The No. 13 Iowa State Cyclones recorded a 2-1 record at the Collegiate Duals in Nashville Saturday, defeating Lock Haven 20-6, No. 24 North Carolina 23-14 and losing to No. 5 Ohio State in a hard-fought finale 29-10.
Setting the tone
The Cyclones coasted through the opening matchups against Lock Haven, winning eight of 10 against the Bald Eagles.
Senior Kysen Terukina opened the first dual against Lock Haven’s Lucas Fye at 125 and won his first matchup of the season. Freshman Osmany Diversent followed at 133, winning the first top-15 matchup of his career over No. 13 Anthony Noto. Noto, a two-time All-American, lost by decision 9-3.
In addition to Terukina and Diversent, Cyclone sophomores Jacob Frost (141), Cody Chittum (157), Manny Rojas (165) and MJ Gaitan (174) gained early traction. Senior Evan Bockman (184) and freshman Daniel Herrera (285) won by decision, Bockman 8-6 and Herrera 10-3.
Returns and debuts
Following the dual against Lock Haven, Iowa State took down North Carolina. The dual against the Tar Heels featured the debut of sophomore Nate Schon (197) in place of an injured Christian Carroll. Schon’s 7-2 victory over North Carolina’s Cade Lautt was one of seven for the Cyclones and his first of the season.
Terukina and Chittum recorded back-to-back wins, Chittum in an 8-2 decision over Laird Root and Terukina over No. 23 Spencer Moore. Jacob Frost also reached the 2-0 mark, defeating Luke Simcox 10-1.
Paniro Johnson also appeared for the Cyclones in the 165 match. A late takedown from Johnson was the fifth win in the dual, following Chittum’s decision.
The second dual of the day also played host to another ranked win for Evan Frost and the return of Yonger Bastida. The previously injured Bastida’s last appearance came on Nov. 19. Frost and Bastida both won by decision.
A rough end to the day
The third and final dual of the day for Iowa State was against No. 5 Ohio State and was far and away the worst. The Cyclones won a mere three of 10 matchups and lost two by fall. Sophomore Carter Fousek went 0-3 on the day, losing his final match against Ohio State’s Dylan D’Emilio by a major decision.
Following a promising debut, Schon fell to Ohio State’s Ryder Rogotzke by a major decision 10-2. Fousek and Schon were the only two losses by a major decision but did not define the dual.
Chittum’s decision win over No. 7 Paddy Gallagher was the highlight of Iowa State’s 29-10 loss, cementing the only 3-0 record on the day. Chittum and Evan Frost were the only Cyclones that appeared in all three duals.
The Cyclones are back in action on Jan. 8 in the season’s second Big 12 conference bout against West Virginia. The matchup will take place at 6 p.m. in Morgantown and will stream on ESPN+.
