AMES – Iowa State dropped its first matchup of the season to the No. 20 ranked Stanford Cardinal by a score of 23-21. The Cyclones opened the season 0-1 for the first time in the previous five years after head coach Kevin Dresser’s contract extension two days prior.
Ranked wins
Senior Anthony Echemendia and redshirt freshman Christian Carroll both earned ranked wins for the Cyclones, with Echemendia at 144 and Carroll at 197. Both wrestlers won their respective matchups by a margin greater than a takedown.
“I was as much of a fan tonight as anyone else,” Dresser said. “I didn’t have any idea what was going to happen, but I knew that our guys were young and this was going to be a close meet.”
Echemendia’s opponent, Jadan Abas, recorded the first points of the 144 matchup, taking an early 3-0 lead. After a takedown and a near fall, Echemendia expanded his lead to 10-4, and won by a final of 11-4.
“I went out there and wrestled hard,” Echemendia said. “As the season goes on, you’re going to see a difference in growth from all of us.”
Carroll’s win came in his first matchup inside of Hilton Coliseum against Stanford’s Nick Stemmet. Carroll opened the scoring with a takedown, followed by an escape given up to force 3-1. Escapes were a common theme between Carroll and Stemmet, with Stanford recording four out of seven points via one-point margins.
Both Carroll and Echemendia start the season 1-0, but mentioned that their respective victories are only the start.
“The wins don’t change anything,” Carroll said. “It’s nice to win, but it doesn’t define us. We’ve got the whole season ahead of us, and at the end of the day we’re back in the room tomorrow.”
All-American absence
Sophomore Evan Frost did not make an appearance for Iowa State at the 133 weight class. In his place, sophomore Garrett Grice conceded on points to Stanford’s Tyler Knox. Frost was pulled before the matchup due to complications with his weight.
“It’s no secret that 133 is a hard weight to maintain,” Dresser said. “Sometimes you have to learn lessons in this sport, and If we would have thrown him out there, he wouldn’t have won.”
The Cyclones took a blow, with Grice conceding at 133. Alongside Frost’s absence, true freshman Kane Naaktgeboren conceded by a score of 19-2.
Iowa State’s Connor Euton, Aidan Riggins and Zach Redding were defeated on the mat alongside Grice and Naaktgeboren. Redding lost on a fault, while Euton and Riggins fell on points.
Heavyweight dominance
In the absence of senior Yonger Bastida, Iowa State called upon freshman Daniel Herrera. Herrera made quick work of Stanford’s Jackson Mankowski, scoring a quick seven points on two takedowns and an escape. It didn’t take long for Herrera’s lead to become 14-2 in the third period before ending the heavyweight fight at 20-4.
“[Herrera] getting that exposure and getting after it was exciting,” Carroll said. “He falls in line with that new generation of heavyweights. His group of skills is scary, and he’s got a lot of time to develop.”
Herrera’s dominance in place of Bastida is something that the Cyclones will look to capitalize on, barring Bastida’s return. Bastida’s injury earlier this season has ruled him out of competition until Nov. 23.
Iowa State will take on Navy in the second dual of the season. The Cyclones will look to avenge the loss heading into the remainder of the season.
The matchup against Navy will take place at 7 p.m. Friday and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
