AMES – No. 12 Iowa State will have very few friends in Carver-Hawkeye Arena Saturday when the Cyclones take on No. 2 Iowa in the annual Cy-Hawk battle.
It looks like Iowa State will be getting major reinforcements, including the No. 4 ranked heavyweight Yonger Bastida. He is slated to face off against No. 12 Ben Kueter.
“He had a good scrap [Monday],” Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said. “He wrestled hard most of last week so he is excited and ready to go.”
“Yonger [Bastida] keeps the same mentality. He knows who he is and how good he is,” senior Anthony Echemendia said. “He’s more hungry than he was before last season because he got a taste of what he is capable of. He knows he can be a top two guy in the nation.”
No. 6 ranked 149-pounder Echemendia has not wrestled in Carver-Hawkeye Arena since high school, and this will be the first time he’s done it for a Cy-Hawk Dual. Bastida, who has wrestled Iowa once in Iowa City, knows the hostile environment.
“[Bastida] told me it’s going to be crazy and they’re gonna be talking so much shit when you walk out of the tunnel,” Echemendia said. “Being able to wrestle in front of 12,000 people is like going to a party for me.”
Echemendia will have his hands full with Iowa’s No. 4 ranked Kyle Parco.
“It’s going to be a good experience to have early on in the season,” Echemendia said. “It’s going to be a good matchup for me because it might be a guy that I will wrestle in March.”
Staying focused and hungry is what the Cyclone coaching staff has been preaching, but they also know that they need to wrestle freely and try to enjoy the moment according to Echemendia.
No. 10 ranked 157-pounder Paniro Johnson is lined up to face Iowa’s No. 1 ranked Jacori Teemer after Johnson missed all of last season due to a suspension for gambling. In Iowa’s dual against Bellarmine, Teemer recorded a pinfall just 24 seconds into his match, so it is no secret Johnson has quite the task ahead of him.
“[Johnson] seems to rise to the occasion when the occasion’s there,” Dresser said. “He’s going to have to really rise because they got a really good guy [Teemer] at 157.”
Redshirt freshman and No. 14 ranked Christian Carroll is all business for his matchup with Iowa’s No. 1 ranked Stephen Buchanan at the 197 class.
“I’ve got the number one guy in the country, so I have no pressure,” Carroll said. “He has all the pressure. He’s the one who has been in college for like seven years, and I’m the freshman coming in so they are probably overlooking me. I’m excited to wrestle a full, hard seven minutes and make every second of that match tough.”
Carroll may be one of the younger guys on the squad, but he is ready for the environment.
“I love every aspect of it,” Carroll said. “I love a hostile environment. I love that energy. I love being hated. I love being doubted, and I just want to get after it and prove everyone wrong.”
This year is the 88th annual Cy-Hawk dual. The Hawkeyes lead the series 69-16-2 and won the last dual 18-14. Dresser holds a 0-7 record against Iowa.
The Cy-Hawk wrestling match starts at 6 p.m. Saturday and will be streamed live on BIG+.
