Iowa State’s Daniel Herrera goes from junk-food junkie to lean, mean heavyweight

AMES — Iowa State heavyweight Daniel Herrera never met a fast food menu item he didn’t like.

For breakfast in high school, the Indio, Calif., native hit up McDonald’s. Lunch? Carl’s Junior. And for dinner? In-N-Out.

But Herrera’s shed the ultra-processed food-loving life — along with over 40 pounds — and Friday night his comeback win at No. 11 South Dakota State secured the 14th-ranked Cyclones’ 20-15 dual win.

“It’s kind of mind-boggling,” Herrera said early this week in advance of the dual against the Jackrabbits and Sunday’s 1 p.m. intrastate rivalry matchup with No. 4 Northern Iowa at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. “It’s crazy to see results in real time. You’re watching your own body change, and sometimes I’m looking at myself and I’m like, ‘Damn, I’ve never had that (definition) before.”

Herrera’s emergence while ISU’s lost four starters to season-ending injuries has helped his team weather some unusually brutal lineup-based storms. Three Cyclones who will seek medical redshirts next season have attained All-American honors — including heavyweight Yonger Bastida, who suffered a knee injury early this season that never fully healed up properly.

“(Herrera) went from a sloppy 280 to 245 right now, and his abs are actually starting to show a little bit,” said Cyclone head coach Kevin Dresser, whose No. 14 team (11-4, 5-1 Big 12) seeks its sixth straight dual-meet win over the Panthers. “They’re not quite there yet. We’re getting there, but he’s done a good job.”

Herrera could face a top-15 foe Sunday in UNI’s Lance Runyan. ISU’s No. 11 141-pounder Jacob Frost will likely tangle with No. 4 Cael Happel, No. 10 184-pounder Evan Bockman faces a steep challenge against No. 2 Parker Keckeisen, and No. 11 157-pounder Cody Chittum is slated to grapple with fifth-ranked Ryder Downey.

So peril mingles with opportunity for the Cyclones in front of what’s certain to be a highly-charged crowd.

“There (are) a lot of reasons that they’re gonna be stoked up but we need that,” Dresser said. “We need to feel that. It’s just like going into the Big 12s in Tulsa. You need to feel those tough situations.”

Herrera’s made the most out of being thrust into a difficult spot because of Bastida’s injury. He gleaned confidence from a pair of narrow losses last weekend to highly-ranked foes and feels like he’s peaking at the right time with a cleaned-up diet and a sharper sense of purpose.

“I developed that mindset (of) you’re not tired,” Herrera said. “And one way you get rid of that is just being excited to compete, and (being) grateful for the opportunity, and you just go out there and you show it.”

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com