CLEVELAND — Seven Iowa State wrestlers advanced after the first session of the NCAA Championships on Thursday.
Iowa State sits in fifth place with 14 points. Penn State is in first, followed by Iowa, while Ohio State and Oklahoma State are tied for third.
Stevo Poulin rallies for win
Senior Poulin earned Iowa State’s first victory of the tournament, defeating No. 20 seed Diego Sotelo of Michigan 10-6.
Poulin opened with a first-period takedown to take a 3-0 lead. Sotelo responded in the second period with a reversal and added four nearfall points to take a 6-3 advantage.
Poulin answered with a takedown to tie the match before securing a four-point nearfall late to seal the win.
The No. 13 seed will face No. 4 seed Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh in the second session at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Two Cyclones earn pins
At 149 pounds, No. 16 seed Jacob Frost defeated No. 17 seed Lucas Kapusta of Lock Haven by pin in the second period.
Frost recorded takedowns in each of the first two periods before securing the fall midway through the second. It marked his second pin of the season and second in the postseason.
Frost will face No. 1 seed Shayne Van Ness of Penn State in the second session at 6 p.m. Thursday.
At 174 pounds, No. 11 seed MJ Gaitan pinned No. 22 seed Brody Baumann of Purdue in the first period.
Gaitan opened with a flurry, recording an escape, takedown and nearfall in quick succession before adding another takedown and securing the fall. It was his fifth pin of the season.
Gaitan will face No. 6 seed Matty Singleton of NC State in the second session at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Top seeds deliver for Iowa State
At 197 pounds, No. 2 seed Rocky Elam defeated No. 31 seed Kael Bennie of Utah Valley 9-3.
Elam recorded a first-period takedown, added a second-period reversal and controlled the match with more than two minutes of riding time. He sealed the win with a third-period takedown.
Elam will face No. 15 seed Remy Cotton of Rutgers in the second session at 6 p.m. Thursday.
At heavyweight, No. 1 seed Yonger Bastida earned a 22-5 technical fall over No. 32 seed Emmanuel Ulrich of American.
Bastida dominated from the start, recording six takedowns in the first period. He added another takedown in the second to secure the technical fall.
Bastida earns Big 12 honor
Bastida was named the 2026 Big 12 Wrestler of the Year after an undefeated regular season.
The senior is 25-0 with 126 takedowns and has allowed just two takedowns all season. He has recorded 16 technical falls.
Bastida won his second Big 12 title this season and is a two-time Cliff Keen Invitational Champion.
He will face No. 16 seed Jimmy Mullen of Virginia Tech in the second session at 6 p.m. Thursday.
