Iowa State, fresh off a week break after suffering its first dual defeat of the season, is hitting the road to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, one of the premier midseason tournaments that is acting like a miniature version of the NCAA Championships.

The two-day action starts Friday, with championship matches set for Saturday.

Loaded weight class awaits Colbray

To say Sam Colbray was humbled after he suffered his first loss of the year at 184 pounds — a 4-3 TB1 setback to then-unranked and now-10th-ranked Nelson Brands of Iowa — would be an understatement.

Even so, he knows he can wrestle with the best.

“Everybody’s, in my opinion, very good competitors,” Colbray said Tuesday afternoon. “Losing makes me stronger. Those type of things won’t happen to me again.”

He’ll get a chance to prove that in the city that never sleeps.

Seven of the top-10 wrestlers in the latest rankings from InterMat are scheduled to wrestle in Vegas. Colbray is ranked 11th.

The redshirt junior is already 0-1 on the year against third-ranked Taylor Lujan from Northern Iowa. He hasn’t faced any of the other six wrestlers this season.

Cyclones head coach Kevin Dresser expects Colbray to be at the top of his game come the weekend.

“I’m really excited to see how he does,” Dresser said. “This tournament’s about skill obviously, but it’s more in this early part of the season about toughness. Your training will show up and that’s what I’m curious to see at 184.”

Colbray expects that as well, hoping to change some things up from the last time he took the mat.

“I need to score; I felt like I wasn’t getting into my offense or securing ties very well,” Colbray said. “Not so calculated — I know I can wrestle. I’ve proven myself wrestling with top level opponents before … Sam Colbray just needs to show out.”

Injury updates on Parker, Gomez

Ian Parker went without time on the mat for two weeks, and as Dresser pointed out, was thrown into the dual against Iowa cold turkey.

After he pulled out a 6-4 overtime win, Parker has had solid workouts over the last week and is regaining his form, according to Dresser.

“He’s trained really hard since the Iowa match and I’m really excited to see him go,” Dresser said.

In regard to Austin Gomez, the redshirt sophomore will not wrestle this weekend and may not get on the mat before the decade is over.

Dresser said the current 141 wrestler — who is still planning on descending back to his original weight of 133 — is close to getting cleared from the concussion protocol.

After that hurdle is cleared, the path to him debuting this year may have to wait.

“We’ll start trying to figure out where Austin fits in and what our plans are with Austin as we head into 2020,” Dresser said.

Saluting Campbell, Pollard

Before taking questions from reporters in front of the Harold Nichols wrestling room, Dresser congratulated Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard for extending the contract of head football coach Matt Campbell.

The extension carries into the 2025 season. New details of the contract will be released at a later date. 

“To think what that guy [Campbell] has done in four years, is incredible,” Dresser said. “I’m super happy. In the athletic department, we’re all pretty close and we travel together a lot.”

Prayers for a four-time All-American

After the celebratory explanation on Campbell’s extension, Dresser took time to extend his well wishes to former Iowa wrestler Brandon Sorensen, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia over the weekend.

Sorensen wrestled at 149 pounds for the final two years of his collegiate career. He never finished worse than fifth at the NCAAs and amassed over 125 wins, 55 dual wins and only suffered two defeats in Big Ten duals.

“On behalf of the Iowa State wrestling team and staff, our thoughts and prayers go out to Brandon Sorensen,” Dresser said. “The one thing about Brandon Sorensen that I will always remember in sitting in the opposite corner is what a tough kid he is and what a great kid he is. From Ames to Iowa City, we’re thinking about him. We wish him the best. He’ll win, he always figures out how to win.”

There is already a GoFundMe page to help with the costs and Sorensen’s fight against cancer. At the time of this being published, over $66,000 has been raised.

New InterMat rankings

Not much changed for Iowa State in the first rankings post-Thanksgiving.

All seven wrestlers that were ranked after the Cyclones 29-6 loss to Iowa stayed in the same position, as did the Cyclones themselves, remaining in ninth place in both the tournament and dual team rankings.

Movement should be expected after this weekend with multiple ranked wrestlers at the 10 weight classes grappling in Vegas.