“I keep saying this, we are getting better,” said Iowa State head wrestling coach Kevin Jackson. “You see guys using what we have been teaching them, trusting what they have been taught to do. Our guys were aggressive throughout the matches and that is what I like to see.”
ISU’s Dalton Jensen was a pinning machine for the Cyclone team effort, once again. Jensen, hailing from Missouri Valley, Iowa, downed 10th-ranked 141-pounder Ryan Prater of Illinois at the 3:27 mark in the second period. Jensen secured a cradle hold on his opponent to turn the tide in the bout. The Cyclone’s last four victories have come by way of a fall.
“We don’t know what (injured ISU 141-pound All-American) Nick Gallick’s situation is going to be,” Jackson said of his injured starter. “We very well could end up with Dalton in there for the Big 12 Championship and he is doing a good job. He wrestled aggressively and it paid off for him again.”
Jensen says there is a lot more to learn.
“I need more experience and training if I am going to be an All-American,” Jensen said.
Three-time NCAA finalist Jake Varner improved to 18-0 in his senior campaign with a first-period stick of Illinois’ 10th-ranked Patrick Bond. Varner turned the Illini wrestler and scored the fall in 2:29. It is the second time this season that Varner pinned Bond in the first period, with the earlier fall occurring at the Midlands Championships. Varner has nine pins this season.
“Jake is the best wrestler in our nation at the collegiate level,” Jackson said. “(Illinois 197-pounder Patrick Bond) is a good wrestler. But if you are going to stand in there and put your hands on Jake Varner you are forced to wrestle to his style because he is so strong.”
ISU picked up two consecutive technical falls at 125-pound and 133-pound bouts. Cyclone redshirt freshman Andrew Long (125) continued his stellar first campaign with a 20-5 (6:57) technical fall of Illinois’s John Deneen. Iowa State senior Nick Fanthorpe (133) scored big against Illlini wrestler Daryl Thomas with a technical fall in 6:08 (18-3).
Iowa Staters Jon Reader (165) and David Zabriskie (HWT) chipped in bonus points for the Cyclone team effort. Reader major decisioned Illinois’s Joe Barczak by a score of 16-6. Zabriskie also won by major decision with a 12-4 effort against Marty Smith of Illinois.
ISU’s Andrew Sorenson started the dual on a good note at 157 pounds with a 12-6 decision of Illinois’s Conrad Polz.
Cyclone redshirt freshmen Max Mayfield and Chris Spangler fell in backup roles for Iowa State at 149 pounds and 174 pounds, respectively. Mayfield, making the first dual start of his career, was edged by 20th-ranked Eric Terrazas of Illinois. Spangler dropped a close decision to Illinois’ 14th-ranked Jordan Blanton, 3-2.
The Cyclones will travel south for road duals against Oklahoma (Jan. 22) and Oklahoma State (Jan. 24). Action in Norman, Okla. begins at 7 p.m. ISU returns to Hilton Coliseum for Big 12 Conference opponents Missouri and Nebraska, Feb. 14 and Feb. 21, respectively.
Results:
157 pounds – Andrew Sorenson (ISU) dec. Conrad Polz (UI), 12-6
165 pounds – No. 4 Jon Reader (ISU) major dec. Joe Barczak (UI), 16-6
174 pounds – No. 14 Jordan Blanton (UI) dec. Chris Spangler (ISU), 3-2
184 pounds – No. 2 John Dergo (UI) dec. No. 8 Jerome Ward (ISU), 2-1
197 pounds – No. 1 Jake Varner (ISU) pinned No. 10 Patrick Bond (UI), 2:29
HWT – No. 4 David Zabriskie (ISU) major dec. Marty Smith (UI), 12-4
125 pounds – No. 5 Andrew Long (ISU) tech. fall John Deneen (UI), 20-5 (6:57)
133 pounds – No. 11 Nick Fanthorpe (ISU) tech. fall Daryl Thomas (UI), 18-3 (6:08)
141 pounds – Dalton Jensen (ISU) pinned No. 10 Ryan Prater (UI), 3:27
149 pounds – No. 20 Eric Terrazas (UI) dec. Max Mayfield (ISU), 4-2
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