AMES – For the first time since Nov. 15, No. 13 Iowa State came home to Hilton Coliseum for the Cyclone Open — dominating in the team’s return.
Opening round chaos
Senior lightweight Kysen Terukina opened the day, wrestling at 125 for the Cyclones. Terukina was the first of Iowa State’s starting lineup to secure a first-round victory, defeating Wisconsin’s Wyatt Skebba on a 7-2 decision.
Terukina was followed by freshman Adrian Meza, sophomore Evan Frost and sophomore Ethan Perryman in the early stages. All four Cyclones won by margins of four points or greater, including a 19-4 major decision by Meza.
Sophomores Paniro Johnson and Cody Chittum closed the opening matchups of the first round, with Johnson winning by sudden victory 19-16 and Chittum by major decision 19-6. Johnson’s 19-16 victory was his highest-scoring matchup of the season.
“I’m excited that he’s back,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said. “Our guys love competing here, and they showed it, especially today.”
Where some found early success, others struggled to build momentum. Freshman Osmany Diversent fell to Nebraska’s Omar Ayoub by a 7-4 decision, followed by a technical fall defeat from Xavier Bruening 22-5.
Diversent’s second matchup of the day ended by fall in 34 seconds, which was his fastest defeat of the season.
Cyclone debuts
Several wrestlers debuted for Iowa State in the opening rounds of the Open. Freshman Blake Giomio, sophomore C.J. Carter, sophomore Nate Schon and freshman Colby Runner appeared at their respective weights.
Giomio defeated Oklahoma State’s JJ Ryan McComas, followed by Carter and Runner, winning at their respective weight classes.
Carter, a former junior college national champion with Iowa Western, won his opening matchup 14-2 on a major decision. Runner lost by decision, and Carlucci by technical fall 18-3.
Another dominant heavyweight, freshman Daniel Herrera, entered the contest at 285 and won his first-round matchup by fall.
“The opportunity to compete is something these guys fight for,” Dresser said. “Many guys that wrestled today haven’t had that opportunity, and they got to show what they were made of on the mat today.”
Second-round momentum
After their first-round victories, Frost and Terukina opened the quarterfinal round. Frost won by technical fall over Utah Valley’s Kase Mauger and Terukina over Nebraska’s Kael Lauridsen.
“Matches like that are important,” Dresser said. “It’s good for these guys to get out in situations like today and wrestle hard.”
The early momentum kept up after a sudden victory from Perryman and a fall from sophomore Garrett Grice rounded out the preliminary stages of the second round.
Meza was the first exit for Iowa State in the quarterfinals, losing the 125 quarterfinals 17-2 to Nebraska’s Alan Koehler. Meza was followed by Diversent, who lost by fall in 34 seconds.
Heavyweight sophomore Owen Helgeson lost 15-0 by technical fall to Missouri’s Logan Cole in the first shutout against an opponent on the day.
“Things like that happen, just part of it,” Dresser said. “It’s an experience, and learning from it will benefit the team in the future.”
Following a dominant first-round win, sophomore Jacob Frost won his quarterfinal matchup 14-4 by a major decision. Frost’s twin brother, Evan, also won his quarterfinal matchup.
A comeback 8-7 decision victory by Johnson concluded the middleweight matchups and a win by Herrera closed the quarterfinal round.
Semifinals and exclamations
Both Terukina and Perryman wrestled in the 125 semifinal round. While Terukina succeeded against Utah Valley’s Bridger Ricks, Perryman fell to Nebraska’s Alan Koehler in an 8-3 decision.
Afterward, it was Jacob Frost, Grice and Johnson in the semifinals, Grice at 133, Frost at 141 and Johnson at 149. Grice won by fall in 2:16, complemented by an 11-1 decision from Frost and a 7-2 decision from Johnson.
At 197, two Cyclones wrestled off for a chance to advance. Heavyweights in freshman Sawyer Bartlet and redshirt freshman McCrae Hagarty advanced to the semifinal, with Bartlet winning on a 17-2 technical fall.
Concluding the tournament, five Cyclones won their respective divisions. Terukina took first at 125, Jacob Frost at 133 and Herrera at heavyweight. In addition, Perryman placed third at 125.
Iowa State is back in action against Oklahoma at 7 p.m. Friday in the annual Beauty and the Beast event. The dual will be streamed live on ESPN+.
