Iowa State freshmen step in and step up for NCAA wrestling berths

AMES — The Iowa State wrestling team has two NCAA qualifiers who weren't supposed to see the mat this season.

True freshmen Kysen Terukina (125) and Zach Redding (133) filled holes left by top-10 guys who had to step away from wrestling for different reasons. And both took full advantage of the opportunity and proved they were ready by qualifying for the NCAA Championships, which start Thursday in St. Louis.

'Both of those guys were guys we had all intentions of redshirting,' ISU Coach Kevin Dresser said. 'But for whatever reason, and this being an unusual year, the opportunity to use them has presented itself and they've taken full advantage of that. That's a credit to them.'

Terukina filled in for Alex Mackall, who got engaged in the offseason and is now expecting his first child, and Redding filled in for Austin Gomez, who suffered another concussion and was forced to medically retire from wrestling.

The two freshmen from opposite ends of the country — Terukina is from Hawaii and Redding is from New York — have come together and given Iowa State everything the coaches could've asked for and more.

Both wrestlers have multiple wins over ranked opponents and neither has anything close to what could be considered a bad loss.

When Redding beat Oklahoma State's Reece Witcraft earlier this season he had a straightforward response.

'Yeah, it's good I guess,' Redding said of beating an NCAA qualifier. 'But I want to beat a ranked opponent.'

The next week, Redding beat North Dakota State's No. 13 Kellyn March.

'It felt really good,' Redding said. 'I just went out there knowing I had a chance at beating the guy. He wrestled a few of my teammates in Todd (Small) and Ramazan (Attasaouv), and those are guys I can hang with in the room, so I knew I could go out there and get the win and that's what I did. I went out there and wrestled tough.'

In what's become typical Redding fashion, getting his first ranked win wasn't good enough, either.

'Next is making the NCAAs,' Redding said. 'I just want to keep getting better.'

Mission accomplished on that front, as well.

Redding earned a trip to St. Louis thanks to a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships. In his third-place match, he beat Northern Colorado's No. 20 Mosha Schwartz by major decision, 20-7.

'Zach doesn't get rattled too easy,' Dresser said. 'For a freshman, he keeps his composure. And he's competitive. I always tell these guys, 'In order to beat someone you're not supposed to beat, you have to really want to beat them.' I think when Zach steps on the mat, he really wants to beat guys and he doesn't get intimidated by rankings. He just goes out and throws it out there.

'That's a good quality to have.'

The upperclassmen on Iowa State's team have been just as impressed.

'I see grit,' 149-pounder Jarrett Degen said. '(Redding) goes out and throws it all out there. He doesn't hold back. I see a young kid that wants to win. He's good, and he has stuff he still needs to work on, but he's throwing it all out there when he steps on the mat.'

While Redding seemingly oozes confidence, Terukina seems blissfully unaware of how good he actually is.

In his first Division I match, Terukina lost to Missouri's No. 23 Connor Brown, 5-4. It was a match Terukina was ahead in from the beginning. His problem was he shut down toward the end of the match and tried not to lose instead of wrestling to win.

He learned from that experience and has wrestled the full seven minutes since and put himself in the position to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.

'He's in the position he's in because of the way he wrestles and the work he's put in,' assistant coach Brent Metcalf said. 'The minute we can get every bit of his potential out there on the mat, it's going to be really, really fun and exciting. He's going to keep learning and I feel really confident he's going to figure it out.

'And by figuring it out, I don't mean just winning. I mean, go use all of your tools at your disposal. Go out and get a takedown in the first 30 seconds. I mean, the kid is great. No one can really get through his head and hands defense. I want him to keep going and going and have that confidence to keep building and see where the match goes.'

While this is seen as a 'free year' by most because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the blanket waiver by the NCAA to allow all athletes to recoup this season, this still is the NCAA Championships.

'For these freshmen, it's a real opportunity to earn a spot on the podium,' assistant coach Derek St. John said. 'These guys have gotten thrown into the fire and it's sink or swim for them. What's exciting is these guys jumping in there willingly. It'll be interesting to see how they continue to grow.'

Now that championship season is here, what are the coaches telling the two freshmen?

'Those guys are both 18 years old and still wet behind the ears,' Dresser said. 'You don't tell them much about championship season because they can't take in a lot. We just turn them loose and let them wrestle. We try not to talk to them too much because they don't listen to us anyway, but they wrestle really well.

'We're just going to keep going with that strategy because they sure compete well. In between competitions, we have some freshman issues we need to work out, but when the lights come on, those guys sure do a great job.'

Redding has no qualms with that strategy.

'My parents and coaches in high school just threw me to the wolves and I just didn't mind it,' Redding said. 'I got used to it and that's been my mindset ever since.

'I don't care who I wrestle. I'm going to go out there and scrap.'

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