Iowa State downs Iowa, 20-14, in Cy-Hawk Series men’s wrestling dual for 1st time since 2004

AMES – Rocky Elam soaked in the moment.

It was electric and it was one of the experiences he wanted when he decided to transfer to Iowa State. The crowd chanting his name showered over him as he put the final touches on a monumental win.

“When you hear your name it’s something special to you,” Elam said. “Hearing a Cyclone chant would have been awesome but the fact that they were saying my name just felt like they were in the moment with me and they were really behind me during that moment so that was especially cool.”

With the dual coming down to the final bout, Elam scored two takedowns in an 8-2 victory over Massoma Endene to cement No. 6 Iowa State’s 20-14 victory over No. 3 Iowa in the Cy-Hawk Series wrestling dual Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones defeated the Hawkeyes for the first time in a dual since 2004 and won at home for the first time since 2003.

“I’m excited for our team and excited for the fan base of Iowa State wrestling,” Cyclone Coach Kevin Dresser said. “Obviously, it’s very well documented. It’s been 20 or 20-plus years but I thought we wrestled really hard.”

Iowa State had a strategy, hoping to get the chance to determine the starting weight. The Cyclones won the pre-match coin flip and elected to open with All-American heavyweight Yonger Bastida and close with Elam, a four-time All-American at Missouri in his first season at Iowa State.

“The more I started thinking about it the more I realized there was potential it could come down to my match,” Elam said. “The more I got excited for that.”

Dresser hosted Thanksgiving at his house and watched football with Elam. During the three hours, Elam nagged Dresser for the chance to close the upcoming dual against rival Iowa.

“He must have asked five times if he could go last,” Dresser said. “He got his Thanksgiving wish. He wanted to go last today and he went last.”

He converted as did Bastida, who ignited the Cyclones and their crowed an 11-4 decision, and just missing a major decision, over Ben Kueter at heavyweight.

“I thought it was a good win for Yonger,” Dresser said. “We’ve been talking about it for three days that if we win the flip we’re going 285, so Yonger’s known this. And the combination of Rocky.”

Iowa State dominated for most of the dual, producing key wins and tallying surprise bonus points to set up Elam. The Evan Frost and M.J. Gaitan revenge tours played a crucial part in Iowa State’s victory.

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Frost, a 2024 All-American, faced two-time NCAA finalist Drake Ayala in one of the many fulcrum-like matchups in the dual. Frost lost to Ayala in this dual last year and faced a 3-1 deficit midway through the match.

Frost nearly scored to close the second and took over in the third, scoring three takedowns for a decisive 11-5 win.

“In terms of my conditioning, my lungs, my legs, etc., I felt great,” Frost said. “Nerves weren’t really a factor.

“(Iowa State assistant Brent) Metcalf walked me through and said you’re going to have to wrestle this guy hard and it’s going to have to be seven minutes hard and if it’s any less than that then odds aren’t in your favor. That’s kind of what I did and I think the offense showed.”

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Gaitan (174) lost to Patrick Kennedy by one point here two seasons ago. This time, he came out a 9-8 victor, using an escape and rideout in tiebreaker-1.

The match was a clash of styles with Gaitan’s penchant for the unorthodox and Kennedy’s tough, grinding style. The contest contained a lot of fireworks from a missed headlock that nearly led to Gaitan’s first points to a wonky roll and leglock that resulted in his first takedown.

“I’ve been wrestling like that since I was 5 years old,” Gaitan said. “You can’t take the funk out of me. It just happens naturally. When I go out there and feel something, I’m going to hit it. I’m not scared to hit it.”

Gaitan’s countering thwarted other attempts and led to another takedown in the second period for an 8-4 lead. Kennedy battled back and forced overtime with a penalty point from stalling with four seconds left in regulation. Gaitan prevailed in overtime.

“M.J. has got that roll-around ability,” Dresser said. “When someone is always trying to pin you all the time, or put you on your back, that’s a whole different level of cardio needed when you’re trying to survive. M.J. brings that to the table.

“I like the fact that he’s getting a little more basic. It’s not like a tornado out there every time. It’s just half a tornado. There’s a fine line there.”

Anthony Echemendia (141) and Vinny Zerban (157) added major decisions for a program that claimed the Dan Gable Traveling Trophy for the first time in 15 meetings and defeated Iowa for the first time with Brands as head coach. Many of the wrestlers, and students on Iowa State’s campus, weren’t alive for the last time this happened in Ames.

“I think it’s great,” Frost said. “it gives us that little bit of edge to help us keep moving forward.”

Iowa (5-2) received hard-fought wins from Dean Peterson at 125, avenging a loss to Stevo Poulin in last year’s blood round at the NCAA tournament. Peterson scored a takedown in the third for a 4-2 decision.

Ryder Block (149) continued his strong start to the season. He used an escape in tiebreaker-1 for a 2-1 win over All-American Paniro Johnson, cutting the deficit to 10-6 at the midway point.

“Close match,” Brands said. “Takedowns are at a premium. Takedowns blow that match (open). We have to score more.”

Michael Caliendo had the most decisive victory, racking up six takedowns in a 20-5 technical fall over Connor Euton at 165, bringing Iowa back within 14-11 with three matches to go. Angelo Ferrari had Iowa’s last win with a decision at 184, making it 17-14 entering the last match.

The Hawkeyes didn’t capitalize in the most critical moments.

“I don’t look at it that way,” Brands said. “I look at it like we have work to do. We’ll keep doing the work.

“I’m not sure we failed at critical moments. I think that we could get better and we have the guys to get better.”

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