ISU wrestling will compete in its first of four tournaments this year on Sunday in the historic Harold Nichols Cyclone Open at Hilton Coliseum.

Thirty-two ISU wrestlers will take the mat. The only athletes who won’t wrestle are dealing with injuries. 

Nathan Boston at 125 pounds and Gabe Moreno at 149 pounds are the biggest question marks for the Cyclones heading into the tournament. Boston didn’t feel well on Thursday so Kyle Larson wrestled in his place.

In the post-meet press conference on Thursday, Jackson said he was unsure if Boston would wrestle in the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open. They will play it by ear. Luckily, the Cyclones have another proven wrestler at 125 pounds in Larson.

“I think we have two quality guys pushing each other for that starting spot so we are happy with that,” Jackson said of the 125-pound weight class.

Moreno made his season debut on Thursday after offseason shoulder surgery. He won 4-2 against Boise State’s Geordan Martinez. Jackson said he wasn’t sure how much Moreno would wrestle on Sunday.

“I just don’t know if we’ll get [Moreno] through the whole tournament,” Jackson said. “We’ll let him wrestle, probably, one or two matches, and then probably see how he feels and then possibly pull him. I can’t take a huge risk with Gabe.”

Moreno said he tested his shoulder out in several positions and it felt good. He was nervous heading into his dual, but once his adrenaline started flowing, his shoulder felt perfect.

Even though Moreno felt good and Jackson plans to wrestle him on Sunday, Moreno’s not sure if he’ll wrestle because the team wants to take baby steps. He wants to keep things tight and not get over-extended to avoid any setbacks.

“I’m not 100 percent sure I’m even going to step out on the mat on Sunday,” Moreno said. “We want to take baby steps and make sure that I’m ready for the Iowa dual in a couple weeks.”

While Moreno is recovering from his shoulder surgery, the rest of the team is recovering from the back-to-back duals and preparing for the quick turnaround from Thursday to Sunday.

“We’ll get some recovery time tomorrow with these guys, and we’ll be ready to wrestle on Sunday,” Jackson said on Thursday.

The Cyclones dominated both Midland and Boise State, taking the duals 51-0 and 34-3, respectively. Winning duals in convincing fashion can have a snowball effect for a team.

More than 30 guys will wrestle for the Cyclones in the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open so there is a possibility that a pair of Cyclones could meet in the finals of each weight class.

“We’re definitely getting better and we’re definitely looking to build from this,” said 133-pound Earl Hall after Thursday’s duals. “We’re going take this into Sunday and hopefully everybody can roll and we can have Cyclone vs. Cyclone finals on Sunday”