Iowa State heads to Norman to Battle Sooners

01.29.2015 | Men's Wrestling

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa – The No. 8 Iowa State wrestling team will head to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the Oklahoma Sooners this Saturday, Jan. 31. This will be the Cyclones' first road dual since they faced Iowa in Iowa City on Nov. 29.

Where: McCasland Field House – Norman, Okla.
When: Jan. 31 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Broadcast: The dual will be broadcasted on Fox College Sports Central and Fox Sports Oklahoma.
Live Blog: The Iowa State athletics communications office will host a live blog during the dual. Fans are invited to follow the action and participate in the blog by asking questions.
Live Stats: Live results for the ISU-OU dual will be available online via trackwrestling.com
Social Media: Be sure to follow @CycloneWR on Facebook and Twitter for match-by-match results and team notes throughout the dual.

Eight of 10 matchups in Saturday's dual will feature at least one ranked individual, as two bouts will pit two nationally-ranked, top-20 grapplers against each other, with all eyes on the 133 match with No. 6 Earl Hall and No. 2 Cody Brewer.

Brewer is undefeated on the season, picking up six bonus point victories. The two-time All-Americanhad sat out the three previous duals before picking up a 17-5 major decision in the Sooners' competition against West Virginia. Hall comes into the match hot, having not lost in the New Year. His 5-0 run to a 133-pound title at the Southern Scuffle served as a catalyst for his recent success.

Scouting Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Sooners are back in action against the Cyclones after a two-week break from competition. OU comes into this dual having won three out of its last four duals, including a win over conference foe West Virginia. The Sooners will send four nationally ranked grapplers out against the Cyclones on Saturday.

At 133 sits OU's highest ranked wrestler in undefeated and second ranked Cody Brewer. No. 11 Justin DeAngelis boasts a 16-3 record at 157. Redshirt sophomore Matt Reed slides into the polls at No. 20 at 174, and heavyweight Ross Larson rounds out the ranked sooners at No. 12.

@CYCLONEWR HEADLINES
- No. 8 Iowa State (6-2 overall, 0-1 Big 12) takes on Oklahoma (6-5, 1-1 Big 12), Saturday, in Norman, Okla. The Cyclones are coming off a close, 20-15, loss to No. 7 Oklahoma State, that saw ISU win four of the 10 matches.
- ISU's victory over then-No. 6 Virginia Tech boosted the program in the national rankings, moving up five spots to No. 8 in the USA Today-NWCA Coaches' Poll.
- Six Cyclone wrestlers are earning national rankings in Earl Hall (6 / 6 / 7), Gabe Moreno (14 / 12 / 12), Michael Moreno (4 / 6 / 3), Tanner Weatherman (11 / 13 / 11), Lelund Weatherspoon (15 / 14 / 13) and Kyven Gadson (2 / 2 / 2), each earning top-15 spots across the Intermat, TheOpenMat or Flowrestling polls.
- Cyclone wrestlers won 10 of 20 matches by bonus points against Penn and Virginia Tech, with Kyven Gadson (2 maj. dec.), Luke Goettl (1 fall, 1 maj. dec.) and Michael Moreno (1 fall, 1 maj. dec.) doing so in both duals.
- Gadson scored a fall over OSU's Luke Bean, Sunday, marking his seventh bonus-point victory in eight
dual matches on the 2014-15 dual season.
- At the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Iowa State was one of two schools (Minnesota) to place
at least five individuals in the top-5 at their respective weight classes. The team's showing was
highlighted by four top-3 finishes and a title-winning performance from Gadson at 197.
- This season, Cyclone wrestlers have accounted for 161 bonus-point victories (BPVs), scoring 90 pins, 25 tech-falls and 46 major decisions. Five Cyclones currently hold winning percentages of over .800 in Gadson (18-1, .947), M. Moreno (16-2, .889), Weatherspoon (13-2, .867), Hall (20-4, .833) and G. Moreno (20-5, .800).
- Gadson has continued his dual-competition dominance in 2015, riding a 38-match dual winning streak. The Waterloo, Iowa, native has won 14 of his 18 matches via bonus points this season, scoring eight pins, a tech-fall and five major decisions.
- M. Moreno is seeing similar success on the mat, scoring three major decisions, three tech-falls and four pins on the year. The Urbandale, Iowa, native is second on the team in bonus-point victories (10).
- Moreno and Gadson are two of just nine wrestlers nationally to win 30 matches and earn a spot on the NCAA All-America podium in each of the past two seasons. Both are on pace to do so again for the third-straight season, earning top-5 rankings in every national poll.
- Earl Hall is undefeated in the New Year, wrestling to a perfect 8-0 record through the Southern Scuffle and three dual matches. Hall has defeated four ranked wrestlers during the streak, earning Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors for his #LetsScuffle title.