Iowa State’s wrestling roster features athletes from Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon and a handful of other states. The non-resident Cyclone athletes faced the challenge of change.

The Cyclones have two athletes that had a completely different transition, after staying in their hometown: Ames, Iowa.

After growing up as Iowa State fans, the two hometown kids, freshman Marcus Coleman and redshirt sophomore Hank Swalla, elected to don cardinal and gold singlets in college.

“Oh yeah, I was a huge Iowa State fan, sometimes I talk with my parents that I was born into it,” Swalla said. “I grew up going to all the football games, all the wrestling meets, and some of the basketball games, so I’ve definitely been an Iowa State fan all my life.”

Swalla wasn’t just influenced by his parents, but his two brothers, Ben and Luke, who also competed for the Iowa State wrestling team.

Coleman was thrust into Iowa State fandom at an early age, too. The freshman said that the first wrestling meet he remembers attending was in Hilton Coliseum.

One of the main wrestlers Coleman was a fan of, is currently a member of Iowa State’s Cyclone Regional Training Center.

“Mostly when I started getting into wrestling, it was Kyven Gadson [who I looked up to],” Coleman said.

Before the Ames duo could switch from fans in the stands to members of the team, the two had to prove themselves in high school.

In the 2012-13 season, as a sophomore 160-pounder at Ames High School, Swalla added a state tournament appearance to his résumé.

His trip to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines was a quick one. In his two matches at the state tournament, Swalla led both matches but failed to close them out.

Once the 2013-14 season rolled around, Marcus Coleman entered the Ames wrestling program as a freshman. The Little Cyclones added a new wrestling coach, Andy Fecht, before Swalla’s junior season, as well.

It didn’t take Fecht long to discover that Swalla was the face of the Ames High School program, while Coleman was the future.

“Hank was returning state qualifier that year,” Fecht said. “He was clearly the leader in that group. He did a really good job in that transition period.”

After earning a spot in the state tournament, it was clear that Swalla had talent and was a good wrestler. As a junior, Swalla added a new role, stepping up for his team outside of competition.

In a time of change, Swalla was a leader for the Little Cyclones.

“[Swalla] led in multiple ways,” Fecht said. “He led by example. He was the hardest worker in the room, plus he was also a vocal leader. If he saw someone messing around or not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, he wasn’t scared to get on them [and] get them heading in the right direction.”

Meanwhile, Coleman was not only adjusting to a new coach, but the freshman now was competing against varsity wrestlers. Coleman responded.

“[Coleman] came in, and he was pretty tough right away,” Fecht said. “He stepped in [and was] super competitive right away. I think he won his first seven or eight matches. He did some really good things for us that year; he came in ready to go as a freshman.”

At the conclusion of Coleman’s freshman season and Swalla’s junior season, the pair appeared at the state tournament.

Coleman followed up his strong freshman campaign with three-straight state tournament appearances. In those three state tournaments, the Ames native took gold all three times. Coleman’s first state wrestling title ended a 15-year drought for the Little Cyclones.

During his high school career, Coleman developed as a wrestler, but he, like Swalla, gained leadership traits.

“Marcus developed into [a leader],” Fecht said. “He kind of assumed his role on that team, he kind of led through his actions in terms of his work ethic in practice.”

While Coleman snagged two more state titles in his junior and senior seasons, Swalla traded in his Ames High School singlet for an Iowa State one.

Swalla redshirted his freshman season, but NCAA rules still allow redshirting athletes to compete.

A redshirting athlete can compete under these conditions: the athlete pays all costs for the tournament, travel, lodging and food, a coach can’t be in the athletes corner and the athlete can’t wear headgear or a singlet with the athlete’s school name or logo on it.

Swalla wrestled unattached to a 3-2 record. In his redshirt freshman season, Swalla recorded a 4-2 record for the Cyclones.

This season, Swalla and Coleman are listed as 174-pounders. The 174-pound spot is the deepest weight for Iowa State with seven total wrestlers, including four true freshman who are all eligible to redshirt still.

Even with the abundance of athletes at 174, no one has controlled the starting spot for the Cyclones.

In Iowa State’s first dual match this season, the Cyclones trailed 18-16 to Drexel with only the 174 match remaining. If Iowa State could win the 174 match, the Cyclones would escape the dual with coach Kevin Dresser’s first win at Iowa State.

Redshirt sophomore Luke Entzel failed to secure the dual win, losing 5-3.

In Iowa State’s next dual meet, Swalla would receive the start at 174 against Rider. Iowa State’s troubles at 174 continued, after Swalla lost via an 18-3 technical fall.

Shaking it up once again, the Cyclones started redshirt senior 174-pounder Colin Strickland in Iowa State’s Big 12 opener with Wyoming. The Cyclones took another loss at 174 with Strickland losing by a 19-5 technical fall.

With Coleman’s impressive high school accomplishments and a glaring hole at 174, would Dresser consider burning Coleman’s redshirt status?

“We’re going to keep Coleman redshirted,” Dresser said after the Drexel meet. “He would have won that dual meet for us, so that’s hard to watch, but you gotta do what’s best for the kid. He’s special. He’s going to be really good, but we’ve got to develop him. He would have won that match.”

Even with Coleman locked into redshirting this season, the freshman can still wrestle unattached.

One of the biggest events Coleman has competed in this season, was the Lindenwood Open. Coleman breezed to a 5-0 record, outscoring his opponents 81-19 before climbing to the top of the podium.

“[Coleman has] been doing a really good job, but we wanted him to go kick everyone’s tail and we wanted him to go get a gold medal,” said volunteer assistant coach Brent Metcalf. “He delivered.”

With the status of the 174-pound spot muddled, it’s a safe assumption that Swalla and Coleman will be in the mix for the future.

Swalla and Coleman established themselves as dominant Little Cyclones, but the next step in the duo’s journey is to dominate for the Iowa State Cyclones.