Wrestling: Battle In The River City Preview

WHAT: Iowa State Wrestling @ The Battle In The River City

WHERE: Jacksonville, Florida

WHEN: Saturday, November 5th

Little Rock - 11 AM

Campbell - 1 PM

Wisconsin - 5:30 PM

HOW TO WATCH: Rokfin ($) (You’re gonna want to use that link - it's a sketchy site)

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Iowa State kicks off its season in Jacksonville, Florida at a brand new event — The Battle in the River City. Wisconsin head coach Chris Bono, a former NCAA Champion for the Cyclones, launched the event this year to promote wrestling in his hometown. Iowa State will wrestle three duals on Saturday. They begin with upstart Little Rock, followed by Campbell. Iowa State finishes up in the country’s premier dual meet of the weekend against Wisconsin. FloWrestling has the Cyclones starting the season ranked 10th in duals. The Badgers are ranked 9th. If you don’t know what to expect out of Dresser’s team in his 6th season in Ames read our preview here. Flo only has five of the projected starters ranked this week, but do not be alarmed by that. A few young guys will jump in almost instantly as they get some results. At other weights the ranked Cyclone is injured or lost their wrestle-off. I expect to see a different lineup every dual this weekend as the staff tries to get a better grasp on a few spots. Now let’s take a look at the Trojans, Camels and Badgers.

Little Rock

Iowa State will be taking on the Trojans of Little Rock to kick off the Battle in the River City. If you’ve never heard of Little Rock that’s because the program is in just its 4th season competing. Getting started has been rocky. For most sports, Little Rock competes in the Sun Belt, but for wrestling, it is a PAC-12 affiliate. Last year they failed to qualify a wrestler for NCAAs. But there are signs of an upswing. This offseason they signed the #28 over recruit in the class of 2023. They also started their season Tuesday with a 41-3 win over Ouachita Baptist. Little Rock’s strongest weight is 174, where Triston Wills is ranked #22. This is very much a tune-up dual for the Cyclones. Score Prediction: 46-0

Projected Matchups

Individual rankings from FloWrestling. Iowa State listed first.

125: #18 Kysen Terukina vs. Jeremiah Reno

133: Zach Redding vs. Joshua Sarpy

141: Casey Swiderski vs. Jayden Gomez

149: Paniro Johnson vs. Joseph Bianchi

157: Jason Kraisser vs. Matt Bianchi

165: #4 David Carr vs. Tyler Brennan

174: Julien Broderson vs. #22 Triston Wills *KEY MATCHUP*

184: #5 Marcus Coleman vs. Mason Diel

197: #7 Yonger Bastida vs. Matthew Weinert

285: #13 Sam Schuyler vs. Josiah Hill

Campbell

Next up for the Cyclones is Campbell. The Camels are certainly a notch up from Little Rock. They’ve won the last 4 Southern Conference tournaments. They have five national qualifiers in the lineup. SoCon champions Taye Ghadiali, Caleb Hopkins, and Shannon Hanna lead the way. We’ll see if Austin Murphy returns to his 2021 form. That season he entered NCAAs undefeated and was just a win away from placing. Also of note: Iowa State 157 lber Jason Kraisser started his freshman season for the Camels. You may be surprised to learn that Campbell is undefeated against the Cyclones all time. Their 2020 dual win is the only matchup in the series. It's time for that to change. Score Prediction: 32-3

Projected Matchups

Individual rankings from FloWrestling. Iowa State listed first.

125: #18 Kysen Terukina vs. Anthony Moulton

133: Zach Redding vs. Domenic Zaccone (HM)

141: Casey Swiderski vs. Shannon Hanna

149: Paniro Johnson vs. Justin Rivera

157: Jason Kraisser vs. Troy Nation

165: #4 David Carr vs. Riley Augustine

174: Julien Broderson vs. (HM) Austin Murphy

184: #5 Marcus Coleman vs. (HM) Caleb Hopkins

197: #7 Yonger Bastida vs. (HM) Levi Hopkins

285: #13 Sam Schuyler vs. #18 Taye Ghadiali *KEY MATCHUP*

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a traditionally strong Big 10 wrestling program that has only improved since Iowa State national champions Chris Bono and Jon Reader took the helm. They went 12-2 in duals last season, losing only to Iowa and Nebraska. They enter the season with 8 ranked wrestlers. The Badgers definitely have fewer question marks than the Cyclones. They are certainly favored to end the nation’s second-longest dual-winning streak. It would be Wisconsin’s first win over Iowa State since 1987.

Projected Matchups

Individual rankings from FloWrestling. Iowa State listed first.

125: Kysen Terukina (#18) vs Eric Barnett (#6)

• 2x All-American Barnett is favored in this one, but Terukina has beat wrestlers of his caliber before. If the meet starts here it could get ugly for the Cyclones early. They’ll need to compete in every match and win one they maybe shouldn’t on paper.

133: Zach Redding vs Taylor LaMont (#12)

• LaMont is a familiar face. Before transferring this season, he’d been at Utah Valley since 2017. 2017! We’ll see what the change of scenery has done for 2021 All-American LaMont — and what a return to 133 looks like for Redding.

141: Casey Swiderski vs Joseph Zargo (#11)

• I’ve heard a few national media members mention Zargo as someone poised to break out this season. To be honest, I’m not buying it. He’s got some solid wins, but I expect Swiderski to show what the hype is about in this one.

149: Paniro Johnson vs Austin Gomez (#3)

• Gomez started his career in Ames and had a stellar freshman season before medically retiring from wrestling. Last fall he returned to the mat as a Badger. He thrived moving up two weight classes and winning a Big 10 title. Gomez is a home run hitter. This will be a good way to see where Johnson is at — and how much work is yet to do.

157: Jason Kraisser vs Garrett Model (#19)

• Model is a fifth-year starter for the Badgers. Last year he broke through with an NCAA tournament appearance. I’d consider this a toss-up.

165: David Carr (#4) or Dean Hamiti (#6) *KEY MATCHUP*

• This is the biggest college wrestling match that will happen in November. Carr is moving up to the LOADED 165 lb weight class. Hamiti placed 6th as a true freshman last season. His upside is enormous. How will Carr compete after wrestling at the U23 World Championships in Spain just two weeks ago?

174: Julien Broderson vs Joshua Otto

• This is a must-win for the Cyclones. Otto is 1-8 against D1 competition over the last two years. It’d be great to see Broderson use his explosive skillset to secure some bonus points.

184: Marcus Coleman (#5) vs Tyler Dow

• Coleman is heavily favored here. Dow has been in Madison for a while, but this is his first year starting. I expect the returning All-American to put big numbers on the board.

197: Yonger Bastida (#7) vs Braxton Amos (#23)

• We saw this matchup in the first round of NCAAs last year. Bastida got the 3-2 victory. Amos was a massive recruit. He’s certainly got the potential to be a top-tier 197 guy. With how technical both of these guys are I expect there to be some highlights in this one.

285: Sam Schuyler (#13) vs Trent Hillger (#11)

• Both of these guys had disappointing national tournaments last year. Hillger looks to make the podium for a third time this season. Schuyler is looking for his first. We saw him improve consistently since arriving from Buffalo. If that continued over the offseason he will be right in this match.

Prediction

Iowa State 17, Wisconsin 16

The last time these two teams met was in 2015. The Cyclones had a pin party, including Kyven Gadson hitting his signature move. I’m not optimistic enough to predict another landslide Iowa State victory, but I do think they pull the upset. I think this one comes down to bonus points. And while the Badgers have potential to get theirs, they also have more holes in the lineup than Iowa State. There will be great matches from start to finish.