Following a 24-15 win over Bucknell in its first dual of the season, the Iowa State Cyclones move their focus to instate rival No. 2 Iowa in an Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup.

Reflection on the 2018 Iowa dual

Iowa heads into the weekend with a win streak of 15 against Iowa State after inching past the Cyclones with a score of 19-18 in the 2018 dual. Considering how dominant Iowa has been in recent memory, mixed with how close the Cyclones were to knocking off the Hawkeyes last year, there’s some thought of what could have been.

The Cyclones were two points away from defeating the Hawkeyes last season. In the 2018 dual, Iowa State and Iowa won five matches respectively, but Iowa walked away with more bonus point victories which pushed them ahead.

“I think just the belief that we belonged and we can compete with them,” said coach Kevin Dresser. “We went there to win; it wasn’t mission accomplished. We went there to win and everyone got excited because we competed well, but when we got on that bus to come back, we still get what we came there to do.”

Reflecting on the past years dual against Iowa assists in making preparations, especially with plenty of returners on both ends and plenty of potential rematches for Sundays dual between the Cyclones and the Hawkeyes.

Both teams are going into the weekend with one of the best squads they’ve had in recent years and the dual will prove to be a challenge on both ends.

Carr looks to face top ranked opponent

David Carr made his highly anticipated debut during the Bucknell dual and did not disappoint Iowa State in the slightest. Carr won his dual over Bucknell’s Jaden Fisher by a 17-3 tech fall.

Carr now faces a slight upgrade in an opponent with No. 2 ranked Kaleb Young.

Young is coming off a week where he recorded a 16-6 major decision over Chattanooga’s George Carpenter and continued to prove he’s one of the best in the nation at 157 pounds.

The matchup between Carr and Young will prove to be a great early season test for Carr, who Dresser has said came to Iowa State to be in big time matchups and will have one on Sunday.

“I think it’s good, anytime you get a good opponent, like Kaleb Young, it’s going to be a fight, it’s going to be a scrap and I look forward to wrestling the top guys and the best guys, it’s fun,” Carr said.

Preparations for Austin DeSanto

One of the most interesting cases for the Hawkeyes during the earliest stages of the 2019-20 season is Austin DeSanto.

DeSanto is currently listed as the No. 2 wrestler at 133 but moved up a class and wrestled at 141 in Iowa’s most recent dual against Chattanooga on Nov. 17, where he recorded a 23-4 tech fall win.

If DeSanto moves back down to 133, he’ll likely faceoff with Todd Small, who Dresser spoke highly about after seeing the steps he’s taken in preparation for Iowa after losing his dual against Bucknell.

If DeSanto remains at 141, he’ll likely faceoff with Ian Parker in a top 15 matchup. This wouldn’t be the first time DeSanto and Parker met. DeSanto and Parker faced off when DeSanto wrestled for Drexel University in the 2017-18 season.

“I’m extremely excited, that’s going to be a high paced match,” Parker said. “Iowa-Iowa State back at Hilton and after the dual we had last year, so excited, there’s a lot of hype and my opponent is really good. I’m super excited.”