Gadson, Moreno talk about 'the turning point'

 By Rob Gray

 Correspondent

 AMES - Kyven Gadson felt lonely.

And angry.

The then-rising and now-established Iowa State wrestling star was the only Cyclone to climb to the top of the podium in last season's 32-3 dual loss to arch-rival Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The meet served as both a gut-check and a fire-starter for ISU - one that's raged on to this season.

“I think there was some unsureness in the team about what we could do, what we were capable of and I think that showed last year on that Saturday night,” said Gadson, a 2013 all-American who will help lead NWCA/USA Today/AWN No. 15 ISU (5-0) against the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes (3-0) at 2 p.m. today at Hilton Coliseum. “I think it showed pretty well, but I think we had a big turning point, as well, after that dual.”

The Cyclones - who have lost nine straight duals to Iowa - dug deep, regrouped, and took long individual looks inside themselves.

Up and down the lineup, the raw self-appraisals struck the same discordant, but reinvigorating notes: Not. Good. Enough.

ISU responded by doubling its dual win total from 2011-12, taking second at the Big 12 championships, and rising from the depths at nationals to finish 11th.

“I think feeling confident is a myth,” said Cyclone 165-pounder Michael Moreno, who personified his team's rapid resurgence by notching a sixth-place finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships after going 4-13 the previous season. “You can feel it, but do you really believe it - are you really confident? You can feel like it as much as you want, but being confident is just as much a (part) of practice as actual technique or strength of wrestling. You've got to actually practice being confident and you have to have a history of being confident. Sometimes you lose it and sometimes you can come back to it from way later.”

It's fully there now - for Moreno, who seeks a second straight win over Iowa's Nick Moore, as well as the rest of ISU's grapplers.

Moreno attended the Cyclones' last win over the Hawkeyes, a tense 19-16 outcome in 2004.

“If there's anything that dual back then showed me it's that anything's possible,” said Moreno, who stands 9-0 this season. “Anybody can be beat. All we're looking to do is try to dethrone some people. That memory helps.”

Now to build new ones.

Moreno and Gadson - the consensus No. 3 197-pounder - have helped lay a foundation.

No. 8 174-pounder Tanner Weatherman along with rising stars such as Earl Hall (7-1 at 125), and Lelund Weatherspoon (10-1, 174 or 184) keep adding to it.

“It's going to take everybody doing their 10 percent,” said Gadson, who carries a 19-match dual win streak into the meet. “We talked about that as a team. There's 10 weight classes, so if everybody does their 10 percent, gets their job done like they they need to, then we have a chance to beat them.”

That's a lot more than could be said last season.

Until that turning point.

Until resolve replaced anxiety; desire trumped doubt.

“I have full confidence our guys will wrestle their best, wrestle their hardest, and go out there and give us their full effort,” ISU coach Kevin Jackson said. “If they do that we'll feel pretty good about it.”