AMES — No. 11 Iowa State takes on Navy in its second dual of the season, following an upset loss against the No. 20 ranked Stanford Cardinal. Head coach Kevin Dresser and the Cyclones will look to improve their record to .500 with a win.
Iowa State was led by Anthony Echemendia at 144 and Christian Carroll at 197. The Cyclones will look for more of the same against Navy with the return of Evan Frost at 133.
“The first time out is always hard,” Dresser said. “We didn’t have all of our guys in there, but there were a lot of positives going into this weekend.”
The Cyclones will return Frost, who failed to correctly make weight at 133. His replacement, Garrett Grice, conceded to Stanford’s Tyler Knox.
“[Frost] has done a good job this week, but the scale never lies to you,” Dresser said. “I made him weigh in to discipline him and then decided not to wrestle him to discipline him some more.”
However, Iowa State All-American Casey Swiderski suffered a knee injury in practice earlier this week. The 141-pound All-American is set to miss the entirety of the 2024-25 season.
“Casey suffered a knee injury earlier this week in practice and will have surgery [Friday],” Dresser said in a statement.
Swiderski will redshirt for the remainder of the season, with a return likely next season. The loss comes just before the dual against Navy. A decision on who will fill Swiderski’s spot at 141 has yet to be determined.
“He will use his redshirt for the 2024-2025 season,” Dresser continued. “We look forward to his return in the spring and his final two years of eligibility.”
Swideerski wrestled at 149 last season, placing seventh at the NCAA championships and finishing with a 24-5 record.
Navy split its last dual, winning 29-9 over Drexel and losing to No. 25 North Carolina by a score of 23-16. The Midshipmen are 1-2 on the season following a road loss to No. 25 Pittsburgh on Nov. 2.
“We’re going to get a lot of reps in this weekend,” Dresser said. “You can simulate as much as you want in the room, but until you get them out on the mat, it’s hard to make it real.”
Evan Bockman and Daniel Herrera are expected to appear for the Cyclones, Bockman at 184 and Herrera at heavyweight. Both wrestlers won their respective matches against Stanford, Bockman 15-7 and Herrera 20-4.
“It’s tough,” Herrera said. “Whether you’re in the wrestling room or at Hilton, you have to keep fighting from the first whistle to the last.”
Alongside Navy, Iowa State prepares for a dual against Grand View University on Saturday. Several Cyclone wrestlers are set to pull double duty, including Paniro Johnson and Frost.
“We’re going to play it by ear,” Dresser added. “We will evaluate where we send guys on Thursday and make the final decisions.”
Three Cyclones are in a battle at 125 ahead of Friday’s dual: Osmany Diversent, Adrian Meza and Kysen Terukina stand in contention to fill the spot in Friday’s matchup.
Friday’s dual also marks the season’s second matchup following Dresser’s recent four-year contract extension.
The matchup against Navy will take place at 7 p.m. Friday in Hilton Coliseum. The dual will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
