Editor’s note: This is part four 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’s lone NCAA qualifier in 2017-18 came via the 149-pound weight with Jarrett Degen. In the upcoming season, Degen should remain a quality option in the Cyclones’ dual lineup.

Behind Degen, Iowa State has a pair of young wrestlers who redshirted last season.

Jarrett Degen

After redshirting in his initial collegiate season at Virginia Tech, Degen followed Kevin Dresser to Ames. Degen tallied a 21-10 record in his redshirt season.

In the regular season at Iowa State, Degen rattled off eight wins in a row in duals.

To end the regular season, Degen had a nice string of opponents for a tune up before the Big 12 Tournament. Degen wrestled Fresno State’s Khristian Olivas, Northern Iowa’s Max Thomsen and Iowa’s Brandon Sorensen.

Degen received three losses in the final three duals, but he rebounded at the Big 12 Tournament. Degen defeated Wyoming’s Sam Turner twice and Air Force’s Dane Robbins once.

His one loss came at the hands of Thomsen again, but Degen won enough to head to Cleveland and the NCAA Championships.

Unseeded at the NCAA Championships, Degen received a favorable draw with Nebraska’s Colton McCrystal nevertheless. In his first match, Degen knocked off McCrystal, 9-5.

His next match was against North Carolina’s Troy Heilmann. Degen put up a good fight, but Heilmann edged him out, winning 7-5.

Degen showcased his resilience again, adding a pair of wins over Virginia’s Samuel Krivus and Minnesota’s Steve Bleise.

To close Degen’s season, the 149-pounder was narrowly eliminated by Arizona State’s Jason Tsirtsis, 4-3.

Degen’s trip to Cleveland was an important one. With a relatively young wrestler not only is mat time important, but the quality of his opponents is beneficial, too.

The fact that he finished with a winning record at the NCAA Championships and lost his two matches by a combined three points says a lot about Degen and how sharp he finished the season.

The redshirt sophomore is important because Iowa State gains more talent this season, but a lot of them don’t have the experiences Degen gained last season.

Ryan Leisure

The previous couple paragraphs mention the value of Degen’s experiences in Cleveland. Another wrestler to benefit off of Degen’s stellar season is Leisure.

Leisure finished 17-5 in his redshirt season (with one of those losses a medical forfeit). Leisure had a solid season that he spent developing his game, and the redshirt freshman gets to spend his practices scraping with Degen.

Tanner Lundgren

Lundgren finished his redshirt season with a 1-15 record. While the results weren’t there for Lundgren, he won’t be expected to crack the lineup in any duals this season, so he can take another year to get his feet under him.