No. 13 Iowa State took down No. 22 West Virginia in its second Big 12 bout 24-18 Wednesday night. The lighter-weights thrusted the Cyclones to a 20-0 advantage to hold on for the win.
Earlier in the season, the higher weights were viewed as the ones who would have to lead Iowa State. Now with all the injuries in the higher weight classes, the lower weights would have to step up – and they did just that.
Getting ‘Frosty’ at 133 and 141
No. 8 ranked 133-pound sophomore Evan Frost came out the gate hot, with three takedowns in the opening period before winning by tech fall 20-3.
Following Evan Frost was his brother, No. 15 ranked 141-pound sophomore Jacob Frost. Jacob Frost didn’t have quite the dominant performance as his brother, but he was able to fight off some early adversity to capture the win.
The Frost brothers have seen success after Jacob Frost was inserted into the lineup. Jacob Frost has won three of his last four matches and Evan Frost has won his last two. Jacob Frost has a tech fall and a major decision under his name in those four matches.
Johnson’s flexibility
Senior Paniro Johnson has been all over the place to start the season. He’s wrestled at 165, 157 and now 149.
Johnson certainly did not slow down even with having to cut weight. He dominated the entire match and secured a tech fall to give the Cyclones a 14-0 lead in the dual.
With the win, Johnson now has victories at all three weight classes he has wrestled in.
Bockman stands out among higher weights
Iowa State struggled in weights above 157 against West Virginia, only tallying one win. That one win came from No. 12 ranked 184-pound senior Evan Bockman.
Bockman pulled off an important major decision against No. 16 Dennis Robin. This major decision helped give the Cyclones the cushion they needed as they only won the match by six.
Iowa State will have some questions to answer coming up as three of the five higher weights lost by major decision.
The Cyclones will be back in action Saturday in the Virginia Duals against Rider and Bucknell. The dual against Rider is at 11 a.m. and the dual against Bucknell is at 2 p.m. Both will be streamed live on FloWrestling.
