Iowa State's Gadson matures into national finalist

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Iowa State's Kyven Gadson might have stronger muscles and quicker moves than a year ago.

They may not have the same impact as a better perspective in his mind.

Maturity and a healthier attitude have enhanced his physical talent, leading him to a third straight All-American finish and a trip to the 197-pound finals of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Friday at the Scottrade Center.

Gadson (29-1) defeated Duke's Conner Hartmann, 4-1, in the semifinals Friday night. He said he wanted to wrestle just five matches this weekend.

'Now that I know I'm only going to wrestle five, it's about winning all five,' Gadson said. 'One left. Just one left. Makes me smile.'

Gadson will face Ohio State's Kyle Snyder for the title. A win in the finals could make Gadson the 13th NCAA D-I national champ from Waterloo East.

'This is something I've worked for a long time,' said Gadson, a former Waterloo East prep. 'I put a lot of time, energy, effort, tears, smiles and all that, have gone into this, but it's not done, yet.'

He said one of the improvements from last season was his mental stability.

'It allowed me to be focused,' Gadson said. 'Lord willing, these will be the last two matches of my career. It allowed me to not think of it as life and death for me.'

Iowa State Coach Kevin Jackson was much more direct. He said Gadson focused too much on adversity, including shoulder injuries his first two years and the death of his father, Willie, a Cyclone All-American and former college and prep coach who died from cancer two years ago.

'He's finally come to a position where every time someone talks to him it's not about his father,' Jackson said. 'It is not about that loss. He was made out to be a victim for so long with his shoulders (injuries) and losing his father.'

Gadson has gained inspiration from religion. The actions off the mat have provided benefits on it.

'Just faith, growing from a spiritual standpoint,' Gadson said. 'Living the right life (and) living clean.'

Jackson said Gadson has eliminated distractions from his life, including social media, and letting his actions speak for him.

'He's made the biggest strides as far as his maturity,' Jackson said. 'That is the reason why you see him in the semifinals.'

Gadson secured his first semifinal appearance six with a 12-2 major decision over University of Iowa's Nathan Burak. All that came after a scoreless first.

'I could have been a little more aggressive early on,' Gadson said. 'The right type of aggressive anyway.'

Jackson said Gadson took it upon himself to be more offensive, competing with anyone with his defense but realizing the benefits of scoring more points. He has been dominant with a pin, technical fall and a major in this tournament. He has done that most of the year and Jackson said he would be in consideration for the Hodge Trophy had it not been for one hiccup.

'He has been dominant all year long,' Jackson said. 'The one slip-up at the Southern Scuffle, but for the most part, if you look at his match scores, he's been dominant.'

The lone loss motivated him. He went back to the drawing board and now he is a match away from his goal.

'It propelled me to where I am right now,' Gadson said, 'with an opportunity to win a national title.'

MORENO REBOUNDS

Iowa State's two-time All-American senior Michael Moreno suffered one of the tougher first-day upsets. As the No. 2 seed at 165, he fell to Nebraska's Austin Wilson, 7-5, in the opening round.

He recorded three straight pins to reach the round of 12. None of Moreno's first three consolation matches reached the third period. Unfortunately for Moreno, he fell in overtime to Wisconsin's Isaac Jordan in the round of 12.

SCORING WOES

The second day of the national tournament consisted of a couple situations that impacted the team standings during the third session.

Kent State's seventh-seeded Ian Miller lost his quarterfinal bout to Cornell's Brian Realbuto, 11-9, in sudden-victory overtime. Or did he?

Apparently, a scoring error was made during the match. An escape point that was awarded to Miller was not correctly displayed, so he should have won the match in regulation, 10-9. The match continued with Realbuto winning and the decision stood.

Kent State Coach Jim Andrassy told FloWrestling.com that he inquired about the score during the match and was dismissed by officials. He approached the head table after the match was wrestled to completion to point out the mistake. Andrassy was told the result was upheld because he did not formally challenge the ruling before leaving the mat.

'The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee met to discuss the scoring error in the match between Brian Realbuto (Cornell) and Ian Miller (Kent State), and our determination was that there is a protocol in place for coaches to challenge errors in a match via the coach's challenge (Rule 3.21.2 b),' 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee Chair Matt Whisenant said. 'Kent State had challenges remaining and did not raise the challenge flag to declare an error in the match, therefore the resulting Cornell victory stands.'

University of Missouri appeared to move into second place at the end of the third session Friday afternoon. The Tigers moved back to third behind Ohio State and Iowa when 174-pounder Johnny Eblen was disqualified during a consolation match with Illinois' Zac Brunson. He was stripped of the points he had earned in the tournament, resulting in the loss of four points (three points he earned and one penalty).

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