Iowa State Takes Down #3 Arizona State

In the first top five dual in Hilton in nearly 15 years, Iowa State made things a bit anticlimactic by putting the dual out of reach early. Iowa State followed Saturday’s rout of Wyoming by winning the first five matches in their highly anticipated showdown against Arizona State.

The dual started at 157, where Jason Kraisser scored the first takedown on Max Wilner two minutes into the match out of a front headlock. After a few Wilner mat returns, Kraisser earned an escape midway through the second period. Wilner got in deep on Kraisser’s left leg, but Kraisser used his superior scrambling to earn a takedown before the buzzer. Entering the third period he led 5-0 and threatening to score a major decision. He came out on top of another scramble in the final period, but fell short of earning a riding time point, giving Kraisser a 7-0 victory and putting the Cyclones up 3-0 in the dual.

2021 NCAA Champion David Carr finished a single leg 40 seconds into his 165 lb match against Tony Negron. Carr added another slick single leg which he converted straight into a leg turk to put him up 8-1 after one period. A third and fourth single leg takedown to Carr’s right side gave him a 12-2 lead before adding two nearfall with a punishing bow and arrow turn. An escape and fifth single leg takedown gave Carr an astounding 17-2 tech fall win. He was relentless in this match and seemed like he was trying to prove a point with his top wrestling. Noted. With those two bonus points, the Cyclones led 8-0 after two matches.

At 174 Julien Broderson started out with a heel pick against ASU’s Josh Nummer. A quick cradle had Nummer in trouble, but he fought out and only gave up two backpoints. Broderson added a reversal in the second period. After a Nummer escape, Broderson was right back on the attack and scored on a single leg. After cutting the Sun Devil loose, he showed some versatility by connecting on a single leg to the other side. In the third period Broderson hit a quick low single, defended a headlock, scored on a single leg and go-behind. That’s SEVEN takedowns and over FIVE minutes of riding time for the 17-5 win. What a performance. What a weekend for Broderson. After three matches Iowa State was out to a strong 12-0 lead.

Veteran Cyclone Marcus Coleman took on Oklahoma State transfer Anthony Montalvo at 184. Both wrestlers worked for underhooks and collar ties in the first period handfight. Coleman scored on a textbook head outside single with 20 seconds left in the opening period. Coleman was looking for a tilt with his claw ride, but Montalvo was able to reverse him. Coleman was out quick to take a 3-2 lead into the final period. He started the third with another quick escape, putting him up by 2. Coleman built his lead with a double leg takedown. Riding time made it 7-2. That’s his first win over Montalvo in three tries. Good stuff from him. The Cyclones lead was up to 15-0 after four matches.

Arizona State was missing Kordell Norfleet, so Yonger Bastida stepped out against Jonathon Fagen with a chance to essentially put the dual out of reach before Arizona State wins a match. After a quick takedown, Bastida was in deep on another shot when Fagen rolled him through and nearly pinned the highly ranked Cyclone. Bastida fought off his back and added two takedowns to make the score 7-6 Fagen after the first period. Three more Bastida takedowns in the second period gave him a 12-10 lead. Bastida chose down to start the third and was out with his riding time still in tact. A few more takedowns and some nearfall made the score 23-11. That’s 41 points for Bastida in two matches this weekend. What a show. Halfway through the dual Iowa State had built a 19-0 lead on the #3 team in the nation.

In a battle of top ten heavyweights, Sam Schuyler took on NCAA runner-up and Greco World Team member Cohlton Schultz. Schuyler got in deep on a leg early, but was unable to finish. After a Schultz takedown and Schuyler escape to finish the period, Schuyler trailed 2-1. Schultz chose down and got away in 30 seconds in the second period. Trailing by two points in the third, Schuyler got an escape of his own. Schultz’s defense was just too much and he took the match 3-2, giving Schuyler his second loss of the season. That put ASU on the board, trailing 19-3.

With Kysen Terukina out for the season due to shoulder surgery and Corey Cabanban out until February at least, it was Caleb Fuessley taking on freshman phenom Richard Figueroa at 125. Figueroa got a quick takedown, but Fuessley’s solid positioning slowed down the match after that. With an escape in the second period, Fuessley tied the match at two. Figueroa retook the lead with an escape of his own in the third period. He added a knee pick, but Fuessley escaped right away to put him within a takedown of overtime in the final minute. As Fuessley pursued, Figueroa hit a nasty duck under to seal the match. Fuessley fought well as a huge underdog, but dropped that one 7-5. That cut Iowa State’s lead to 19-6.

At 133 it was Ramazan Attasauov getting the call again. Wrestling for Arizona State was 2-time All-American Michael McGee. A lightning fast shuck gave McGee the opening takedown. After trading escapes, Attasauov nearly scored on a shuck of his own in the second period, but the ref blew it out of bounds. McGee then scored on a sweep single. Attasauov was out quickly to make the score 5-2 after two periods. McGee put a good ride on to lock up riding time. Attasauov got a third escape, but it was all McGee. He added another takedown to win 8-3. After that run Arizona State’s comeback tallied the team score at 19-9 Clones with two matches remaining.

Casey Swiderski had a chance to lock up the dual with a win over Jesse Vasquez at 141. Swiderski nearly put Vasquez to his back, but Vasquez stuffed the attack to take a 2-0 lead into the second period. Vasquez extended that to 3-0 with a second period escape. But Swiderski got a takedown that seemed to help him find his confidence. Another takedown with 30 seconds left tied the match. After cutting Vasquez loose late in the period he trailed 5-4 entering the third. Swiderski got a go-ahead takedown with 20 seconds left, but locked his hands — a penalty that sent the match to overtime. Vasquez then finished a takedown on the edge to score the upset. Freshman mistakes piled up, and Swiderski fell 8-6. After four straight ASU wins, ISU’s lead was 19-12 entering the final match. That clinched the dual for the Cyclones.

In the most anticipated match of the meet, Paniro Johnson closed the dual at 149. After an uneventful first period, Parco took the lead with an escape in the second period. Johnson got a second effort takedown to take the lead, but Parco tied it back up with a quick escape. A far-side carry for Johnson gave him his second takedown of the match. Parco then got out and scored on an inside trip as time expired to take a 5-4 lead into the third period. Johnson chose down and was right out to tie the match at 5. Nobody got close to a takedown in the third so we went to sudden victory for a second straight match. Parco got in deep and somehow Johnson was able to hop out of it and get in deep on his own attack. Parco picked up the big win with a single leg in overtime to win the match 7-5.

Final Score: Cyclones 19, Sun Devils 15. The victory moves Iowa State to 8-2 in dual action. They wrestle next on Saturday at Big 12-affiliate Utah Valley. While dropping the last five matches (two of them upsets) will surely leave a bad taste in your mouth, the Cyclones will surely move up to #3 in the next dual rankings.

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On Saturday Iowa State put a thorough beatdown on Big 12 foe Wyoming to open dual action for 2023. This moved them to 2-0 in the conference. The Cyclones won 8 of 10 matches, leading to a 37 to 7. Jason Kraisser started the afternoon against the Cowboys’ top 10 Jacob Wright. Kraisser evened the score at 4-4 late in third period, but had to try for another late takedown due to Wright’s riding time advantage. He fell 6-4. David Carr opened up scoring for the Cyclones, racking up a bunch of points before pinning Cole Moody in the third period of the 165 pound match. In the premier matchup of the dual, Julien Broderson stunned the veteran Hayden Hastings by pinning him in 24 seconds. Broderson used the momentum from a Hastings shot to roll him through to his back, securing the head and the fall. Hastings was one win away from All-American status last season, so that’s a good one for Broderson to add to the resume. Unfortunately Hastings’s shoulder was injured in the action.

Ames’s own Marcus Coleman kept the action moving at 184. After a relatively quiet start against Quayin Short, Coleman piled up backpoints in the second period to lock up a 17-0 tech fall, ending the match before the final period. Not to be outdone, Yonger Bastida scored 18 points for himself. Bastida led 4-1 after working — and nearly getting — a couple of tilts in the first period. Top work was clearly a point of emphasis for the Cyclone 197, and he finished the 18-6 victory with 4 minutes of riding time. Kudos to Guillermo Escobedo for moving up for that match. I know I wouldn’t want to bump up to wrestle Bastida. Halfway through the dual, the Cyclones lead 21-3.

Sam Schuyler gave up the opening takedown at heavyweight against Terren Swartz. Schuyler escaped and got eight takedowns of his own, giving him a solid 19-6 major decision win. Conor Knopick got the call at 125 and started strong, taking a 2-0 lead. But late in the first he was reversed to his back by JuCo national champion Garrett Ricks and unable to regain the lead. Ricks won the match 12-4. At 133 it was Ramazan Attasauov joining the party with a first period pin. That’s how you want to see guys bounce back after disappointing performances like Attasauov had at the Southern Scuffle.

Freshman Casey Swiderski was back on the mat at 141, taking on Darren Green. Believe it or not, Green actually wrestled David Carr up at 157 in this dual last season. Swiderski was able to get to legs, scoring a 7-2 win in his first match since the CyHawk dual. Paniro Johnson closed the dual at 149. Johnson did have a highlight worthy fireman’s carry in his ho-hum 8-3 victory over a solid Chase Zollman. That brought the final team score to Cyclones 37, Cowboys 7.