Completed Event: Wrestling versus Harold Nichols Cyclone Open on January 18, 2026 , , One Champ
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Harold Nichols Cyclone Open
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Iowa State University Athletics
Iowa State Opens Up 2015-16 At Virginia Tech
11.05.2015 | Wrestling
AMES, Iowa – No. 13 Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) will travel to Blacksburg, Virginia to take on the No. 6 Virginia Tech Hokies (0-0, 0-0 ACC) on Nov. 7. This marks the beginning of the Cyclones' 100th year of wrestling.
The Cardinal and Gold are coming off one of their most successful dual seasons in recent history. Head Coach Kevin Jackson led the Cyclones to an 11-2 dual mark in 2014-15, finishing the season at No. 8 in the NWCA/ USA Today Coach's poll.
With the departure of national champion Kyven Gadson and two-time All-American Michael Moreno, Jackson's line-up features many new faces. RFr. Nathan Boston, RSo. Blayne Briceno, RFr. Logan Breitenbach, RSo. Dane Pestano and RSo. Duke Egli will all be making their first career dual appearances on Saturday.
Where: Cassell Coliseum - Blacksburg, Virginia
When: Noon CT
Live Stats: Live results and match-by-match updates will be available at trackwrestling.com
Live Stream ($): A live stream of the dual will be available at flowrestling.org
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneWR on Twitter for live scoring, match-by-match results and Periscope content.
*Note: There will NOT be a live blog provided this season.
Series History
*Iowa State holds a 6-0 series lead over Virginia Tech.
*Last year, Iowa State knocked off the Hokies, 21-12 in Ames during Beauty and the Beast.
Scouting Virginia Tech
*Saturday's dual against Iowa State will be the Hokie's first of the year.
*The Hokies currently have six wrestlers ranked in Flo's top-20 at their respective weight class: No. 6 Joey Dance, No. 14 Sal Mastriani, No. 3 Nick Brascetta, No. 2 Zach Epperly, No. 17 Austin Gabel, No. 2 Ty Walz.
*Both Epperly and Walz came away with wins at the NWCA All-Star Classic, an annual event featuring the top athletes at each weight in a preseason dual.
*Virginia Tech's line-up features five returning All-Americans in Dance, Brascetta, Epperly and Walz
*Last year, the Hokies finished 10th at NCAA Championships in St. Louis with 54 points.
Cyclone Notebook
*Iowa State will be celebrating its 100th year of wrestling this season. ISU began wrestling in Ames in January of 1916.
*Redshirt senior Tanner Weatherman and redshirt junior Lelund Weatherspoon are bumping down to 165 pounds and 174 pounds for the 2015-16 season.
*Weatherman led all Cyclone wrestlers in dual scoring in 2014-15, racking up 101 total points. He posted a 9-4 dual record, and was 23-10 overall.
*Five Iowa State wrestlers have been pegged in the national rankings to begin the year. Earl Hall (4, 8, 8) Dante Rodriguez (18, 17, 14) Gabe Moreno (15, 15, 13) Tanner Weatherman (7, 6, 8) and Lelund Weatherspoon (13, 17, 12) all are receiving national rankings from FloWrestling, IntermatWrestle and TheOpenMat.
*Earl Hall is back for his senior season. This summer, the Homestead, Fla. native dominated the field at University Nationals to take home the title at 61 kg.
*Six of Iowa State's seven returners in the starting line-up garnered 18 or more wins in 2014-15.
*This summer, the Big 12 announced that it would be expanding the Big 12 Wrestling Championship. With the expansion, Air Force, Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming will all compete at the Big 12 Championship.
*The Big 12 also announced that the Championship would be moving to a neutral site through the 2018 season. This year, they will be held in Kansas City, Mo. at the Sprint Center. In 2017 and 2018, they will take place at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.
*In 2014-15, the Iowa State wrestling team posted their best dual record (11-2) since Kevin Jackson's first year at Iowa State.
*The Cyclones climbed to as high as No. 8 in the coach's poll rankings, and that is where they finished the year.
*At the 2015 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Iowa State finished 12th with 39 team points. Kyven Gadson won the 197-pound national championship with a pin over Ohio State's Kyle Snyder.
*Iowa State head coach Kevin Jackson received a contract extension at the end of the 2015-16 season. The Olympic champion is set to coach the Cyclone grapplers through 2018.
*Jackson is in his seventh season at the helm of the Iowa State wrestling program.
Players Mentioned
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