While thousands of Cyclone fans invaded Memphis, Tennessee, in preparation for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl or attended the men’s basketball opener against Kansas State, five Iowa State wrestlers traveled to the Midland Championships in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

This year, the Midlands were held at the Sears Centre Arena which is the home of the Chicago Bulls G-League affiliate the Windy City Bulls.

The athletes that traveled to the Midlands for the Cyclones were 133-pounder Markus Simmons, 149-pounder Dante Rodriguez, 157-pounder Colston DiBlasi, 174-pounder Danny Bush, and heavyweight Gannon Gremmel.

The only athlete to have seen action during duals is DiBlasi, who wrestled in 165-pounds to fill in for an injured Skyler St. John and Logan Breitenbach.

Danny Bush was ineligible up until the Midlands after transferring from Iowa Central Community College where he was one of the top wrestlers at 184-pounds and was an All-American.

Bush could fight for a starting spot at 174 pounds after Luke Entzel, Hank Swalla and Colin Strickland combined for a record of 0-3 during duals and yielding a decision and two tech falls during those matches.

The Midlands’ first day was divided into two sessions. All of Iowa State’s wrestlers but DiBlasi made it to the second session. With that being said, the second session wiped the rest of the Cyclone out of competition. 

Session 1

133-pounds

Simmons, the No. 9 seed, started the day with a tech fall against Jhared Simmons from Maryland 15-0 in 6:06.

In the second round, No. 8 seed Ali Naser gave Simmons his first defeat of the day in a 12-4 major decision.

149-pounds

With a tough first round draw against No. 2 seed Justin Oliver from Central Michigan, unseeded Rodriguez lost by a 17-2 tech fall.

Rodriguez then pinned Oregon State’s Josh Reyes in 2:33.

157-pounds

Unseeded DiBlasi lost his first match 6-0 against No. 2 seed Josh Shields from Arizona State.

DiBlasi was then able to pin his next opponent who was Columbia’s Dylan Geick, but a loss from Princeton’s Leonard Merkin capped DiBlasi’s time at the Midlands.

174-pounds

Bush, who was unseeded, was defeated by a 12-3 major decision versus No. 2 seed Mikey Labriola. Labriola was wrestling unattached out of Nebraska.

Bush then earned a 15-0 tech fall against Carlin Powell from Princeton.

285-pounds

In the first match at Midlands, Illinois’ Deuce Rachal pinned Gremmel in 4:16.

Gremmel then earned a win over Jon Spaulding from Edinboro beating Spaulding 11-2.

Session 2

133-pounds

Simmons secured a win over Abdullah Assaf from Illinois winning 8-6.

Ben Thornton, who was the No. 3 seed, from Purdue ended Simmons tourney with a 5-3 victory.

149-pounds

Rodriguez was unable to extend his tourney after losing to Illinois’ Eric Barone 5-3.

174-pounds

Brown’s Anthony Pedro took down Bush with a score of 4-2 decided in sudden victory.

285-pounds

No. 14 seed Alex Macki from South Dakota State was upset 11-3 against Gremmel.

Gremmel was then unable to secure another upset and lost 6-2 versus Buffalo’s Jake Gunning, who was the No. 9 seed.

Despite early exits from the five Cyclones at the Midlands, the wrestlers were able to obtain valuable mat time which has been hard to come by after the wrestlers have been entrenched behind starters or been ineligible to compete in the case of Bush.

The Midlands could serve as a starting point for Bush this year and be a major benefactor in the development for young athletes like Simmons, DiBlasi and Gremmel. Back in Ames, the squad will be preparing for a home dual Friday, Jan. 5 against Northern Colorado, a Big 12 opponent.