ISU’s Dane Pestano elated with NCAA wrestling at-large berth

AMES — Iowa State wrestling sophomore Dane Pestano sat in his room for what he felt was the longest hour of his life, scrolling on his phone as he awaited his fate.

Pestano, the Cyclones 184-pounder, fell short of becoming an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships after a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship and waited as he hoped for an at-large bid.

A couple minutes after 1 p.m. — when his weight class was supposed to be announced — he really started to feel the nerves, and that's when he got the call from his coaches. He was in. Pestano immediately called home to his parents in Hawaii, a nearly five-hour time difference, and could feel their energy through the phone.

'I called my dad at home and he was yelling and crying a little bit,' Pestano said. 'My mom was at work so she was yelling at work. All of her coworkers were asking what was happening so she told them and they were both really happy and just proud.'

Pestano is one of six ISU wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA Championships in New York City from Thursday through Saturday with the five others receiving automatic bids. Kyle Larson (125), Earl Hall (133), Tanner Weatherman (165), Lelund Weatherspoon (174) and Pat Downey (197) are all joining Pestano in pursuit of an individual title.

Only Hall (8) and Weatherman (9) were seeded for the national tournament while the others will be facing an opponent with a top-12 ranking — Larson and Weatherspoon draw No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) and No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell), respectively.

Iowa State coach Kevin Jackson said whether a wrestler is seeded or not, the first match is always the toughest and knows all six guys will have to start fast and sharp to advance.

'Their minds are clear and they know they have to get a strong warmup,' Jackson said. 'I think the warmup is going to be a key to their success in that first round and then they're going to have to wrestle with what they're strong in — every area they're strong in. They have to stay in those areas and connect in the must-win positions.'

Pestano drew No. 12 Hayden Zilmer (North Dakota State) in the first round after going 0-2 against him this season — including an 11-7 decision in the Big 12 tournament. He said the familiarity with his first-round opponent is a plus, but Pestano is also clued in on what he has to do better.

'In Big 12s I let go of my shots and when I wanted to I couldn't escape,' Pestano said. 'I wasn't giving myself the opportunity to do that in the match. This is upcoming tournament, (the coaches) said just wrestle and relax and do everything you know how to do.'

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