in the midst of one of its best seasons in recent history after winning its first Big 12 Championship since 2009. Now, the Cyclones turn their focus toward the 2024 NCAA Championships in Kansas City, Missouri, where they have a chance to finish in the top-five for the first time since 2010.
Nine wrestlers will also have the chance to compete for individual accolades, with five out of nine Cyclones seeded in the top-10 of their respective weight classes.
“We just have to wait till Thursday morning at 11 so we’re, we’re excited. Nine healthy guys right now, we gotta get through one more workout here, and the work is done,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said.
The Cyclone with the best chance of winning a national championship based on seeding is Yonger Bastida at 285 pounds.
Bastida has run through the competition so far, going 24-0 and collecting bonus points in 70% of his matches, good enough to earn the No. 2 seed at the NCAA Championships.
Coming off an upset win over then No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force to win the Big 12 title, Bastida looks primed to make a run at the national championship.
“Every time they wrestle me they have to try to survive because I’m ready. I’m ready every time,” Bastida said.
No one has survived yet, but there is another undefeated wrestler on the other side of the bracket who would likely be waiting for Bastida if he made it to the finals. Greg Kerkvliet from Penn State is the No. 1 seed at 285 pounds and might be the only thing preventing Bastida from taking home the title in his first year at 285.
“I’ve watched him, so I just got to be ready and hopefully he stays ready too, to see me if he makes the finals,” Bastida said.
Anthony Echemendia, the other Cyclone to win a Big 12 title, finds himself as the No. 5 seed heading into the NCAA Championships.
This will be Echemendia’s first appearance at the NCAA, and he is set up to become a first-time All-American if he can wrestle to his seed line.
Other Cyclones making their first appearances at the NCAA include No. 8 Evan Frost (133), No. 14 Cody Chittum (157) and No. 15 MJ Gaitan (174).
There are five Cyclones that are returning to the NCAA (Kysen Terukina, Casey Swiderski, David Carr, Will Feldkamp and Bastida). Carr, Feldkamp and Bastida have already reached All-American status in previous seasons, while Swiderski and Terukina will be looking to do so for the first time.
Carr is the Cyclone with the most intrigue going into his final run at the NCAA Tournament.
After dropping the Big 12 title match to Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole, Carr controversially dropped to the No. 4 seed at 165 pounds. This left Carr and No. 1-seeded O’Toole on the same side of the bracket, thus making a championship final rematch impossible.
“I think [Carr], deep down, doesn’t get to be the underdog much, and my experience with [Carr] is it’s a little bit easier for him, and as his career went on, to be the hunter. And so he might get to be the hunter for one time,” Dresser said.
“With O’Toole, just a lot of just little adjustments, little things you know. Really close to a takedown, really close to some different things. And so for me, working on those things this past week, working on the little things, and I think will make a big difference,” Carr said.
The Cyclones will look to cap off their most successful season in recent history starting at 11 a.m. Thursday from Kansas City, Missouri.
Sessions one, three and five can be watched on ESPNU, while sessions two, four and six can be watched on ESPN.
