Takedown Report

Iowa Wins 19th Straight Over Iowa State in Memorable Fashion

All eyes in the wrestling world were trained solely on Ames, Iowa. No, really. That phrase can be overstated in many cases; however, with the Thanksgiving holiday only four days away, the wrestling calendar was sparse. #7 Iowa traveled to Ames to take on #8 Iowa State live on ESPN’s main channel in the only dual scheduled for Sunday’s late-afternoon slot.  The stage was set for Iowa State to snap a losing streak that dated back to 2004. A sellout crowd was on hand to watch a Cyclone team that featured four wrestlers ranked in the top-eight and appeared to be the deepest in head coach Kevin Dresser’s time in Ames. While Iowa led 9-6 at halftime, Iowa State knocked off a pair of top-ten wrestlers and was favored in the back half of the dual. 
The only problem for Iowa State was nobody told the Hawkeyes that it was supposed to be Iowa State’s day. Iowa briefly trailed after NCAA champion David Carr posted a 16-4 major decision for the Cyclones at 165 lbs. The Hawkeyes would win the next four bouts to lock up the dual and their stranglehold on this in-state rivalry.  Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands developed a winning blueprint by doing some lineup shuffling for the day. Last time out, true freshman Gabe Arnold took out a former All-American from Oregon State; Travis Wittlake. Conventional wisdom may have sent Arnold out to face redshirt freshman MJ Gaitan, in a match that likely would favor the Hawkeyes. Instead, Brands bumped up Arnold to face a returning All-American at 184 lbs; Will Feldkamp, a Clarion transfer. … rest of story at … Intermatwrestle.com/Iowa-wins-19th-straight-over-iowa-state-in-memorable-fashion

HAWKEYES WIN 19TH STRAIGHT AGAINST CYCLONES
AMES, Iowa – The fourth-ranked University of Iowa men’s wrestling team won six matches in an 18-14 victory over No. 8 Iowa State on Sunday afternoon in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series dual at Hilton Coliseum. It was the Hawkeyes’ 19th straight victory over Iowa State.  The Hawkeyes won all six matches by decision.  “It’s good, credit our guys” said head coach Tom Brands. “Onward. Competitors focus on what they can control. We’ve got guys that have tremendous scoring ability and I’m not sure that showed out there. We got beat up in the stall call department, so we have a lot of work to do. That’s where I am at. We are moving forward.”  
Iowa got the dual started as Drake Ayala won via a 7-2 decision over Kysen Terukina. After a scoreless first period Ayala notched a takedown in the second and third to pull away.  The Hawkeyes and Cyclones went back and forth over the next several weights. Evan Frost got the victory at 133 pounds for Iowa State over Brody Teske. A scramble in the third period led to a takedown with a little over a minute left and four near fall points with 29 seconds left in the match. Real Woods and Anthony Echemendia went to Sudden Victory tied 1-1 before Woods ended the match with a takedown.  “The intensity was high, but it wasn’t as high as I’d like it to be,” said Woods. “I wrestle at a much higher pace and there are adjustments to be made. The energy, the atmosphere it’s wonderful. I love the high energy whether it is at home or away. I feed off of it.”  … rest of story at … Hawkeyesports.com/Hawkeyes-win-19th-straight-against-cyclones

Missed opportunities frame No. 8 Iowa State’s Cy-Hawk wrestling dual loss to No. 4 Iowa
 AMES — Iowa State’s 149-pounder Casey Swiderski shook his head. His head coach, Kevin Dresser, took the blame. And in the aftermath of an excruciatingly narrow 18-14 loss to No. 4 Iowa Sunday at Hilton Coliseum, the eighth-ranked Cyclones felt like they’d missed out on a prime opportunity to end their 19-game skid in the Cy-Hawk dual meet. “I hope people understand that we’re here, for sure,” said the 14th-ranked Swiderski, who beat No. 9 Victor Voinovich, 6-3, in his match before a sellout crowd as well as ESPN’s national TV audience. “Come to Iowa State. We’ve got it going on. If you look at it from a different lens, we were right there. It was doable. They played their cards right. They did a good job. They’re veterans. That’s what they do. But we’re freaking here. We’re gonna get a trophy later this year so we’re building. The switch is getting flipped.”
No one pointed fingers. No one made excuses. The Hawkeyes (3-0) simply executed better, particularly at 174, 184, and 197 pounds to put the match out of reach. ISU’s MJ Gaitan mounted a furious late rally against Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy at 174, but lost, 14-13.  “That one will keep me awake for months and months and months, and years,” Dresser said. ‘Sometimes when you’re in the corner things get moving really fast and (Cyclone assistants Brent) Metcalf and (Derek) St. John, I think we got all confused with the riding time situation and for a split-second there, I think we thought we had riding time in the heat of battle, and we didn’t have riding time. There’s no guarantee MJ Gaitan would have gotten one more takedown there, but it sure looked like it with the way things were trending in that match. That’s on us.” That proved to be the pivotal match as the Hawkeyes (3-0) went from down, 10-9, to up 18-10 before ISU’s seventh-ranked heavyweight, Yonger Bastida, won by major decision to make the final score 18-14. … rest of story at … Cyclonefanatic.com/Missed-opportunities-frame-no-8-iowa-states-cy-hawk-wrestling-dual-loss-to-no-4-iowa

All Eyes On Iowa, Iowa State Wrestling This Week | Hawkeye Insider
Iowa and Iowa State will battle Sunday in front of a national TV audience in a dual meet that’s expected to be filled with fireworks.
ESPN will be showing the Iowa-Iowa State dual in Ames to a national television audience on Sunday afternoon, the first time a regular-season dual has appeared on the network. It’s a chance, Iowa associate head coach Terry Brands said during Wednesday’s media availability, to showcase the sport, but it’s going to be up to the two teams to put on a show.
“The promotions of the sport come down to the action, an entertaining style of wrestling,” Brands said. “Controlling the things you can control, the center of the mat, the things that make wrestling exciting. The style that brings in fans and makes people stay in tune and watch it. So it’s not really us being on ESPN that’s going to bring awareness to us. It’s going to be the product on the mat, how that action, how that attitude, how the fight shines through up and down the lineup on both sides.” The rivalry between the Hawkeyes and Cyclones has been quite one-sided in recent years. Iowa has won 18 consecutive duals in the series and holds a 68-16-2 advantage in the all-time series. Brands said the storied history of the two programs, and the sport within the state, helps drive the interest in Sunday’s dual as well.
“That’s what Iowa is — it’s wrestling, it’s farms, it’s blue-collar mentality,” he said. “ If both teams come to compete, the casual sports fan that moves over from the NFL to watch this thing, that’s where they’ll be impressed. That’s where the promotion starts.” … rest of story at … Flowrestling.org/All-eyes-on-iowa-iowa-state-wrestling-this-week-hawkeye-insider

It’s Cy-Hawk Week: ‘Let The Circus Begin’ | Cyclone Insider
Iowa State is looking for its first victory against Iowa since 2004 and the Cyclone wrestlers are riding high after a 42-0 win against Wisconsin.
There’s no need for hype. No need for hoopla. When Iowa State meets Iowa on the wrestling mat Sunday at 2 p.m., a raucous atmosphere will form organically for a highly-anticipated Cy-Hawk dual meet that should be tight, intense and brimming with plot twists.
“We don’t need to tell anybody in the wrestling world how big the Cy-Hawk opportunity is for both schools,” said Dresser, who won a national title at Iowa in 1986 and is in his seventh season with the Cyclones. “I made a comment (after last weekend’s 42-0 win over Wisconsin) that when you put two really good products together, you get a big-tip dual meet, and I think that’s what’s gonna happen Sunday. It’s gonna be a big stage. I know the state of Iowa’s excited about it. Our guys are excited about it. (Hawkeye head) coach (Tom) Brands’ guys are gonna be excited about it. So it should be a really fun weekend.” Iowa State hasn’t beaten Iowa at home since 2003 and has lost 18 consecutive duals to the Hawkeyes. But this Cy-Hawk event is different in a variety of ways. The dual will be televised live nationally on ESPN. Several of the matches are widely considered to be toss-ups. And marquee matchups exist, as well. Most notably, decorated Cyclone David Carr, the second-ranked 165-pounder in the country, will face #6 Michael Caliendo, who transferred to Iowa from North Dakota State. … rest of story at … Flowrestling.org/Cy-hawk-week-let-the-circus-begin-cyclone-insider

November 27, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized