Cyclones Snap CyHawk Streak with 20-14 Win

The streak has been broken! Iowa State’s 20-14 marked the first time since 2004 that the Cyclones beat their in-state rivals. The result gives ISU head coach Kevin Dresser his first win over his alma mater. On the other hand, it represents the first blemish in the loss column for Iowa head man Tom Brands.

The dual started at heavyweight, which gave the Cyclones the early edge as Yonger Bastida posted an 11-4 decision over 2025 All-American Ben Kueter. In the final seconds of the contest, Kueter got an escape to bring the margin of victory from major decision range to a regular decision. Most made mental notes of the sequence to see if it would matter later.

For ISU to get the win, we knew they’d have to get a couple of upsets. The first came at 133 lbs as Evan Frost reversed the result from the 2024 dual and downed two-time national runner-up Drake Ayala, 11-5. Frost put Ayala in neutral danger in the third period to take a lead. He added a takedown at the buzzer to make the match look a bit more lopsided than it actually was.

Iowa State’s second upset came at 174 lbs as MJ Gaitan handed #2 Patrick Kennedy his first loss of the season in overtime tiebreakers. In the second half of the :30 rideouts, Gaitan nearly turned Kennedy multiple times, but ended up riding him out for a 10-9 win. The match was filled with action, scrambles, and near scores.

Heading into the final match, Iowa State led by three team points and held a significant advantage in the total team point criteria (16 points). That meant an Iowa State win or even a regular decision for Iowa’s Massoma Endene would result in a win for Dresser’s team. Four-time All-American Rocky Elam didn’t worry about criteria or any additional drama and handed Endene his first loss in an Iowa singlet, to the tune of 7-2, to clinch the win.

Major decisions at 141 and 157 lbs also put Iowa State in a position to get the win. Anthony Echemendia was able to score early and often on the typically stingy Nasir Bailey in a 15-2 major decision. Vinny Zerban controlled most of his match with Jordan Williams and locked up his major decision by continuing to wrestle at the edge of the mat, while Williams seemed to stop. Zerban ended up with a 12-3 major.

The only significant upset for Iowa came at 149 lbs where #10 Ryder Block outlasted #2 Paniro Johnson, 2-1 in tiebreakers.

Early in the dual, 125 lber Dean Peterson defeated Iowa State’s Stevo Poulin, 4-2. It’s a small measure of revenge for Peterson, who lost in the NCAA bloodround to Poulin last season.

NCAA finalist Michael Caliendo did what was expected of him at 165 lbs and contributed with a 20-5 major decision against Connor Euton.

At 184 lbs, Iowa’s top-ranked Angelo Ferrari got a low-scoring 2-1 victory over #10 Isaac Dean, in a match without any takedowns.

The Cyclones won’t have much time to savor the long-overdue win as they’ll travel out to Vegas later this week for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Iowa will have a weekend off before returning to the mat opposite Chattanooga and Utah Valley on December 12th. 

Iowa State 20 Iowa 14

285 lbs - Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) dec Ben Kueter (Iowa)  11-4

125 lbs - Dean Peterson (Iowa) dec Stevo Poulin (Iowa State)  4-2

133 lbs - Evan Frost (Iowa State) dec Drake Ayala (Iowa)  11-5

141 lbs - Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) maj  Nasir Bailey (Iowa)  15-2

149 lbs - Ryder Block (Iowa) dec Paniro Johnson (Iowa State)  2-1TB

157 lbs - Vinny Zerban (Iowa State) maj Jordan Williams (Iowa)  12-3

165 lbs - Michael Caliendo (Iowa) tech Connor Euton (Iowa State)  20-5

174 lbs - MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) dec Patrick Kennedy (Iowa)  9-8TB

184 lbs - Angelo Ferrari (Iowa) dec Isaac Dean (Iowa State)  2-1

197 lbs - Rocky Elam (Iowa State) dec Massoma Endene (Iowa)  7-2