Last time we saw the Cyclones on the mat was just last weekend when they took 6th place at the extremely tough Las Vegas Cliff Keen Invitational. And just a few weeks from now they’ll go to another tough tournament in the Southern Scuffle. But for today things lighten up a bit as a likely overmatched Chattanooga squad comes to town to close out Iowa State wrestling’s decade on the mats.

Where: Hilton Colosseum, Ames, IA

When: 7:00PM, Saturday, Dec 14th

TV/Stream: Cyclones.TV/Flowrestling ($$)

Key Matches

149

Usually I don’t bother to include the “or”s that the ISU coaching staff puts in the meet notes. Because a lot of the time, especially once the lineup is settled, you know they aren’t really an “or”. They’re either there to screw with the opposing coaching staff or to give a little extra motivation to a guy that needs a push. But sometimes they’re there for a reason. And this is one of those times. Degen dislocated his shoulder last weekend at Cliff Keen and though he wrestled and won his next match the coaching staff pulled him from the tournament on day two. Tomorrow we’ll find out if the injury is bad enough that they give him some time off. We’ll actually probably have a good idea earlier in the day - the UNI Open is tomorrow and if Leisure is in the brackets for that we know that Degen is on for Saturday night. But it’s also possible that it truly is a game time decision and they’ll keep Leisure in Ames but wait to make a call until after weigh ins.

If they do go with Degen then getting an opponent ranked just outside the top 20, which normally he’d have no trouble with, will be a good test for how well his shoulder his feeling. If he’s anywhere near 100% this should be a one sided match. But if he’s hurting more than he lets on and has to favor one side it could be closer than we all would like.

If they go with Leisure then it’s an opportunity for a backup to get on the mat and get a win against one of the best wrestlers in a small school’s lineup.

If I had to make a bet, I’d guess they rest Degen and give Leisure the call.

184

This is the only ranked matchup of the night. Colbray took two tough losses to higher ranked opponents in Las Vegas last weekend so Waddell is the perfect opponent for him to get back on track. He’s top twenty, so a solid guy and an opportunity for a quality win. But he’s also just barely in the top twenty, so while he needs to be taken seriously he isn’t imposing to somebody with Colbray’s record. The perfect opponent for a wrestler that could use a solid win going in to the long break.

Everybody Else

Avoid a letdown loss. This dual is coming right before finals and, as I noted in the introduction, is a small conference opponent sandwiched right between the two biggest in season events on the schedule. But the Mocs are still D1 wrestlers and they didn’t come to Ames to lose their matches. They’ll be ready to go and each ISU wrestler needs to figure out a way to motivate themselves to show up and get a match win.

Prediction

Given the timing of the dual and the opponent I bet we have a letdown match or two but still win 7 or 8 matches for a 25-9 or so victory.

Next Up

The wrestlers will have a few weeks off of competition before heading down to Chattanooga, Tennessee for their second big in season tournament, the Southern Scuffle.