It was fun to be back in Hilton watching wrestling! It had been two months since the Cyclones were back in Ames. Now we get to host several of their next duals in a row!
Last night against Oklahoma was fun. I never really thought we had the match in doubt and it was fun to see our guys' improvement from the start of the season.
Here's how it all went down:
-
125: Joey Fio dec. Tyler Clark (4-0), (ISU 0, Oklahoma 3)
- Clark didn't come out too aggressive which I don't like. He was more trying to read and react but he wasn't controlling the pace of the match
- Fio got an escape and a takedown in the 2nd period, and rode Clark all the 3rd period to get a point for riding time.
- Oklahoma had to win this match to even have a chance and they obviously knew it. Fio wrestled like he had more to lose than Clark did
-
133: Shelton wins over Nick Fanthorpe by injury default (ISU 0, Oklahoma 9)
- This match sucked. Fanthorpe injured his hamstring as he was taken down by Shelton. Personally, I think the ref should've blown potentially dangerous before the takedown occured because Fanthropes leg was in a bent and stuck position. Fanthorpe tried to wrestle for a while but he was limping and hobbling really badly out there. After about a minute or so, the coaches told the ref to forfet the match.
- I hope Fanthorpe will be alright. It also sucked that we gave their worst wrestler 6 team points. This is why the dual looked closer than it really was...
-
141: Nick Gallick wins over Vernon 10-3 (ISU 3, Oklahoma 9)
- I liked the way Nick started and played this out. In the past he's looked tentative, but for this match he was aggressive. He looked like a guy who should be ranked #2. Earlier in the season there were times when he did not. Maybe he felt pressure to win the first match of the night for ISU, especially after giving OU 6 points? Whatever it was, I was glad to see it!
- In the 3rd period, Gallick tried to get enough for a major decision, but Vernon did a decent job of defending/stalling to avoid giving up the extra points
-
149: Terry wins by decision over Mitch Mueller 6-0 (ISU 3, Oklahoma 12)
- Not too much to say about this match. Terry was just the better wrestler and it showed.
- Mueller kept trying to get a takedown in the 3rd when it was 3-0, but Terry caught him on a counter to seal the match
-
151: Cyler Sanderson pins Shane Vernon, 6:41 (ISU 9, Oklahoma 12)
- If you've been reading this recaps I've written OR if you just know me, you know I love Cyler's style. He's just flat out fun to watch wrestle
- Whenever he's in a big spot, he comes up big IMO. I knew he would be going for the pin the whole time. It's just so hard to do sometimes.
- When he got it, I got SO pumped up as did the rest of the fans! It was really the highlight of the night! It got ISU back in the match and reassured the fans that an upset was NOT going to happen tonight!
- I think that a wrestling pin is the most exciting single event in college sports. Dunks are fun in basketball, but we see them all the time. Long runs, or TDs are fun in football, but again, we seen them all the time. A pin, especially between two good wrestlers doesn't happen all the time. You could go to several duals and NOT see a pin happen.... Just something I was thinking about last night...
-
165: Reader wins by major decision over Smith 16-2 (ISU 13, Oklahoma 12)
- Reader came out taking names as well. I really like ot see that. Right out the gate, he took Smith straight to his back for 5 points! Then as Smith got off his back, Reader got 2 more back points! With about 1 minute left in the 3rd, Reader was already up 7-0!
- In the 3rd period, Reader tried a takedown clinic on Smith to get the tech. Smith did a good job of stalling lol. Actually Reader ended up getting a point for Smith stalling.
- Regardless, it was good to get the 4 team points and take the lead!
-
174: James wins by decision over Duke Burk 4-0 (ISU 13, Oklahoma 15)
- Not really that thrilling of a match. James got a BS takedown. It happened when Burk was out but James' feet were in. The problem is that it wasn't a takedown. Burk was in sort of a sitting-half guard kind of position... Kind of hard to explain, but whatever I suppose.
- From there, James was able to escape when he was down.
- In the 3rd, Burk went down but couldn't escape so James got the additional point. My wife (who doesn't know all that much about wrestling) even said "Why is he choosing down?" before the 3rd started, she said "He can't even get away"... This was from the 1st period when after the takedown, and going out, James rode Burk for the rest of the 1st.
-
184: Ward wins by decision over Flynn 5-2 (ISU 16, Oklahoma 15)
- Ward's style is frustrating. You can tell he's decent but he wrestles not to lose instead of wrestling to win.
- He keeps it way too close the entire time, and then pulls off the last second takedown to seal the deal. The fans usually cheer because it happened in the last several seconds, but it's not as thrilling for me.
- I just think he needs to have some more urgency, and wrestle like he's going to win instead of not-lose.
-
197: Varner wins by major decision over Lapotsky 16-3 (ISU 20, Oklahoma 15)
- Varner flat out dominated this match
- In the first, he was toying with Lapotsky a bit. Lapotsky was trying all the takedowns but Varner was just out-muscling and reacting off of those to get the takedowns himself.
- In the 3rd, you saw the actual dominating. Varner was able to take down Lapotsky several times like it wasn't a big deal
-
HWT: Zabriskie wins by decision over Fernandez 4-2 (SV2) (ISU 23, Oklahoma 15)
- Oklahoma needed a pin to win the dual and obviously Fernandez knew it. Fernandez wrestled a hell of a match.
- I can't really tell if Zabriskie just wasn't really into it, if Fernandez was really any good, or if Fernandez just decided to try to have the match of his life last night.....
- In regular time neither guy got a takedown and they both got escapes, making it tied 1-1. Fernandez made it interesting though. He kept trying to get that takedown that would put Zabriskie straight to his back. He had some good attempts and a really good try, but they got out of bounds before he could follow through..
- In Sudden Victory 1, nothing exciting happened
- In TB1, each guy got an escape
- In Sudden Victory 2, Zabriskie FINALLY got a takedown to win the match... He got beat around though. I'm sure he felt like he lost
Overall, the team score looked close. If you remember that Oklahoma got 6 with their weakest guy, then you'd realize that it should've been either 26-9, or 23-12. That's just the way it goes.
I am already pumped for Sunday's dual against Okie State at 1pm!
Loading comments...