Iowa wrestling extends win streak in Cy-Hawk Series

AMES — Fun, fiery and capped with a little fracas.

Everything about the action and atmosphere denoted a heated rivalry, especially when it boiled over into a mild post-meet face-to-face standoff between the Iowa and Iowa State wrestling teams in front of the scorer’s table.

After all of the theatrics and posturing toward one another, top-ranked Iowa maintained its dominance in the Cy-Hawk Series. The Hawkeyes won six matches and defeated the No. 13 Cyclones, 22-11, in front of 9,272 fans Sunday night at Hilton Coliseum.

Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi secured the victory and won by disqualification when Sam Schuyler was stalled out of the heavyweight bout before the kerfuffle occurred as the teams started to shake hands. Iowa’s bench was deducted a team point, according to a post-dual announcement.

“It’s the next date of competition,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. “Two teams that want to win and a stall out at the end. We’re up 17-11 and the guy got stalled out of the dual. He got stalled out. Of course, there’s heated emotions.”

The scrum led to some minor shoving and jawing, but cooler heads prevailed. Teams withdrew to their locker rooms without major incident.

“We love our guys, so I think both teams are very passionate,” Iowa State 157-pound national champion David Carr said. “It just kind of got a little rowdy a little bit. I think that’s normal when people love their teammates they want to have their back.”

Brands and Iowa State Coach Kevin Dresser have different views of the rivalry. Brands said there wasn’t extra emotion boosting the meet that saw Iowa earn an 18-9 takedown advantage and 60-41 edge in match points.

“I don’t look at it that way,” Brands said. “I don’t look at the juice. I look at it as 125, they win the first match, the crowd’s in it. Big noise at 197, crowd’s in it. Final score (22-11) with a disqualification stall call to end the dual. A lot of juice for the Hawks.”

Dresser said the Cyclones competed hard and he liked their fight. He said they didn’t “bow down” to the defending national champions.

“I think the other side doesn’t like to see us doing what we’re doing,” Dresser said. “That is probably how things ended the way they did, but that’s all right. When there is a bully in the playground, you’ve got to hit the bully back, so we hit the bully back tonight and they don’t like it. That’s how sports goes sometimes.”

The entire dual was accompanied by an ebb and flow of excitement. Kysen Terukina provided an early spark for the Cyclones. He stalked Jesse Ybarra, recording three takedowns for an 8-2 decision at 125.

Fireworks followed at 133. Austin DeSanto helped Iowa respond with a 6-4 decision over Ramazan Attasauov, tying the dual at 3-3.

The pair had a spirited moment when DeSanto carried Attasauov off the mat after scoring the match’s only takedown. Attasauov reacted with an elbow to the back of DeSanto’s head. Both were assessed penalty points, igniting benches and the crowd.

Jaydin Eierman posted the first of three bonus-point wins for the Hawkeyes. He scored six takedowns and amassed 2:39 of riding time to drop Zach Redding, 15-7.

Iowa’s Max Murin made his season debut. The All-America 149-pounder used a first-period takedown and an escape in the third for a 3-2 decision, extending Iowa’s lead to 10-3.

“Max Murin is a physical, staunch pillar of a guy,” Brands said. “He gets the most out of himself. That was a gutsy win.”

Top-ranked Carr got the Cyclones back on the board at 157. Carr took control after a scoreless first, tallying two takedowns, an escape and a riding-time point for a 6-2 decision over No. 8 Kaleb Young.

Like Carr, the Cyclones’ Marcus Coleman did the most of his work in the final two periods. He scored all of his points after the first in a 4-1 decision over Myles Wilson, using a third-period takedown and a point for riding time.

“I think he’s maturing and managing matches,” Dresser said. “I think he needs to go out a little quicker, but he’s managing matches well. I think there is more there.

“I like his trajectory.”

Iowa’s top-ranked Alex Marinelli produced one of the most dominant performances of the dual. He notched seven takedowns in a 16-5 major decision over Grant Stotts at 165, increasing the Hawkeyes’ lead to 14-6 with four matches remaining.

In one of the more exciting finishes, Nelson Brands added another decision for the Hawkeyes. Nelson and Joel Devine exchanged escapes in regulation, forcing an extra period.

Nelson fended off a Devine shot and reshot a single-leg attack and finished on the edge just 19 seconds into sudden victory for a 3-1 victory. He stayed composed as Devine slowed the match, causing the match to come down to one decisive move.

“Nelson can open it up,” Tom Brands said. “He can score more points. We love it that he was relaxed. He didn’t seem rattled. I think with his ability, I think he can open it up, wrestle his match, his pace.”

Coleman’s victory kept Iowa State in the team score with two matches left. The momentum continued to Yonger Bastida at 197.

Bastida scored two takedowns in a 4-3 decision over Jacob Warner, who returned to the lineup for the first time since opening weekend. Bastida spiked his headgear, losing a team point and making it 17-11 entering the final bout.

“I did what my coaches say in the corner,” Bastida said. “Keep wrestling all the time.”

Bastida, from Cuba, arrived at Iowa State a little more than a year ago. He is an accomplished freestyle wrestler, but has had to learn folkstyle positions and rules. Bastida didn’t speak any English when he arrived in Ames, according to Dresser. He has adapted and got his first taste of the Cy-Hawk Series.

“It’s amazing,” Bastida said. “I’ve never seen a lot (big) of crowd together.”

Iowa (3-0) extended its win streak over Iowa State (2-1) to 17 straight, including 16 in a row under Brands. The Hawkeyes retain the Dan Gable Traveling Trophy and improve their series lead to 67-16-2.

“This is one day on the calendar,” Brands said. “This isn’t about like a catalyst or springboard for greater things to come. This is step along the path to Detroit. That’s how we operate.”

AT AMES

Iowa 22*, Iowa State 11*

(Individual takedowns in parentheses)

125 pounds – Kysen Terukina (ISU) dec. Jesse Ybarra, 8-2 (3,0); 133 – Austin DeSanto (I) dec. Ramazan Attasauov, 6-4 (1,0); 141 – Jaydin Eierman (I) major dec. Zach Redding, 15-7 (6,1); 149 – Max Murin (I) dec. Ian Parker, 3-2 (1,0); 157 – David Carr (ISU) dec. Kaleb Young, 6-2 (2,0); 165 – Alex Marinelli (I) major dec. Grant Stotts, 16-5 (7,0); 174 – Nelson Brands (I) dec. Joel Devine, 3-1 SV1 (1,0); 184 – Marcus Coleman (ISU) dec. Myles Wilson, 4-1 (1,0); 197 – Yonger Bastida (ISU) dec. Jacob Warner, 4-3 (2,0); Hwt. – Tony Cassioppi (I) won by disqualification over Sam Schuyler (2,0)

*-Iowa State was deducted a team point after 197 match. Iowa was deducted a team after heavyweight match.

MEET STATISTICS

Takedowns – Iowa 18, Iowa State 9. Reversals – Iowa 0, Iowa State 0. Escapes – Iowa 15, Iowa State 17. Nearfall points – Iowa 0, Iowa State 0. Penalty points (awarded) – Iowa 7, Iowa State 3. Riding-time points – Iowa 2, Iowa State 3. Total match points – Iowa 60, Iowa State 41. Attendance – 9, 272.