Editor’s note: This is part two of a 10-part series breaking down the Iowa State wrestling roster weight-by-weight. While athletes switching to different weights is inevitable, for the sake of simplicity and consistency, this series will base the weights off of past weights.

Iowa State struggled at times at 133-pounds, but a bright future was on the horizon for the weight.

After the season, Iowa State tacked on more 133-pound depth with Iowa Central’s Todd Small.

Austin Gomez

Gomez — the No. 11 overall recruit out of high school — waited his turn to compete in cardinal and gold last season, but Kevin Dresser and the Cyclones will get to unleash Gomez this year.

After suffering an injury early in the 2017-18 season, Gomez bounced back and won the Sioux City Dave Edmonds Open, the Duhawk Open and the Willie Myers Open.

During his perfect redshirt season, Gomez won six of his eight matches by technical fall or fall. While he didn’t face any blockbuster opponents, Gomez did see tougher competition this summer in freestyle.

Gomez fell short to Minnesota’s Mitch McKee last summer in the best two-of-three series for a spot on the Junior World Team, but Gomez finished on top this summer.

This time, Gomez matched up with Cornell commit Vitali Arujau. Arujau dominated to start, jumping out to an 8-0 lead after the first period. In the second and final period, Gomez stormed back, rattling off 11-straight points to gain a 1-0 match lead.

In the second match, Gomez cruised to a 15-4 win, earning a spot on the U.S. Junior World Team at 61-kg (about 134 pounds).

Overall, Gomez possess a lot of potential and will be a building block in Iowa State wrestling’s rebuild. Gomez is a key piece to Iowa State looking at not only next year, but the next four years, too.

Todd Small

Small is a two-time junior college champion at Iowa Central. Small won his 2017 championship at 125-pounds and his 2018 championship at 133-pounds.

The junior college transfer wrestled a few Division I wrestlers at Iowa Central. He knocked off Nebraska’s Brian Peska last season. Small lost to Iowa’s Phillip Laux, 8-5. He also lost to Sawyer Degen (Jarrett Degen’s brother) of North Dakota State and Minnesota’s Mitch McKee.

The transition from a junior college to a Big 12 program will be important to observe, but if there’s one thing Small proved at Iowa Central, it’s that he brings consistency with him.

Noah Nemer

Nemer capped off his high school career with a 4A Kansas state title at 132-pounds. The previous three seasons, Nemer placed but fell short each time.

Now, Nemer heads north to Ames. With Gomez and Small in the room, Nemer has a prime opportunity to develop behind the duo.