After recording the second conference win of the season against West Virginia, No. 13 Iowa State defeated Rider and Bucknell at the Virginia Duals. The Cyclones, highlighted by lightweight success, swiftly defeated Rider 30-9 and Bucknell 28-12.
Iowa State pummels Rider
Iowa State started off the day against Rider, soundly defeating the Broncos. The Cyclones went undefeated ahead of 165 matchup. Senior Kysen Terukina opened the first dual at 125, defeating Rider’s Kaden Namme 16-3.
Terukina was followed by the Frost twins, Evan defeating Nieko Malone 16-0 and Jacob winning by fall over McKenzie Bell in 5:58. The pin was Jacob’s first in a major dual this season, and the second dual pin following Chittum’s win by fall over North Dakota State’s Gabriel Schumm in Humboldt.
Sophomore Connor Euton remains inactive due to an ACL tear with redshirt sophomore Paniro Johnson wrestling in his place at 149. Johnson and sophomore Cody Chittum won on a decision and major decision.
In the first five matchups, the Cyclone wrestlers outscored Rider 49-8, and recorded the only pin of the dual courtesy of Jacob Frost. Iowa State won seven of ten, including losses by redshirt sophomore Aiden Riggins at 165, sophomore M.J. Gaitan at 174, and sophomore Nate Schon at 197.
Sophomore Nate Schon appeared at 197 in absence of redshirt freshman Christian Carroll, joining Chittum and freshman Daniel Herrera as replacements for All-American seniors Anthony Echemendia and Yonger Bastida.
Bucknell’s swift defeat
Following the dual with Rider, Iowa State took down Bucknell 28-12 in the closing matchup of the Virginia Duals. Terukina, the Frost twins, Johnson, Chittum, Bockman and Herrera all defeated opponents at their respective weight classes, going 2-0 on the day.
The struggles ensued for Riggins, Gaitan and Schon. Riggins lost on a fall to Bucknell’s Noah Mulvaney, Gaitan fell by a 9-6 decision to Myles Takatas and Schon to Dillon Bechtold.
Similar to the first dual with Rider, Iowa State went 5-0 through the 157 matchup. Evan and Jacob Frost both won by decision, Evan by a score of 6-3 and Jacob 5-2.
On the day, only one Cyclone, Riggins, lost by fall. At 174, Gaitan lost by a maximum of three points, his closest losing margin coming against Rider’s Michael Wilson in an 11-9 decision.
The middleweight struggles were later countered by a second win by Herrera, defeating Logan Sheppard by a decision of 4-1. Herrera’s 2-0 performance is his first undefeated performance in a multi-dual tournament this season.
Ranked wins
At the conclusion of the Bucknell dual, four Cyclones picked up ranked wins. Evan and Jacob Frost defeated Bucknell’s Kurt Phipps and Dylan Chappel, with Jacob also defeating Rider’s McKenzie Bell.
Bockman, Chittum and Johnson also recorded ranked wins. Bockman defeated Rider’s Isaac Dean, Chittum defeated Rider’s Colton Washleski and Johnson’s ranked win coming on a hard-fought 2-1 decision over Rider’s Sammy Alvarez.
Following the Virginia Duals, the Cyclones return home for the first time since Nov. 8 for the Cyclone Open. The open will take place at 10 a.m. on Jan. 19, and will be streamed live on the Varsity Network.
