Sunday marked the first dual of the season for Iowa State as it hosted the Bucknell Bison. The Cyclones prevailed over the Bison 24-15.

Carr’s stellar debut

David Carr was one of the hottest topics heading into the 2019-20 wrestling season, and for good reason, too. Carr won the 2019 Junior World Championship at 74 kg and is the son of Iowa State wrestling legend Nate Carr.

Carr would have made his highly anticipated debut during the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open, but Coach Kevin Dresser and company decided it was best to rest Carr for the Bucknell dual due to a minor nagging injury.

One week after the Cyclone Open, Carr made his highly anticipated debut for the Cyclones at 157 pounds, and he did not disappoint the team or the fans in the slightest.

“Just being able to have a chance to wrestle in Hilton, a lot of great wrestlers have wrestled in Hilton and strapped up the Iowa State singlet, so it was an honor just to go out there and wrestle,” Carr said.

At 157, Carr matched up with Bucknell’s Jaden Fisher, and from the get-go, the match was all Carr.

By the end of the first period, Carr led over Fisher 8-0 after recording two near falls. In the following periods, Carr tacked on four takedowns and almost five minutes of riding time, posting a 18-3 tech fall over Fisher.

Straw picks up an early loss

The matchup at 165 between Iowa State’s Chase Straw and Bucknell’s Zach Hartman was one fans had to look out for.

Straw was coming off a successful Cyclone Open after winning the open 165 title, but he got another nice early season test in Hartman, who was one of two returning NCAA qualifiers for the Bison.

The matchup paired two guys that made the switch to 165 after previously having a successful season wrestling at 157.

The match looked to be going in Straw’s favor in the beginning when he picked up an early 3-0 lead over Hartman. However, Hartman closed the gap after getting an escape and a technical violation call against Straw for locking hands, cutting the lead 3-2.

With nine seconds left, Hartman got a late takedown on Straw, giving him a 4-3 lead to close out the matchup. The win over Straw marked Hartman’s first career win over a ranked opponent at 165.

“Chase Straw obviously let that one get away,” Dresser said. “That’s on Chase not understanding you got to have that sense of urgency at the end, and maybe he got a little bit tired.”

Gremmel tests out disqualification rule

On paper, Gannon Gremmel looked to have an easier matchup to start the dual season after Bucknell’s usual heavyweight Garrett Hoffman didn’t make the trip to Ames. So it would be a shock to Iowa State fans to hear that No. 16 Gremmel lost the match in the first period.

Gremmel didn’t lose to allowing points; he was disqualified after receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct calls.

The first unsportsmanlike conduct call came after frustration set in from Gremmel following an incorrect stall call signal. The second unsportsmanlike conduct call came when Gremmel wrestled Bucknell’s Nathan Feyrer to the hardwood floor.

The second call did not sit well with Iowa State, its main argument being the referee failed to blow his whistle to stop the match.

The disqualification for Gremmel has no impact on his availability for the Nov. 24 dual against Iowa.

“I’m going to hold my tongue right now because I have to think about it,” Dresser said. “I think it was a situation that we have to learn from.”