The wrestling postseason has arrived, and the Cyclones are gearing up to hit the mat at the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, Okla. The No. 5 Cyclones saw amazing success in the regular season, finishing atop the Big 12 with an undefeated 8-0 record in the conference and are now prepared to build off that momentum as they enter the home stretch.

As “March Matness” rolls around, one big question has plagued the Cyclone wrestling team: Can the Cyclones translate their dual meet success into the big tournament atmosphere?

Tournament play brings many new challenges to the table, and the lack of tournament experience throughout the regular season might prove tough for the team. The only tournament that Cyclone starters wrestled in was the Daktronics Open at the beginning of the season.

“We have a lot of doubters out there. We have a lot of people that think this is just a dual meet team,” Head coach Kevin Dresser said. “We are excited to get out there and show people that we might be a little bit more than that.”

The wrestlers themselves are not letting the lack of tournament play affect how they approach the coming weeks. With the Big 12 Championship in sight and the NCAA Championships around the corner, everyone is excited to prove how good they are in the postseason.

“This is the most important time of the year,” David Carr said. “I think we are a good tournament team. We just have to go out there and show it.”

With the wins that the team picked up in conference play, they have the mat experience to handle each wrestler in their respective weight classes. Many wrestlers have had great success taking down Big 12 opponents.

The only thing left to do is to not overcomplicate the matches. Success won’t be hard to come by if they can focus on the match at hand.

When asked about the mentality of the team, Dresser said, “I overheard David Carr in the locker room saying ‘Man, I’m so excited about this weekend, but I just got to look at that first guy.’ I mean, David talks about wrestling in his sleep.”

Everyone on the team has the same mentality. This is what they have been working toward, and now they just have to go out and prove themselves. They just need to take the tournament one match at a time.

Seven of the 10 Iowa State wrestlers enter the weekend with a first-round bye, according to the recently released brackets. Dresser doesn’t believe one wrestler has more to prove than another, but he does think there’ll be some Cyclones with more of an edge to them than others.

Dresser said the two wrestlers with the biggest chips on their shoulders are probably Kysen Terukina at 125 pounds and Yonger Bastida at 197 pounds.

Terukina became a dominant force in the 125-pound weight class throughout the season, proving that he could hang with the big dogs at the top. He also came out with a few impressive upset victories. 

In back-to-back weeks, Terukina took down two top-10 opponents in Oklahoma State’s Trevor Mastrogiovanni and West Virginia’s Killian Cardinale, who are both seeded above Terukina in the tournament. Cardinale will come into the Big 12 Championships as the top seed in the 125-pound weight class, while Terukina is seeded at six. 

Bastida has also made a name for himself in the 197-pound weight class as he has quickly turned into one of the most exciting wrestlers to watch. His athleticism and competitiveness have driven him to an impressive end to the season.

Bastida has only dropped two matches throughout the dual meet season, with one of those coming from Wyoming’s Stephen Buchanan, who finished the year ranked second in the nation. Bastida finished the season in dominant fashion to secure the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Championships.

Dresser said, “I know those two guys right there probably feel a little underappreciated.”

Of the three wrestlers without first-round byes, two are seeded at the top in their respective weight classes in Ian Parker at 141 pounds and David Carr at 157 pounds.

It is no surprise that Carr, the defending national champion in the 157-pound weight class, takes the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Championships after his dominant season. Carr recently racked up his 50th straight win and will look to keep that streak going throughout the weekend.

Parker was also the Big 12 Champion in 2020 and came in second place in 2021. The redshirt senior has gained experience over his time to defend his position at the top.

“I just want to go out there and attack and score points and have fun doing it. Whether it’s your last tournament or first tournament, you’ve got that mindset,” Parker said.

That mindset has helped the Cyclones overcome many tough matches and should propel them to success in the tournaments to come. One wrestler who has developed his attacking mindset to the next level is Marcus Coleman.

Coleman has made waves through the 184-pound weight class throughout the season and finished the regular season with a record of 14-3, ranked seventh in the nation. Two of those losses came from Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen, who has looked to be Coleman’s kryptonite.

With Keckeisen entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed and Coleman following closely at No. 2, the weekend could unfold to a very exciting end. Coleman has improved drastically from last year and wants to show how hard he has worked. Coleman has also perfected his ruthless strategy to not only beat his opponents but dominate them.

“I know Marcus Coleman is going to be fun to watch. He’s coming to take people’s heads off,” Carr said.

Iowa State finished just outside the top spot in the Big 12 Championships for the last three years and is now looking to prove themselves as the best team in the Big 12. The Cyclones will take to the mat at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Tulsa, Okla. All matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.