Iowa State wrestling completes comeback, knocks off West Virginia

Mikinna Kerns/Iowa State Daily

Redshirt Senior Dane Pestano wrestles against Northern Colorado wrestler Dylan Gabel Jan. 5 in Hilton Coliseum.  The cyclones were narrowly defeated by the UNC Bears 20-22. 

Trevor Holbrook

Iowa State looked to extend its three-dual win streak against West Virginia on Sunday.

The Cyclones fell behind early, but Iowa State bounced back to win 25-16.

Action began with 125-pounders freshman Sinjin Briggs and West Virginia’s No. 14 (according to Intermat) Zeke Moisey. Briggs lost 18-2, giving West Virginia an early 5-0 lead.

At 133-pounds, Ian Parker attempted to put Iowa State on the board, but the redshirt freshman lost in sudden victory, 4-2. Iowa State fell behind 8-0.

The Cyclones’ search for points led to redshirt freshman 141-pounder Kanen Storr. Storr also went to sudden victory and received the same outcome as Parker. Storr lost 9-7 at the end of the first sudden victory period.

Down 11-0, Iowa State finally found help from redshirt freshman 149-pounder Jarrett Degen. Degen stayed aggressive throughout the match, earning an 18-5 major decision. Iowa State trailed 11-4.

Redshirt sophomore 157-pounder Chase Straw carried on the momentum, winning 13-6 and cutting West Virginia’s lead to 11-7 at the halfway mark.

After the intermission break, the Cyclones faced another setback. Redshirt junior Logan Breitenbach lost via pin, putting Iowa State down 17-7.

Redshirt junior 174-pounder Danny Bush fired back with a pin of his own. The Cyclones had three matches to overcome a six-point deficit.

The momentum carried into the 184-pound match for the Cyclones. Redshirt senior Dane Pestano managed to win 9-4; Iowa State trailed 17-16 with two matches left.

At 197-pounds, redshirt freshman Sam Colbray faced a tough challenge in West Virginia’s Jacob Smith. Colbray grinded out a 6-5 win in sudden victory over Smith, the No. 13 wrestler according to Intermat.

Leading 19-17, heavyweight Marcus Harrington pinned West Virginia’s Brandon Ngati in the first period, giving Iowa State its 25-17 win.