On Sunday, Iowa State wrestling will compete against the Rider Broncs in Ames.

Iowa State’s first dual was in Hilton Coliseum, but it had a twist to it. Normally, there’s a curtain blocking off a portion of the seats during a dual, but Kevin Dresser managed to have the curtain removed.

The second home dual for the Cyclones will have another quirk to it. On Sunday, Hilton Coliseum will be slumbering, while Stephens Auditorium will be hosting the wrestling action.

“That’s a Dresser idea [wrestling in Stephens Auditorium],” said assistant coach Brent Metcalf. “I think it’ll be a cool venue. The competition will be good. Rider, last I saw, was ranked 17th. We’re in the 40s, so we’ve got to come ready to go.”

The Cyclones are coming off the Lindenwood Open last weekend. Iowa State sent 28 wrestlers, including 149-pounder redshirt freshman Jarrett Degen, who made his debut as a Cyclone.

Degen surged through the bracket, finishing second at 149-pounds. One of Degen’s notable wins was over his fellow Cyclone Dante Rodriguez.

Along with Degen’s breakout, redshirt freshman 133-pounder Ian Parker aims to carry his momentum into Sunday’s dual.

Parker cruised to the finals, but the Michigan native couldn’t snag gold.

“The big thing was handling my weight, so I could feel good during the tournament, just getting my attacks going, my pace going, really moving forward on my feet a lot,” Parker said. “Another big thing was, on top, I had to ride the guy out in my [semifinal] match.”

Degen and Parker’s success was followed by Iowa State’s heavier weight classes. The reliable redshirt senior 184-pounder Dane Pestano picked up a second place finish.

After redshirt freshman 197-pounder Sam Colbray struggled in the Drexel dual, Colbray bounced back, finishing third at the Lindenwood Open.

With Colbray’s youth, it’s a good sign for Cyclone fans to see the redshirt freshman build some momentum before his second dual.

Redshirt junior heavyweight Marcus Harrington had a nice showing for Dresser and his staff, finishing sixth at the Lindenwood Open.

Harrington wrestled in five matches at Lindenwood. On Sunday, the heavyweight will only have one match.

“It’s always easier [in] a dual situation compared to a tournament,” Harrington said. “Just knowing that all you have is seven minutes, whereas a tournament there’s multiple matches.”

Harrington said that he enjoys only having one match, and he thinks that it brings out the best in him and makes him compete better.

Harrington, Parker and Pestano have established themselves as consistent forces for Iowa State. The Cyclones still haven’t shored up all of their holes in the lineup, though.

For Iowa State to knock off Rider, it’ll need large contributions from Harrington, Parker, Colbray and Pestano, but the Cyclones will also need consistency from top-to-bottom in the lineup.

“[Our performance] was really good [at Lindenwood], and then when we had setbacks, so losses or we were put up against a wall, we kind of diverted back to old ways,” Metcalf said. “That’s something that’s going to be part of the growing process this season.”