Iowa State Wrestling will host the inaugural Cyclone Invitational presented by Daily’s Premium Meats on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones will welcome teams from Wisconsin, California Baptist, Utah Valley and SIU Edwardsville.
“There’s a lot of talent here. That doesn’t guarantee anything, so we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said.
The Cyclones released their lineup for Saturday on Thursday. Each school is allowed two entries per weight class. The brackets are yet to be released at the time of publication.
Iowa State lineup:
125: Redshirt freshman Adrian Meza, junior Ethan Perryman
133: Junior Garrett Grice, freshman Carter Pearson
141: No. 6 senior Anthony Echemendia (0-1), No. 5 [133] junior Evan Frost
149: No. 4 junior Paniro Johnson, sophomore Logan Stotts
157: No. 5 senior Vinny Zerban, redshirt freshman Kane Naaktgeboren
165: No. 15 junior Aiden Riggins, junior Connor Euton
174: No. 13 junior MJ Gaitan, freshman Jacob Helgeson
184: No. 9 senior Isaac Dean, sophomore Tate Naaktgeboren
197: No. 2 senior Rocky Elam, junior Rowan Udell
285: No. 1 senior Yonger Bastida (1-0), sophomore McCrae Hagarty
*InterMat Rankings (11/4/2025)
The winner of each weight class will receive bacon and swag from Daily’s Premium Meats.
Evan Frost had been dealing with injuries this preseason, which kept him out of wrestle-offs. The injuries also slowed down his preseason weight cut. Evan Frost will wrestle this weekend at 141.
“I was working with [Brent] Metcalf today, and when we do the individuals, where you put your head is really important,” Evan Frost said. “So, just a few little tweaks.”
Wrestling with a weight cut can be a struggle, especially when coming back from injury. Dresser will likely try to get Evan Frost down to 133 for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk series Nov. 30 at Hilton Coliseum.
Dresser used the transfer portal to bring in top-tier collegiate wrestlers. Along with other transfers, Elam (Missouri) and Dean (Rider), he added two former All-Americans from Northern Colorado. Seniors Poulin and Zerban will be wrestling for the Cyclones this season.
No. 5 at 157, Zerban, is the current starter for the Cyclones. The Cyclones have a very talented roster for the middleweight classes, 141-157. With All-American junior Jacob Frost and two-time Big 12 champion Johnson wrestling at 149, someone is going to get left on the bench.
Jacob Frost is not in the lineup for the Cyclone Invitational; the reason is currently unknown. The former All-American can wrestle five dates if they wish to redshirt a season for eligibility.
Pearson will be making his Cyclone debut. Pearson was a four-time Iowa High School state medalist with a record of 43-2 in his senior season. The state runner-up in 2025, he lost to ISU commit and current high school senior Timothy Koester.
Pearson is listed as the second wrestler at 133 behind Grice.
The Cyclone Invitational will start at 10 a.m. Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. The championship matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ starting at 3 p.m.
