Iowa State wrestling picked up another Big 12 dual meet victory on Friday evening by defeating West Virginia 31-9 in style.

The No. 5 Cyclones fell behind early on by dropping the first two matches at 165 and 174 pounds, but rattled off eight straight victories and to quickly take the lead for good. They now stand at 10-1 on the season, as they have not lost a dual match in 2022.

Despite the lopsided score-line, there was plenty to discuss as the Cyclones battled their way to victory at multiple weights in that eight-match run, including some high-scoring plays. Iowa State also honored its senior class following the match, as six of the team’s members are set to graduate in May.

Terukina steals the show

The marquee matchup of the evening was at 125 pounds, as sophomore Kysen Terukina took on West Virginia senior Killian Cardinale. The 27th-ranked Terukina was looking to capture another top-10 win over the 5th-ranked Cardinale, as he beat No. 8 Trevor Mastrogiovanni 2-1 in the Cyclones’ 13-12 win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 30.

It was tight and tense throughout, as the score stood 3-3 after the first three minutes of the match. Terukina was able to record an escape with 1:49 left in the second period, but expanded his lead on a big two-point takedown at the 1:19 mark in the third.

Cardinale tried to fight back by recording an escape, but it was Terukina who won out in the end, holding on for a 6-5 victory as Hilton Coliseum exploded with noise

Terukina said of the final minute of wrestling, “I just kept my composure by thinking that, ‘If I get this next point, I put myself in a better position to win the match.’ So I’m just thinking to get this next point before the round ends, and I can still win the match how I want to.”

The win was Terukina’s 16th of the season, as his only loss came on Jan. 28 against Joey Prata of Oklahoma.

Head coach Kevin Dresser complimented Terukina’s victory, saying, “There’s some things going on there at 125 that are really good for us right now.”

Coleman announces return with pin

It was another day at the office for 184-pounder Marcus Coleman, who responded to West Virginia’s opening meet wins with a pin over WVU’s Anthony Carman.

In a time of 1:14, the pin was Coleman’s quickest of the season, with his win against the Mountaineers making his dual meet record 10-0 this year.

Coleman, an Ames native, recorded his seventh bonus points win with the fall against Carman. After the match, he talked about his mindset heading before stepping onto the mat.

“My goal is always to get a pin when I step on the mat,” Coleman said. “Taking care of business, doing what’s best for the team. So yeah, an opportunity presented itself, and I went for it.”

Coleman also announced that he will be returning next season, as he was not one of the members of the team to be honored after the duel. For now, however, he’s only concerned one thing- winning in this season.

“I’m just focused right now, I can’t give credit to one specific thing,” Coleman said on his performances during this season. “[I’m just] doing the little things right, and they’re paying off.”

Degen, Parker cap off senior night with victories

Ian Parker and Jarrett Degen both made their penultimate matches at Hilton Coliseum a successful one, as they each recorded wins to extend the Cyclones’ lead over the Mountaineers.

Parker, who is currently ranked ninth in the nation at 141 pounds, took care of business against WVU senior Caleb Rea by recording an 8-2 win.

The Saint Johns, Mich., native had little trouble throughout the match, recording a takedown in each period to slowly expand his lead over the course of the match.

Parker, who finished runner-up at the Big 12 tournament and qualified for the NCAA championships last season at 141 pounds, started this year off at 149 after competing for the spot against Degen in the November wrestle-offs.

Since moving back to his original weight, Parker has shined, dropping only one out of eight matches contested to gradually move up into the top-10 of the national rankings. He also won 12-straight matches at Hilton from 2019-2021.

“Ian’s just a grinder,” Dresser said on Parker. “He’s probably the most respected guy on our team, just because of what he does right all of the time.”

Degen also put away his opponent early on, as he beat Jeffrey Boyd 8-3 after leading the entire match. It was a bounce-back for the Belgrade, Montana native, who was 0-2 in his last two matches heading into Friday.

To say that Degen’s collegiate career has been a journey is an understatement, as he initially transferred to Iowa State from Virginia Tech after redshirting for the Hokies in 2017.

Since then, he has acquired two injuries in his time as a Cyclone, including missing the first two months of last season.

Despite his ups and downs, Degen still managed to qualify for the NCAA Championships last season while finishing fourth at the Big 12 Championships. In 2020, he earned All-American status as the championships were cancelled due to the pandemic.

Dresser said of Degen’s time with the Cyclones, “I think he’s just starting to get back a little bit to the old Jarrett Degen that we saw when he All-Americaned. He had a rough two years there with injuries, a lot of surgeries, so we were surprised when he chose to come back.”

The Cyclones will try to make to complete the weekend home sweep at noon on Saturday, when they will return to Hilton for a matchup against Air Force.