The Cyclone wrestling team ended their season on high note, with four wrestlers finding their way to the podium and Iowa State legend David Carr capping off his illustrious career with a second NCAA Championship.
Here are three takeaways from the final day of the wrestling season:
Four Cyclones place on the podium
Four Cyclones finished their seasons on the podium, becoming All-Americans and capping off successful individual seasons.
At 133 pounds, freshman No. 8 Evan Frost started the day in the consolation semifinals with a match against No. 2 Ryan Crookham from Lehigh.
Frost wrestled hard but ultimately could not get by Crookham, losing the match 4-1 and dropping to the fifth-place match.
Frost bounced back in a big way, defeating No. 5 Dylan Ragusin from Michigan. Frost took home fifth place, placing three spots above his seed line to cap off a successful season for the freshman.
At 141 pounds, No. 5 Anthony Echemendia also started his day in the consolation semifinals, and just like Frost, he could not come out with the victory.
Echemendia was matched up against in-state rival No. 3 Real Woods from Iowa. Echemendia hung around but could not get his offense going, losing 4-0.
Echemendia would then accept a medical forfeit in the fifth-place match, securing a fifth-place NCAA finish in his first year as a Cyclone.
No. 7 Casey Swiderski had just one match on the day, and it was for seventh place.
Swiderski had no problems in this match, racking up 13 points in the first period alone and ultimately defeating Rider’s Quinn Kinner 19-8, securing seventh place.
Swiderski impressed in the tournament, placing one spot ahead of his seed line.
The Cyclones found themselves in fifth place after the consolation round with 64.5 points.
David Carr wins second national championship
Although Friday’s win against Keegan O’Toole must have felt as good as a national title, Carr still had work to do if he wanted to take home the ultimate prize.
No. 4 Carr was matched up against Penn State’s No. 2 Mitch Mesenbrink for a chance to win his second championship.
Carr started the match out hot, getting an early takedown to take the 3-0 lead.
After that takedown, Carr racked up plenty of riding time, keeping Mesenbrink in his grasp for well over a minute before conceding the escape in the final seconds of the first period.
It was clear that the ride took a lot of energy out of Carr, as for the next two periods he was on his heels, conceding two stalling points and an escape in the second. During that time, Carr somehow secured a crucial takedown of his own.
Mesenbrink would take an 8-7 lead after a takedown late in the match, but Carr quickly escaped, tying the match at eight.
It seemed as though Mesenbrink was not aware that Carr had one point locked up due to riding time, as the Penn State wrestler seemingly took his foot off the gas as time expired.
The early ride may have taken all of Carr’s energy, but it was ultimately the deciding factor as the point for riding time went on the scoreboard as the clock hit zero, securing the 9-8 victory in Carr’s favor.
Carr’s run to the championship was an extremely difficult one, as he had to go through the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 seed en route to the championship.
Carr ends his Cyclone career as one of the most decorated wrestlers in Iowa State history with a perfect ending, winning a second national title.
Cyclones wrap up successful season
The 2023-24 season was a banner year for the Cyclones, one of their most successful years in recent history.
This season saw the Cyclones have their best dual record since 2009, going 13-2.
The Cyclones also won their first Big 12 team title since 2009, taking down perennial Big 12 powers Missouri and Oklahoma State in the process.
The team’s performance at this year’s NCAA Championships was also the best the team had had since 2009, with four Cyclones finishing as All-Americans and finishing in fourth place in the team standings with 68.5 points.
The Cyclones finished behind only Penn State (172.5), Cornell (72.5) and Michigan (71.0). Notably, Iowa State finished above fifth-place in-state rival Iowa (67).
Although the Cyclones lose their captain and legend Carr, they are set to return plenty of key wrestlers.
Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser has built the program up from rock bottom and now looks to have the Cyclones in a good position going into the future.
