#4 ISU - #3 ASU Dual Headlines NCAA Wrestling’s Weekend

WHAT: Iowa State vs. Wyoming, #3 Arizona State

WHERE: Hilton Coliseum

WHEN: Wyoming – 1 PM – Saturday, January 7th

#3 Arizona State – 1 PM – Sunday, January 8th

HOW TO WATCH: ESPN+

Wyoming Link

Arizona State Link

HOW TO LISTEN: Varsity App or Cyclones.com

LIVE CHAT: WRNL Wrestling Discord — Whether a diehard wrestling fan or just a Cyclone interested in learning more about the sport, join us on Discord!

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Iowa State wrestling kicks off 2023 dual action this weekend. Saturday serves as an appetizer when they host Big 12 foe Wyoming. On Sunday, it is the Sun Devils of Arizona State that make the trip to Hilton Coliseum for a TOP 5 MATCHUP. That is the premier dual in the country this weekend and one of the best all season. If you have the opportunity, I’d highly recommend getting to Ames for the double feature.

Wyoming

Iowa State will be taking on the Cowboys of Wyoming in their second Big 12 dual of the season. Mark Branch is in his 15th season leading the program. Wyoming has been one of the top-tier Big 12 affiliates since joining the conference. This has not been their season, however. In October assistant coach Teyon Ware shockingly left the program to return to Oklahoma, where he wrestled in college. Shortly after he was followed by Big 12 Champion Stephen Buchanan. Early season injuries have left a lot of question marks surrounding Branch’s squad. The Cowboys have 3 ranked wrestlers. They are led by 157 lber Jacob Wright and 174 lber Hayden Hastings, both of which have made the bloodround at the NCAA tournament.Wright, however, took a surprising loss to UNI’s Derek Holschlag on Thursday night. Chase Zollman and Cole Moody are past NCAA qualifiers. Job Greenwood has been steady for the Cowboys too. Outside of that, they are very, very green. Iowa State will likely rest some starters and cruise to victory. Score Prediction: 30-6

Projected Matchups

Individual rankings from FloWrestling. Iowa State listed first.

125: Connor Knopick or Caleb Fuessley vs. Garrett Ricks

133: #24 Ramazan Attasauov or Zach Redding vs. Darrick Stacey

141: #8 Casey Swiderski vs. HM Job Greenwood or Darren Green

149: #3 Paniro Johnson vs. Chase Zollman

157: HM Jason Kraisser or Andrew Huddleston vs. #11 Jacob Wright

165: #3 David Carr vs. Cole Moody

174: HM Julien Broderson vs. HM Hayden Hastings *KEY MATCHUP*

184: #4 Marcus Coleman or Joel Devine vs. Quayin Short or Guillermo Escobedo

197: #3 Yonger Bastida vs. Quayin Short or Guillermo Escobedo

285: #9 Sam Schuyler vs. Mason Ding or Terren Swartz

Arizona State

Arizona State is one of the most fascinating programs in college wrestling. In 1988 they became the first, and to this date only, team west of the Rockies to win an NCAA wrestling title. They were coached by Bobby Douglas, the first, and to this date only, black head coach of an NCAA title-winning wrestling team. (Douglas later spent 14 years as Iowa State’s head coach.) 20 years after that title, Arizona State announced they were dropping the wrestling program. In what seemed like a move to milk the wrestling community for financial support, the athletic department reinstated the program just ten days later. With questionable administrative support, the Sun Devils were up and down. That was until they hired Team USA coach Zeke Jones in 2014. They finished 58th in the country the year before he arrived in Tempe. They’ve finished 4th the last two seasons and become a consistent trophy contender.

They’re once again one of the top teams in the country. Their dual schedule is pretty front-loaded. They’ve already beaten #6 Mizzou and #19 Rutgers. On the other hand they had disappointing CKLV and Midlands tournaments and fell to #10 Cornell on Wednesday night. The Sun Devils are led by 4 returning All-Americans and 8 ranked wrestlers.

Projected Matchups

Individual rankings from FloWrestling. Iowa State listed first.

125: Connor Knopick or Caleb Fuessley vs. #6 Brandon Courtney or Richard Figueroa

• Arizona State has a great problem at this weight. They can hit you with the undefeated freshman Figueroa, who won the CKLV. Or they’ve got 6th-year senior Brandon Courtney, who is a 2x All-American – including a finals appearance in 2021. I’m not sure who they’ll send out. Either way the Cyclone will be the underdog.

133: #24 Ramazan Attasauov or Zach Redding vs. #4 Michael McGee or Julian Chlebove

• McGee is a 2x All-American. He’s 4-0 in his career against ISU wrestlers, including a 9-4 victory over Redding in 2021.

141: #8 Casey Swiderski vs. #19 Jesse Vasquez

• Swiderski is back in the lineup after a surprise absence. He’ll take on Vasquez who essentially won the Sun Devils their dual against Mizzou by upsetting Allan Hart. I think we see a fresh Swiderski dominate in his return.

149: #3 Paniro Johnson vs. #6 Kyle Parco *KEY MATCHUP*

• The schedule this season will continue to line up top tier wrestlers for Paniro Johnson in 2023. Parco will be the biggest test yet of Johnson’s conditioning. This guy goes and goes and goes. It’s part of the reason he’s yet another 2x All-American in the lineup for Arizona State. This one is a must watch match.

157: HM Jason Kraisser or Andrew Huddleston vs. Max Wilner or Michael Kilic

• Here’s another chance for Jason Kraisser to pick up a key win in a big time dual. Jacori Teemer was slated to contend for a national title at this weight, but his season was ended due to injury before it ever started. Wilner has struggled in his first season in the lineup. This run of three matches starting here has potential for the Cyclones to rack up a bunch of bonus points.

165: #3 David Carr vs. Tony Negron

• Negron is a Penn State transfer that started the year ranked, but has sputtered. He went 1-2 at Midlands. Carr should get a major decision victory at least.

174: HM Julien Broderson vs. Cael Valencia or Josh Nummer

• Valencia has had a rough season. While 174 hasn’t been the brightest spot in Iowa State’s lineup this year, I expect bonus points. Broderson won this match 13-0 last February. Nummer got the call against Cornell. He’s just 2-5 this season.

184: #4 Marcus Coleman or Joel Devine vs. #19 Anthony Montalvo

• This matchup really intrigues me. Montalvo spent his first four seasons at Oklahoma State before transferring this year. He’s 2-0 all time against Coleman. But those matches came in early 2020. Coleman only has four regular season losses since. This will be a great test for Coleman following his victory over #1 Aaron Brooks.

197: #6 Yonger Bastida vs. #20 Kordell Norfleet or Jonathon Fagen

• Norfleet is a 4x NCAA qualifier who’s been close to All-American status in the past. He majored Bastida in their first matchup, one of Bastida’s first folkstyle matches ever. The Cyclone flipped that to a 4-2 win at the NCAA tournament last season. It was Fagen who took the mat for the Sun Devils on Wednesday. If it’s him again, Bastida will put on a takedown clinic.

285: #9 Sam Schuyler vs. #6 Cohlton Schultz

• Entering the season, only two wrestlers had beaten Schultz in his collegiate career (Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson and Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi). He was the favorite to take home the heavyweight title. He looked to be on pace for that, majoring Mizzou’s Zach Elam. Then he took a loss to SDSU’s Seth Nevills at the CKLV. And at Midlands last week he was stunned by Pitt’s true freshman Dayton Pitzer. So I’m telling you there’s a chance.

Prediction

Iowa State 23, Arizona State 10

Arizona State is favored at just 125, 133 and 285. Iowa State is favored at 141, 165, 174, 184 and 197. But the margins are slim at 184 and 197. 149 and 157 are swing matches that I see going the Cyclones’ way. At the end of the day, I don’t think the score will reflect just how much of a brawl this dual was.