Iowa State wrestling was one of eight teams to return three All-Americans to its 2016-17 roster and it only graduated one wrestler from the previous year.

Coach Kevin Jackson also brought in the best recruiting class in his tenure.

Iowa State was on top of the world to begin the 2016-17 season.

Then it wasn’t.

Iowa State lost to both South Dakota State and North Dakota State in its opening weekend.

No one wrestled well against SDSU, prompting Jackson to make lineup changes.

“We have to get the best guys in there and we have to get the right guys in there,” Jackson said after the SDSU meet. “It was embarrassing. This was an embarrassing loss. Our guys wrestled not well. … It was a bad performance. We’re really disappointed with our efforts. It wasn’t good.”

And changes did come. Redshirt freshman Markus Simmons was the new guy 125 pounds in place of senior Kyle Larson, fellow redshirt freshman Colston DiBlasi was put in at 157 pounds and Dane Pestano finished his weight cut from 184 pounds to 165 pounds.

The new lineup yielded promising results at the Cyclone Open and Cliff Keen Las Vegas invitational.

Pestano was ranked for a time, Simmons was ranked and DiBlasi led the nation in pins.

After the two tournaments, the Cyclones traveled to rival Iowa, and while they got blown out 26-9, the Cyclones showed they could compete with the Hawkeyes.

Three matches came down to a takedown in the third period.

“I think three matches could’ve changed the dual,” Jackson said. “I think three matches came down to a takedown in the third period, and they got it. That was the difference, I think.”

After that loss, it was all downhill for the Cyclones.

Simmons had a tough time making weight, Pestano didn’t wrestle for the rest of the season due to weight issues, Gabe Moreno got a concussion and All-American Earl Hall was inconsistent.

Iowa State had its two worst home losses in its history against Oklahoma State and Minnesota. The Cyclones lost each of those duals by over 30 points.

The poor results culminated in Jackson resigning.

“I just talked to Jamie [Pollard] and we had been talking throughout the season and we just wanted to take the pressure off of the kids … and allow them to finish off their season the right way without this distraction,” Jackson said.

Iowa State moved quickly and hired Virginia Tech coach Kevin Dresser.

Assistant coach Travis Paulson was named the interim coach for the championship season.

His first move was kicking All-American Pat Downey off the team. Downey broke a number of team rules, according to a release.

The Cyclones exited the NCAA Championships just as quietly as they entered it.

Marcus Harrington was the only automatic qualifying wrestler for Iowa State after the Big 12 Championships.

The NCAA Championships weren’t any better. Hall, Lelund Weatherspoon and Harrington went a combined 1-6.

On the season, the team went 1-12. It was Iowa State’s first one-win season since the 1942-43 season.

Dresser officially took over the team the Monday after the championships.