On Friday night during intermission, Iowa State honored its pair of seniors, Dane Pestano and Colin Strickland.

Pestano’s parents congregated on the Iowa State logo in the center of the mat. The Cyclone coaching staff, sporting some leis draped around their necks, took a picture with the Pestano’s.

The Pestano’s started a tradition of handing out leis to seniors and coaches on senior night when Dane began his career at Iowa State.

“I was in the locker room and all my coaches came in right before we went out they all had leis on, and I didn’t know what the heck [happened] if they snuck off to a bar or what,” said head coach Kevin Dresser. “They all came in, and I got bestowed a lei when I walked out there too. It’s fun. You got to have some fun with this because Dane deserves it.”

At the time, Iowa State’s opponent — Fresno State — had a 13-11 lead. With half the matches expired, Pestano still had his crack at making an impact in the dual on Senior Night.

Fresno State failed to fill its 165-pound spot, sacrificing six team points to the Cyclones.

After Iowa State’s redshirt junior 174-pounder Danny Bush lost a 7-4 decision to Dominic Kincaid, Fresno State trimmed Iowa State’s lead to 17-16.

All eyes were on Pestano.

The Cyclones needed Pestano to jolt Iowa State with only three remaining matches left.

Pestano paced around in the corner of the ground level in Hilton Coliseum. Meanwhile, over 2,500 fans dressed in cardinal and gold started to come alive.

The Waimanalo, Hawaii, native trotted onto the mat and strapped his red marker around his ankle. Awaiting Pestano was Fresno State’s Angel Solis.

The first period concluded with Pestano earning a takedown and Solis managing to escape. Pestano led 2-1.

To start the second period, Solis chose to start down. Solis escaped, tying the match at 2-2. Pestano delivered another takedown, and Solis escaped again.

Ahead 4-3, Pestano snagged another takedown. With Pestano riding hard, Fresno State’s coaching staff repeatedly yelled, “On your feet, On your feet,” to Solis.

Solis abided by his coaches orders and escaped to put the score at 6-4 with Pestano in control. With 15 seconds left in the second period, Pestano earned another takedown. The senior made it a habit to score late in periods.

At the beginning of the third period, Pestano elected to start down. After 11 seconds, Pestano added a point to his score with an escape. With 1:11 left, Pestano pushed his lead to 11-4, taking down Solis again.

With riding time locked up, Pestano could’ve wrestled conservative and taken a major decision to supply Iowa State’s lead with four more points. Instead, Pestano went big.

“I was kind of just thinking maybe I can get some back points and build a lead a little bit,” Pestano said. “But then I felt him kind of go over and just prayed I’d get the pin.”

Solis had his chest on the mat with Pestano riding on top of him. Pestano maneuvered Solis’ arms behind his back and turned Solis onto his back.

Dresser, Mike Zadick, Derek St. John and Brent Metcalf pounced out of their seats on the mat with excitement.

Pestano fought off Solis’ attempt to wiggle out of the position, and the Cyclone collected a pin and six team points with 0:01 left in the third period.

“No, [I didn’t know the time], I just went for it,” Pestano said.

The Iowa State coaching staff exchanged smiles and high fives with each other. The referee lifted Pestano’s hand, and Solis and Pestano shook hands.

Pestano shook the Fresno State coaches’ hands and jogged off the mat while fans inside Hilton Coliseum showered the senior with cheers.

Not only was Pestano rewarded with a pin, but the senior also snagged his own lei.

“It’s kind of bitersweet [to get a lei] I guess,” Pestano said. “That means its my last year. [I’m] kind of just enjoying every moment, but it’s always nice to have leis. It smells good and kind of looks blingy-blingy, you know.”

After redshirt sophomore 197-pounder Joe Teague was pinned, Iowa State had a one-point lead.

Heavyweight redshirt junior Marcus Harrington turned in a clutch performance for the Cyclones, escaping with a 6-4 win in sudden victory over A.J. Nevilles.

While Pestano emerged late in his match, Harrington wasn’t as satisfied with his performance.

“My match obviously didn’t go as well as i would’ve wanted it too, [but] I was able to secure a win,” Harrington said. “Another win for the team, another dual win, so that’s all good. I can definitely tell you, you’ll probably see more out of me tomorrow in Cedar Falls, [Iowa], for sure.”