AMES — Iowa State is headed to Cleveland for the NCAA Championships on Thursday. The Cyclones qualified 10 wrestlers for the tournament and are eager to rewrite history after last season’s injury-riddled 27th-place finish.
“This time of year, there’s just a lot of excitement,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said. “There’s a lot of excitement with the fans, there’s a lot of excitement with the media, obviously, there’s a lot of excitement with the team.”
Exciting is a good word to describe this season. The squad Dresser and his staff assembled was a blend of talented transfers and seasoned mainstays, to make for a highly anticipated campaign that hasn’t disappointed. Now in the postseason, the excitement is at its zenith.
“This is the fun part,” senior Stevo Poulin said Monday during media. “I mean, we’ve been through the whole grind of the season, I’m about to enter my last practice as a collegiate athlete, so you know, just taking it all in and you right now I’m just letting it fly.”
Poulin has been dialed in down the stretch of the season, winning 11 of his last 13 matches. That continued into the Big 12 Championships, where he finished second at 125 pounds. For Poulin, mental focus is what he’s bringing to Cleveland to continue his success.
“Around the country, every program, I’m sure, all of us are training pretty similarly,” Poulin said. “So right now it comes to who’s strongest up here, and just trying to stay relaxed and not make it too big of a deal, but also lock in when it’s time.”
The journey to a national championship isn’t a smooth ride, especially in a sport like wrestling; there are bound to be obstacles. As for Poulin, he wants to be remembered as someone tough enough to take the challenges in stride.
“I’m pretty tough,” Poulin said. “I know going into this weekend, I heard coach talk about ‘We’re gonna have to face some adversity.’ Every year I go here [NCAA Championships] I come out of it with stitches or an injury, so I mean I’m treating it like I’m going to war.”
Teammate and fellow senior Rocky Elam brings a similar mindset to Poulin’s ahead of collegiate wrestling’s big dance.
“I’m gonna fight like hell,” Elam said. “You know you’re gonna get that from me. I can’t tell you what the outcome is gonna be because I can’t control that, but I’m gonna fight like hell and I’m gonna give my best and just leave with no regrets.”
Elam suffered an injury, causing him to miss the entirety of last season. After a lost year, Elam transferred to Iowa State from Missouri to close out his collegiate career in the cardinal and gold. And this season, he’s been able to stay healthy and compete on the biggest stages as one of the best 197-pounders in the nation.
“Whatever happens, I’m gonna accept it and just be thankful for my college career,” Elam said. “And be thankful I was able to get through it healthy and wrestle six years.”
The first session of the NCAA Championships starts at 11 a.m. Thursday. The first session will be on ESPN2.
