AMES – No. 11 Iowa State took down Navy 29-9 for its first win of the season behind two freshmen and sophomore Connor Euton’s stout performances Friday.
Meza shines under the Hilton lights
Freshman Adrian Meza was 1-0 going into Friday, but that was due to a forfeit in the Stanford meet, so the dual against Navy was the first time Meza was able to get his feet wet in Hilton.
He wasted no time tallying a takedown in the first period and garnered another one at the end of the period to take a 6-2 lead.
The second period was where Meza took off. He got another takedown and notched a near fall to take complete control of the match.
In the third period, Meza continued his dominance and won the match 19-7. He only allowed escapes and just one takedown. Meza’s major decision got the Cyclones the win in the 125 weight class.
“For as young as [Meza] is, he is a professional in the way that he approaches the sport,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said. “His dad has a background in MMA, so he’s been raised to understand the details that it takes to be successful regardless of age.”
Herrera dominates again
Meza wrestles at 125, but at the very far end of the stick is freshman Daniel Herrera. Last match, Herrera won by technical fall and he followed that performance up with another one.
Herrera had two takedowns in the first period and only allowed two escapes to take a 6-2 lead. He had another takedown in the second period and ultimately stretched his lead to 10-2.
Herrera took off in the third period, where he pulled off four takedowns and won the match 23-6 and by major decision. Herrera is now 2-0 on the season filling in for No. 5 Yonger Bastida.
“There’s great upside with that guy, and he is taking advantage of another heavyweight [Bastida] that is a little banged up,” Dresser said. “[Herrera] had two swings at it, and he’s hit them both out of the park.”
Euton puts on a show
Euton’s eyesight was no problem for him tonight, as he notched his 10th technical fall of his career.
“The secret is that I can’t actually see [the crowd],” sophomore Connor Euton said. “As soon as I take my glasses off, I can’t see past about four and a half feet.”
Euton tallied five takedowns in the first five minutes of the match and completely controlled riding time to a 20-5 victory over Navy’s Charlie Evans at 165.
“Last week was tough, but I think this is where we start the momentum for the rest of the year,” Euton said.
Iowa State is back in action next Saturday when they take on Iowa in the Cy-Hawk matchup. The match will be in Iowa City at 6 p.m. and will be live-streamed on BIG 10+.
