Cyclones Open 2012 Conference Slate with Missouri

01.06.2012 | Men's Wrestling

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa - The No. 20 Iowa State wrestling team returns home for its first conference meet of 2012 in Hilton Coliseum Sunday at 2 p.m. (CST). The Cyclones face No. 16 Missouri in a Big 12 bout after spending the end of December and first week of January on the road.

The Cyclones enter Sunday's meet with momentum after posting their first dual victory of the season Tuesday against the Sun Devils of Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. Iowa State also placed eighth at the annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. with 62.5 team points and five Cyclones placed at the tournament.

When Iowa State traveled to Missouri in early December, Luke Goettl scored his first dual win of the season and the redshirt freshman has since been on a roll. At the Midlands Championships Dec. 29 & 30, Goettl was the only unseeded wrestler to advance to the semifinals and finished sixth place at 141.

Heavyweight Matt Gibson is also coming off a strong run at Midlands in which he won seven straight matches en route to a third-place title. Gibson will have another shot at Missouri's 285-pounder Devin Mellon who edged past Gibson in Columbia by a 3-2 decision.

Who: No. 20 Iowa State (1-8, 0-3 Big 12) vs. No. 16 Missouri (5-1, 1-1 Big 12)
Where: Ames, Iowa - Hilton Coliseum
When: Sunday, Jan. 8, 2 p.m. (CST)
TV: Mediacom (10-minute break after five matches)
Live stats: Live stats will be available at www.trackwrestling.com
Webcast: Available for Clone Zone members at www.cyclones.com
Live blog: Join in on a virtual press row for Sunday's meet with an interactive live blog put on by members of the Iowa State athletics communications department. Fans are encouraged to participate by asking questions on the blog which will begin at 1:45 p.m. (CST).
Twitter: Be sure to follow "CycloneWR" on Twitter for final results after each match.

Cyclone Notebook
-Four Cyclones are ranked in the top 20 of their weight division by this week's Intermat poll.
-At 157 pounds, Michael Moreno is coming off his first dual meet victory of the season. Moreno earned a 6-5 decision over Arizona State's Victor DeJesus.
-Andrew Sorenson at 165 pounds continues to be the Cyclone leader with the most victories (17) and enters the dual after posting a technical fall against the Sun Devils' Hans Rasmusson.
-After entering the Midlands Championships with a No. 1 seed, 174-pounder Chris Spangler was forced to exit the tournament early with a concussion. Redshirt freshman Mikey England has stepped up in Spangler's absence at 174 pounds with an eighth-place Midlands finish and his second dual win of the season at Arizona State, which was by major decision.
-Boaz Beard at 184 pounds is back in the lineup for the Cyclones after wrestling in the Arizona State meet Jan. 3 for the first time since the Iowa matchup on Dec. 4. Beard is also back in the Intermat rankings at No. 11 this week.

Series Notes
-Iowa State leads the all time series 44-6.
-Last time the two teams met was on Dec. 18, 2011 in Columbia in which the Cyclones fell 31-10.

No. 20 Iowa State probables (Overall Record/Dual Record)
125: No. 12/17 Ryak Finch, RFr., 9-3/5-3
133: RJ Hallman, RFr., 4-9/0-3
or Shayden Terukina, RFr., 4-5, 0-5
141: Luke Goettl, RFr., 6-6/2-4
149: Luke Swalla, RFr., 4-8/0-1
157: Michael Moreno, RFr., 6-6, 1-6
165: No. 5/5 Andrew Sorenson, RSr. 17-1, 9-0
174: Mikey England, RFr., 13-6/2-2
184: No. 11/13 Boaz Beard, RSo. 6-1/6-1
197: Cole Shafer, RSo., 7-8/1-6
285: No. 18/18 Matt Gibson, RJr., 13-6/2-5

No. 16 Missouri probables (Overall Record/Dual Record), Hometown
125: No. 3/3 Alan Waters, So., 13-1/4-0, Kansas City, Mo.
133: Eric Wilson, Soph., 18-6/0-0, Centennial, Colo.
141: Nicholas Hucke, Jr., 12-4/0-0 Pewaukee, Wis.
149: No. 14/12 Kyle Bradley, So., 13-5/3-3, St. Peters, Mo.
157: Drake Houdashelt, RFr., 15-3/4-2, O'Fallon, Mo.
165: Jordan Gagliano, So., 13-6/0-0 Lake St. Louis, Mo.
174: Patrick Wright, Sr., 19-4/0-0 Grand Ledge, Mich.
184: No. 17/16 Mike Larson, Jr., 13-3/5-1, McKinleyville, Calif.
197: No. 19/12 Brent Haynes, Jr., 12-3/3-3, Kansas City, Mo.
285: Devin Mellon, RFr., 11-5/3-3, Lawson, Mo.

Rankings by Intermat and W.I.N. Magazine 1/3/12