Gaitain brings the love and the win as Iowa State ends long losing streak against Iowa in wrestling

AMES — Every time Iowa State’s 174-pounder M.J. Gaitain competes, he struts onto the mat to the iconic 1995 Hip-Hop anthem, “California Love.”

But it’s Hilton Magic the Golden State native craves — and, boy, did he conjure it in Sunday’s electric dual meet against Iowa.

Gaitan’s funky and frenetic 9-8 upset of Iowa’s No. 2 Patrick Kennedy helped the No. 6 Cyclones exorcise their Cy-Hawk demons, as they beat the No. 3 Hawkeyes, 20-14, before a crowd of 12,292 to end a 20-match skid in one of the sport’s most storied series.

“It was really fun, since wrestling in (this dual) my freshman year, my sophomore year, and being one match, one match away, (and) it was almost like, ‘Dang, it’s almost like a nightmare,” Gaitan said. “Like, we can’t win it — and we finally get it done. It’s just surreal out there. Crazy.”

Four-time All-American and Missouri transfer Rocky Elam fully sealed the long-awaited victory with an 8-2 win over Iowa’s Massoma Endene in a top-five matchup at 197.

The Cyclones won six of the ten matches. ISU’s 149-pounder, Anthony Echemendia, and its 157-pounder, Vinny Zerban, both racked up bonus points. Top-ranked heavyweight, Yonger Bastida won his match comfortably, and sixth-ranked 133-pounder Evan Frost surged past No. 3 Drake Ayala, 11-5.

“There (are) a lot of matches these guys will forget in their careers,” Cyclones head coach Kevin Dresser said. “But they’re not gonna forget today. So I think that’s the cool part of sports, and I think that should propel (us).”

It’s only November, of course, so if this is ISU’s signature moment of the 2025-26 season, that would be cause for concern. March is what matters, but it sure feels good to win against Iowa for the first time since Dec. 6, 2004.

“That’s kind of one of the moments that you live for,” said Frost, whose twin brother, Jacob, could’t compete at 149 Sunday because he’s dealing with an illness. “We were going crazy.”

Especially Gaitan, who came into the match with a chip on his shoulder that only grew larger after a chance encounter at local a Casey’s on Saturday.

An Iowa fan saw him and a couple of his teammates. He asked if they were wrestlers. Gaitan said, ‘Yes, we are.’ He then asked who he’d be wrestling and Gaitan told him.

“Ouch,” the man said.

Gaitain paused and thought, "What?”

“Whatever,” the Temecula, Calif., native said. “Extra fuel. All the media was saying I was gonna get majored. … Nobody had me winning except myself. Doesn’t matter. I’m the only one stepping out there, so why should I listen to them? I shouldn’t. And that’s what I did — I went out there and performed.”