Sixteen teams and 300 wrestlers from all across the Midwest came together at Hilton Coliseum on Nov. 15 to compete for a championship at the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open.

Iowa State had two champions and few others that finished runner-up and third place to build up confidence for the upcoming Iowa match in two weeks. 

“We had a lot of matches in a couple of days, but we obviously want to perform a little better,” said ISU wrestling coach Kevin Jackson. “If we walked away with four champions, we would’ve felt better than with just two.”

The two champions came from senior Earl Hall and redshirt junior Lelund Weatherspoon. Each wrestler won in their particular types of play offensively.

Hall won the 133-pound class and started off strong with a technical fall in the first round, and a pin in the second round. The senior had a 16-7 major decision in the quarterfinals and a closer 12-5 win in the semifinals.

Gooooood times good times 😌

— EarlyMann (@Kidd_125) November 16, 2015

The championship match was a physical back-and-forth match with Hall coming out on top in a 4-3 decision. Hall had to fight for the championship, which led to some staples in his head and his hand being taped up for the last two matches.

“Coming into this year, one of my goals was to win the open,” Hall said. “This is my senior year and my last chance to win here at home in front of our fans.”

Weatherspoon had to prove himself to Jackson after a shaky couple matches against Boise State and Midland on Nov. 12. In the beginning of the tournament, Weatherspoon was dominating his opponent with a 14-1 major decision in the first round and a 19-9 major decision in the second.

The third round was closer for Weatherspoon with a 12-6 win and a tight 12-11 win in the semifinals. The championship match finished 3-2 in Weatherspoon’s favor. He seemed upset about his championship performance heading back to the locker room, but in all, he was the champion of the 174-pound class.

“I thought he scored a lot more points that what he had been scoring,” Jackson said. “He needs to stay in tune for seven minutes. I think for about four and half minutes he competed the way he needs to compete at this level.”

Hall and Weatherspoon will take these champion titles as a confidence builder for the Iowa match on Nov. 29 at Hilton Coliseum. Even though their confidence flies higher after today’s matches, the expectation is to get better and compete at the highest level when Iowa comes into town.

“It’s early in the season and we have to get better,” Hall said. “I’m pleased with my performance today, but there’s always room for improvement.”