UNI's Joe Colon stuns top-ranked Devin Carter with 13-3 major decision

AMES - Joe Colon's hand went up, then he briskly checked out.

There was no extra fist pump from the peaking Northern Iowa 133-pounder after he stunned top-ranked Devin Carter of Virginia Tech with a 13-3 triumph by major decision during Sunday's NWCA National Duals regional at Hilton Coliseum.

“It's not the national tournament yet,” said Colon, who has won 14 straight matches to vault to No. 11 in Intermat's rankings. “I can't take that into the national tournament thinking I'm going to beat this guy by that score. You've got to be ready to go again. I can't overlook him.”

It's been impossible to miss Colon's rise from an early-season broken jaw injury to the top ranks of his weight class.

He placed fifth at the prestigious Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 at Evanston, Illinois despite being in stationary bike-shape, not on-the-mat shape.

“Now I feel like I'm in great shape,” Colon said. “I don't get near as tired as I did at Midlands.”

His big win was no fluke, either.

“If he'd beat him 4-3, or even if he would have pinned him, people would have said, ‘Ah, he probably caught him,'” Panthers coach Doug Schwab said. “But to beat a guy 13-3 and turn him a couple times and really control things, that was good for him.”

WELCOME RETURNS: It's no secret Iowa State's been beset by injuries.

So when 197-pounder Jerome Ward wrestled his first match of the season - an 11-7 win over No. 17 Taylor Meeks of Oregon State - Cyclone fans stood up.

“I think some of our younger guys can learn from him,” ISU coach Kevin Jackson said. “You've just got to lay it out there.”

The Cyclones also welcomed back Chris Spangler at 174. He won his only bout by major decision and hadn't wrestled since the Midlands.

He expects to be 100 percent by the Big 12 meet.

“Came out strong and it was kind of a game plan to sit back if I did get an early lead,” Spangler said.

WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE THE FINALS? The site of next Sunday's National Duals Final Four will be announced Monday.

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