The No. 3 Iowa State wrestling team traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, to compete in the Journeymen Collegiate Duals. The Cyclones were defeated by No. 2 Ohio State, 21-13, and then victorious over No. 22 Lehigh, 26-11.
The Cyclones were not at full strength for the event. Head coach Kevin Dresser joked with reporters at his media availability that there is no way to prevent injuries in collegiate wrestling.
He also avoided surrendering information about his team’s health before the event.
“I’m gonna be really transparent and tell you that I’m not gonna be transparent today,” Dresser said. “We’ve got some maybes, but we also have, I think, some tough guys.”
No. 3 157 lbs. senior Vinny Zerban and No. 14 174 lbs. junior MJ Gaitan didn’t wrestle in the event. No. 4 141 lbs. senior Anthony Echemendia did not wrestle in the second dual against Lehigh after a loss against Ohio State.
Loss to No. 2 Ohio State
The Buckeyes handed the Cyclones their first dual loss of the 2025-26 season, with a score of 21-13. While Iowa State was defeated, it saw four victories, with two of them being upsets.
Junior Jacob Frost defeated redshirt sophomore Ethan Stiles in a 149-pound bout. Frost opened up the scoring by earning an escape in the second period, while Stiles earned an escape in the third.
The match went into a sudden victory overtime period where Frost secured a takedown to win 4-1.
Junior Connor Euton also earned a victory over redshirt senior Paddy Gallagher at 165 lbs.
The pair had a similar match to the 149 lbs. match with no scoring in the first period. Gallagher earned an escape in the second, followed by Euton escaping to begin the third.
Euton would take down his opponent and then allow an escape to secure the victory for the Cyclones, 4-2.
Seniors Rocky Elam and Yonger Bastida, both ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes, also earned victories for the Cyclones.
125: No. 5 Nic Bouzakis, OHST, dec. No. 12 Stevo Poulin, ISU, 9-2
133: No. 2 Ben Davino, OHST, dec. No. 3 Evan Frost, ISU, 4-2
141: No. 1 Jesse Mendez, OHST, dec. No. 4 Anthony Echemendia, ISU, 5-1
149: No. 7 Jacob Frost, ISU, dec. No. 4 Ethan Stiles, OHST, 4-1 SV
157: No. 5 Brandon Cannon, OHST, fall Kane Naaktgeboren, ISU, 6:53
165: No. 21 Connor Euton, ISU, dec. No. 12 Paddy Gallagher, OHST, 4-2
174: No. 4 Carson Kharchla, OHST, dec. Aiden Riggins, ISU, 7-3
184: No. 6 Dylan Fishback, OHST, dec. No. 13 Isaac Dean, ISU, 4-1 SV
197: No. 1 Rocky Elam, ISU, MD No. 9 Luke Geog, OHST, 9-0
285: No. 1 Yonger Bastida, ISU, dec. No. 3 Nick Feldman, OHST, 4-2
Win over No. 22 Lehigh
The Cyclones did end the event with a victory, defeating the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 26-11.
Iowa State’s Frost Brothers both earned victories against Lehigh.
Evan Frost defeated Lehigh sophomore Mason Ziegler in a major decision, 14-3. While Jacob Frost defeated first-year Anthony Evanitsky, 5-0.
Evan talked about how his twin brother, Jacob, is now 149 lbs., instead of his usual 141 lbs.
“The thing that gets me is we’ll be taking pictures next to each other, and it just looks two weight classes above me,” Evan said. “Whereas, for our whole lives, he’s just been a little bit bigger than me, so now he just looks more full.”
No. 1 Bastida also got a victory over a top-10 opponent in senior Nathan Taylor. This weekend was a massive test and learning opportunity for Bastida and the entire Cyclone roster.
“It’s a huge opportunity to go out there and compete with the best guys in the country,” Bastida said.
125: No. 4 Sheldon Seymour, LEH, dec. No. 12 Stevo Poulin, ISU, 9-6
133: No. 3 Evan Frost, ISU, MD Mason Ziegler, LEH, 14-3
141: Carter Bailey, LEH, TF Osmany Diversent, ISU, 15-0 (3:00)
149: No. 7 Jacob Frost, ISU, dec. Anthony Evanitsky, LEH, 5-0
157: Kane Naaktgeboren, ISU, TF Griffin Gonzalez, LEH, 20-5 (6:35)
165: No. 8 Max Brignola, LEH, dec. No. 21 Connor Euton, ISU, 6-1
174: Aiden Riggins, ISU, MD Richie Grungo, LEH, 17-9
184: No. 13 Isaac Dean, ISU, dec. No. 30 Rylan Rogers, LEH, 5-2 SV2
197: No. 1 Rocky Elam, ISU, MD Remy Brancato, LEH, 10-1
285: No. 1 Yonger Bastida, ISU, dec. No. 7 Nathan Taylor, LEH, 4-2
Iowa State will enjoy the rest of the holiday season off before traveling to Stanford at 3 p.m. Jan. 4
