Conference tournaments have concluded, and the brackets are set. For Iowa State, that means the focus will be on its lone qualifier — 149-pounder Jarrett Degen.

Wrestling in the Big 12 while facing tough non-conference opponents like second seeded Brandon Sorensen has helped prepare Degen for the NCAA Tournament.

After being battle-tested this season, Degen has a simple conclusion to what he needs to do to succeed in Cleveland.

“[I need to] move my hands and feet,” Degen said. “Not giving away my leg as often and just being in control of the match.”

The redshirt freshman didn’t earn a seed, but Degen did receive a fairly favorable first-round match. On Thursday morning, Degen will wrestle Sergeant Bluff, Iowa native Colton McCrystal of Nebraska.

Opening Match

McCrystal is making his second trip to the NCAA Tournament, but the senior is competing in it for the first time at 149-pounds.

Last season at 141-pounds, McCrystal advanced to the Round of 12 at the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 3-2 record.

During McCrystal’s time at 141 last season, he also wrestled former Iowa State 141-pounder Kanen Storr at the Midlands Championship. Storr managed to win a 14-13 decision over McCrystal.

This season, McCrystal compiled a 21-5 regular season record with four of his losses coming against NCAA qualifiers and one loss via a medical forfeit.

After the regular season, McCrystal posted a 4-2 record at the Big Ten Tournament earning him a fourth place finish. Both of McCrystal’s losses were handed to him by Ohio State’s Ke-Shawn Hayes, the No. 5 seed at 149-pounds.

While no matches at the NCAA Tournament are easy, Degen is in a good spot. With Degen not receiving a seed, that means he would draw one of the top-16 149-pounders and snagging the No. 13 seed is a solid draw.

Potential second round opponents

Regardless of whether or not Degen can knock off McCrystal, the redshirt freshman will either wrestle Southern Illinois Edwardsville’s Tyshawn Williams or fourth-seeded Troy Heilmann of North Carolina.

Heilmann and Williams will wrestle each other in the first round, and the winner will wrestle the winner of Degen and McCrystal, while the losers of each match will wrestle each other in the wrestle backs.

Let’s first look at a situation where there aren’t any upsets, and McCrystal and Heilmann both win, sending Degen and Williams to the wrestlebacks.

Williams wrestled his way to an 12-13 regular season, but the redshirt sophomore heated up at the Southern Conference Tournament , rattling off three straight wins.

While Degen and Williams haven’t wrestled each other this year, the two do have common opponents. They’ve wrestled eight of the same opponents in their careers with Degen accumulating a 7-3 record and Williams snagging a 6-5 record.

The most recent common opponent is West Virginia’s Kyler Rea. Degen defeated Rea in a 17-5 major decision, while Rea beat Williams, 4-0.

In a situation where Degen and Williams wrestle each other, Cyclone fans should be confident in Degen over the barely .500 Williams.

An alternate situation is Degen versus fourth-seeded Heilmann. The odds of Heilmann losing to Williams are slim, so this scenario most likely occurs if Degen beats McCrystal.

Heilmann catapulted himself to the NCAA Tournament after winning the 149-pound bracket at the ACC Tournament. Heilmann clinched his third NCAA Tournament berth with the ACC Championship.

Before the strong ACC Tournament, the Tar Heel completed his final regular season with a 29-4 record.

Degen and Heilmann also haven’t wrestled each other yet, but the two share three common opponents from this season.

Heilmann lost to American University’s Michael Sprague, 6-4 in sudden victory, while Degen lost to Sprague, 5-4.

Heilmann defeated Northern Iowa’s Max Thomsen twice by a 3-2 decision both times, while Degen lost two decisions to Thomsen this season.

“The Thomsen match in West Gym, that was another loss that was hard on me,” Degen said. “[It] didn’t do much to my confidence though because he was another highly ranked opponent. [That was] another close match that I should’ve fixed a couple things.”

Degen beat Wyoming’s Sam Turner three times this season, while Heilmann defeated Turner, 5-2. The two beat both Josh Maruca and Kyler Rea.