Iowa State wrestlers post historic win

AMES — Sam Schuyler stripped off his headgear and raised his arms in triumph.

Iowa State’s 10th-ranked heavyweight had just rode out his Oklahoma State opponent Sunday to secure a major decision and emphatically seal the No. 4 Cyclones’ first win over the No. 10 Cowboys at Hilton Coliseum since Jan. 25, 2009.

Final score: ISU 18, Oklahoma State 11 — and Schuyler scored the dual meet’s lone bonus point to punctuate the historic victory.

“It felt good,” said Schuyler, who nearly pinned Cowboys backup Kyle Haas, but settled for a 10-1 win. “The crowd was really into it so it was a really fun environment to wrestle in.”

The crowd noise supplied by 4,908 fans crescendoed and Schuyler smiled as ISU (11-2, 4-0 Big 12) achieved back-to-back dual wins over the Cowboys (9-2, 5-1) for the first time since 2009-10 and just the third time in series history.

“We fought really hard,” ISU head coach Kevin Dresser said. “There were some places that we lost, but we fought really hard and that’s the thing we’re always going to preach at Iowa State.

“We’re about effort and there was great effort with 10 guys.”

The Cyclones won six of the meet’s 10 matches and all of their top-10 ranked wrestlers — Schuyler, No. 6 149-pounder Paniro Johnson, No. 2 165-pounder David Carr, No. 4 184-pounder Marcus Coleman and No. 5 197-pounder Yonger Bastida — won comfortably.

Bastida, Dresser said, had been banged up when scrapping with Coleman in practice this week, so he left the decision to wrestle or not in the Trinidad, Cuba native’s hands. Bastida naturally decided to go and toward the end of his 7-2 victory over No. 18 Luke Surber, Cyclone fans began chanting his name: “Yonger, Yonger, Yonger.”

“That’s something that keeps me going,” Bastida said. “The crowd is something to keep me going so I won’t get tired. I love that.”

Fans certainly loved the effort from ISU 125-pounder Caleb Fuessley, who scored nearfall points in a 10-4 win over Oklahoma State’s Zach Blankenship to kick off the dual.

Fuessley, a junior from Center Point-Urbana and former walk-on, has impressed Dresser with his grit.

“I remember him coming in and thinking this kid’s gonna just get eaten up,” Dresser said of Fuessley. “And he just got tougher every year and hung in there. Probably one of the quietest and hardest working kids on our team.”

So while Fuessley served as a spark plug to start the meet, Schuyler excelled as the closer.

The former Buffalo wrestler transferred to Iowa State in hopes of playing a prominent role on the Big 12 stage — and it doesn’t get much bigger than the Cyclones vs. the Cowboys.

“He wants the spotlight,” Dresser said. “He wants the opportunity.”

Just like last season at Northern Iowa. ISU led the dual 15-13 and needed Schuyler to win the meet’s final match, which he did by scoring a takedown in the closing seconds. He would not need late-match heroics Sunday, however.

He simply dominated.

“I think we’re starting to see that momentum start to shift back toward Iowa State,” Schuyler said of the balance of power in the Big 12. “It felt good to beat them.”

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