The Iowa State wrestling team is looking to make it a positive sendoff for its seniors this weekend at Hilton Coliseum, when they will play host to opponents West Virginia and Air Force.

The Cyclones, who were promoted to the 5th spot on the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s Coaches Poll on Monday, will look to continue their undefeated mark in the Big 12. They will enter their final weekend of home matches with an 11-1 mark on the year, including a perfect 4-0 in conference play. They are only second behind Penn State in consecutive victories, having been on a run of eight straight as of late.

Much of the reason for the Cyclones’ jump in the national poll can be attributed to their last outing in Oklahoma. Then ranked No. 7, Iowa State defeated the No. 22 Sooners 22-9 Jan. 28 and turned around to record an upset against No. 3 Oklahoma State 13-12.

The Cyclones’ matchup against the Cowboys, the reigning Big 12 Champions, was notable for their senior class getting big wins down the stretch.

Marcus Coleman, who is currently ranked eighth in the country at 184 pounds, gave the Cyclones the lead for good in his match against the Cowboys’ ninth-ranked Dakota Greer.

The Ames native recorded a takedown in each of the three periods to keep his opponent at bay and finished with an 8-3 win by decision.

The victory was Coleman’s 12th of the season, as he also currently holds a perfect 10-0 mark in dual meet matches. Coleman was one of four Cyclone grapplers ranked in the top 10 nationally, alongside defending national champion at 157 pounds David Carr (No. 1) and fellow senior Ian Parker (141 pounds, No. 9). The Cyclones also had a wrestler ranked in all 10 weight classes for the first time this season.

Parker has been another of the wrestlers in the Cyclones’ main rotation that has picked up big wins as of late. Starting the year off at 149 pounds, Parker fell in his opening match to Iowa’s Max Murin 3-2 Dec. 5 in the Cyclones’ 22-11 loss over the Hawkeyes.

Since moving down to his original weight class, Parker has not lost a match, as he earned his sixth of the season against Oklahoma State with a win over No. 21 Carter Young by decision by a score of 4-0. The Saint Johns, Minn., native has recorded three other wins over ranked opponents this season, including a 7-4 decision victory over North Dakota State’s Dylan Droegemueller in Iowa State’s last home match Jan. 23.

149-pounder Jarrett Degen and 285-pounder Sam Schuyler round out the senior members in the Cyclones’ projected lineup for the weekend, with both entering the duels ranked within the top-25.

22nd-ranked Degen was on a tear heading into the Cyclones’ matches in Oklahoma, as he had recorded eight consecutive victories before Jan. 28. That all came to a screeching halt against the Sooners, as Degen was upset by redshirt freshman Willie McDougald 6-4 in overtime.

That was followed by another defeat to No. 14 Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State by the same score-line, as Degen lost back-to-back matches for the first time this season.

No. 21 Schuyler, like Coleman, also went 2-0 in Oklahoma last weekend with late-match wins over No. 29 Josh Heindselman and No. 29 Luke Surber. The Kings Park, N. Y. native took victory in the final period against both opponents, including recording a reversal with 12 seconds left over Surber to cap off Iowa State’s upset win over the Cowboys with a 4-2 victory.

Schuyler, who transferred to Ames from Buffalo before this season, came to the Cyclones after being a two-year starter with the Bulls. He was also a qualifier for the NCAA championships in 2021, going 1-2 in the tournament after receiving an at-large bid.

Since joining the Cyclones, Schuyler has been another strong asset to the team’s lineup, as he currently sports a 12-2 record on the season, with four of those victories coming by major decision.

The Cyclones’ opponents in the Mountaineers and Falcons will come into the weekend looking for a big conference win. West Virginia currently sits at 5-5 on the year but has lost all three of their duel in the Big 12.

The Mountaineers’ last outing in the conference was a 39-9 defeat at the hands of North Dakota State on Jan. 29, where they lost seven-out-of-ten matches. They currently have three wrestlers ranked in Intermat’s national rankings, including junior Killian Cardinale at No. 6. Cardinale will likely matchup in the 125-pound division against Cyclone sophomore Kysen Terukina, who fell eight spots to No. 27 after going 0-2 in Oklahoma.

Air Force enters the weekend with a below-0.500 mark at 3-4. The Falcons currently have one wrestler nationally ranked, with sophomore Sam Wolf at 30th in the 174-pound weight class.

Before facing off against the Cyclones, they will have another tough test in Cedar Falls against Northern Iowa on Friday, who entered the national rankings at No. 22 after also completing a sweep of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State last weekend.

Iowa State will kick off the weekend against West Virginia at 7 p.m. Friday. The Cyclones will return to Hilton Coliseum on Saturday at noon to complete the home series against Air Force Saturday at noon. Both matches will also be streamed live on ESPN+.