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The #2 Hawkeyes are headed to Hilton this weekend for the annual Cy-Hawk series dual. Iowa leads the series against the Cyclones 63-16-2, with ISU's last win coming in 2004. There will be three matches between ranked wrestlers, and another three between guys who are both unranked. So many of the individual matches should be competitive. However, a still-shorthanded lineup for the Cyclones means the meet itself is unlikely to be very close.
Where: Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA
When: Sunday, November 29th at 2:00 p.m.
Live TV: Cyclones.TV
Projected Lineups:
| Weight | Iowa State Wrestler | Record | - | Iowa Wrestler | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125 | Nathan Boston | 0-1 | vs. | #2/#2 Thomas Gilman | 5-0 |
| or | Kyle Larson | 10-2 | |||
| 133 | #7/#4 Earl Hall | 8-0 | vs. | #2/#2 Cory Clark | 5-0 |
| 141 | John Meeks | 5-3 | vs. | Logan Ryan | 7-2 |
| or | Dante Rodriguez | 6-1 | |||
| 149 | #15/#14 Gabe Moreno | 1-0 | vs. | #3/#3 Brandon Sorenson | 5-0 |
| 157 | Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer | 9-3 | vs. | Skyler St. John | 1-0 |
| or | Logan Breitenback | 4-3 | or | Edwin Cooper | 2-2 |
| 165 | #11/#13 Tanner Weatherman | 6-2 | vs. | Burke Paddock | 2-1 |
| or | Patrick Rhoads | 6-3 | |||
| 174 | #13/#11 Lelund Weatherspoon | 7-1 | vs. | #4/#6 Alex Meyer | 4-1 |
| 184 | Dane Pestano | 8-2 | vs. | #12/#11 Sammy Brooks | 5-0 |
| 197 | Duke Egli | 1-0 | vs. | 4/4 Nathan Burak | 5-0 |
| HWT | Quean Smith | 9-2 | vs. | Sam Stoll | 4-1 |
Rankings from Intermat/FloWrestling
For a breakdown of common opponents check out WrestleStats Dual Comparison
Match by Match Breakdown
125:
Larson probably gets the call over Boston here because either of our guys at 125 will be overmatched by Gilman, and Larson is generally pretty skilled at slowing down matches against elite guys and keeping off his back. Last year, Gilman beat Larson 6-1 and hopefully Larson can keep it to a decision again this year.
Gilman is the current incarnation of the "Iowa wrestler who thinks being an asshole means he is a super tough guy," so there'd be nothing better than seeing an upset here.
133:
Hall is 0-4 against Clark through his career, with all four losses being by decision. While both of these guys are AA caliber, Hall has never been able to get his offense going against Clark and unless that changes this'll be another decision win for Iowa.
141:
Meeks owns a 5-3 win over Ryan from last season, but Rodriguez probably gets the call here because he's a pinner and the Cyclones will need as many team points as they can get against one of Iowa's weaker weights.
149:
Hopefully Moreno's shoulder is 100% because this is a huge match for him. Moreno and Sorenson have only wrestled once, with Sorenson winning a close 7-6 match in last year's Cy-Hawk dual. Since Moreno is still recovering from his shoulder surgery, Sorenson is likely to get the win, but it should be another close one and an upset isn't out of the question
157:
Another weak weight for Iowa, but also a weak weight for Iowa State. This match is a toss up.
165:
Weatherman has been a little lackluster to start the season, but this is another weight where Iowa has been weak following the graduation of Evans. No reason for Tanner not to pick up the win here and possibly go for the major.
174:
This one is kind of similar to 149 where Iowa will be favored, but not overwhelmingly so. Lelund has struggled in the past to get wins against top ten caliber guys, so this is a great chance for him to pick up a signature win early on in the season.
184:
Maybe Pestano can avoid getting pinned. Maybe.
197:
We're really going to miss Harrington here.
HWT:
Another toss up match. This would be a really good opportunity for Smith to show continued improvement and a path to NCAA qualification.
Prediction
While many of the matches should be close, the overall dual meet score is unlikely to reflect that. At the end of the day this still-incomplete ISU team will be wishing this dual was being held in the second semester once the lineup is at full strength. Look for Iowa State to win around two or three matches and a final dual meet score of around 10-28
But seriously though, if ISU is going to pull off the upset, how would it happen?
There is a path to a 19-18 win. Getting pins out of Dante and Quean, a bonus point victory by Weatherman, and one win out of the three of Moreno, Weatherspoon, and Spencer/Breitenbach would be 19 points for the Cyclones. Avoid giving up bonus points in the other 6 matches and you limit the Hawkeyes to 18. Win two of those three small upsets and the team would even have some breathing room for giving up bonus points elsewhere. It isn't likely to happen because it would require a lot of things going Iowa State's way, but none of those individual match outcomes is out of the question.
Next up
The Cyclones will be headed to Las Vegas for the 34th Annual Cliff Keen Invitational on Friday, December 4th and Saturday, December 5th