AMES – No. 13 Iowa State is set to take on North Dakota State on Saturday with a change in their lineup after numerous ranked wrestlers suffered injuries during the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas and against Iowa.
No. 10 ranked 149-pounder Anthony Echemendia will be out for four-to-six weeks with a high-ankle sprain.
No. 4 ranked heavyweight Yonger Bastida has been in and out of the lineup this year and is still dealing with an injury. Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said they want him back by the new year, but a medical redshirt is not out of the question.
No. 16 ranked 184-pounder Evan Bockman will be out for a couple of weeks as well.
MJ Gaitan, the No. 17 165-pounder, was getting back to wrestling but got nicked up this past weekend.
“Next man up at 149 and next man up at 184 because that’s what we are going to have this weekend,” Dresser said. “We are probably going to have to go with the young guy Nando Villaescusa [184] and Carter Fousek [149] depending on how this week goes with training.”
All in all, that’s four ranked wrestlers out of the lineup and a new battle for Iowa State to tackle.
“It seems like we can’t ever get there,” Dresser said. “I think the only good thing to come out of it is that it is the middle of December. You just really want to hit your stride by February or March.”
“I think just ending up on the podium at the end of the year keeps our guys going,” 141-pounder Jacob Frost said.
Injuries aside, the two bright spots from the Cliff Keen Invitational were twins Jacob Frost and No. 6 ranked 133-pounder Evan Frost.
This was Jacob’s first real collegiate experience and he did not falter. He was one of six podium finishers and will look to continue that success this weekend.
Evan Frost looks to be getting in shape after struggling with weight for the first few weeks. He finished runner-up and was the highest podium finisher the Cyclones had.
“My body is starting to dial in,” Evan Frost said.
Iowa State will be wrestling at a neutral site at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa.
“There’s a lot of fans in there and they’re very loud. It’s a great environment to wrestle in,” Evan Frost said. “You get a takedown, they’re screaming for you. If you aren’t even doing anything and just making action happen, then they’re yelling for you.”
The Cyclones lead the all-time series 9-1 against the Bison, with NDSU’s lone win coming in 2016 when they knocked off then-No. 14 Iowa State.
This will be North Dakota State’s first dual action in three weeks, which is completely different from the Cyclones who have been wrestling a lot.
The dual against NDSU is set for 2 p.m. Sunday from Humboldt. It will be streamed live on FloWrestling, a paid subscription service.
