Cyclones Set For A Pair Of Big 12 Matchups

AMES, Iowa – No. 14 Iowa State (0-2, 0-2 Big 12) continues its dual season out West. The Cyclones are set to face a pair of Big 12 affiliate members in Northern Colorado (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) and Wyoming (0-1, 0-0 Big 12).

After a tough 0-2-road trip to the Dakotas, Iowa State bounced back on its home mat at the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open, sending 11 wrestlers to the podium. Redshirt junior Dane Pestano and redshirt senior Lelund Weatherspoon rolled to individual titles.

at Northern Colorado
Where: Greeley, Colo., Bank of Colorado Arena
When: Saturday, Nov. 26, 3:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: Live stats will be provided by trackwrestling.com
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneWR on Twitter for live scoring, match-by-match results and Periscope content

at Wyoming
Where: Laramie, Wyo., UniWyo Sports Complex
When: Sunday, Nov. 27 3:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: Flowrestling will carry a live stream of the dual ($)
Live Stats: Live stats will be provided on trackwrestling.com
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneWR on Twitter for live scoring, match-by-match results and Periscope content

ISU vs. NCU History
- Iowa State leads the all-time series against Northern Colorado, 5-0.
- The Cyclones and Bears haven't matched up since Jan. 25, 1957. ISU won that dual 23-2 in Ames.
- Their first meeting came in 1941. The Cyclones were victorious, 19-11 out in Greeley.

ISU vs. WYO History
- The Cyclones and Cowboys have met 15 times in their history with Iowa State holding a 14-1 advantage over Wyoming.
- The Cowboys lone win came in 1950 when they took down the Cyclones, 10-19.
- ISU and Wyo took to the mat in Ames last season. Iowa State came away with a gritty 19-14 victory.

Cyclone Headlines
-The Cyclones are looking to bounce back after suffering two dual losses to begin the year. Iowa State fell to South Dakota State (27-9) and North Dakota State (25-16).
-Five Cyclones are ranked in this week's national polls. Earl Hall (5, 4, 4), Gabe Moreno (UR, 16, 13), Dane Pestano (19, UR, 19), Lelund Weatherspoon (14, 10, 10) and Patrick Downey (8, 9, 6) all begin the weekend slotted in the top-20 in FloWrestling, TheOpenMat and Intermat rankings.
-In the annual Harold Nichols Cyclone Open, 11 ISU grapplers finished on the podium. Pestano and Weatherspoon took home titles at their respective weight classes, while Hall finished runner-up.
-The two first-place finishers combined to go 10-0 at the Cyclone Open and tallied six bonus-point victories.
-A trio of freshmen took third-place honors at the Cyclone Open. Markus Simmons, Ian Parker and Kanen Storr all scrapped hard on the backside of their brackets.
-Storr and Parker have been red hot in open tournaments to begin the year. Storr has put up three top-three finishes in open tournaments and has compiled a 15-2 record with 10 bonus-point decisions. Parker has garnered three top-four finishes and has pieced together a 12-4 mark to begin the year.
-Eight ISU grapplers finished on the podium at the Grand View Open last weekend, including three finalists. Marcus Simmons (2nd), Danny Vega (5th), Ian Parker (3rd), Kanen Storr (1st), Chase Straw (2nd), Zemua Baptista (4th), Luke Entzel (5th) and Dale Hilleman (6th) all finished in the top-6 for the Cyclones.
-Patrick Downey III has begun the year 4-0. He bumped up to 197 pounds against SDSU and defeated No. 9 Nick Rotert by 8-6 decision. He followed that up by pinning Tyler McNutt of NDSU in 1:54 in the dual against the Bison.
-Hall and Weatherspoon are both knocking on the door of 100 career wins. Hall has tallied 84 career wins, and Weatherspoon has compiled 76 career victories. In 2015-16, Hall compiled 33 total wins, while Weatherspoon racked up 27.
-Hall (7), Weatherspoon (6) and Downey (5) are all coming off of All-America finishes in 2015-16. The Cyclones are one of just eight squads in the country to return three or more 2016 All-Americans.
-Iowa State's lineup returns many familiar faces. In total, 15 members of this year's team saw action as a starter in dual competition in 2015-16. Those 15 wrestlers accounted for 85 percent of Iowa State's total dual wins last season.
-The 2017 NCAA Championship is returning to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. Last year, the Cyclones finished 12th (35 points) at the national finals, which were held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
-Iowa State head coach Kevin Jackson is in his eighth year leading the Cyclones.

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Players Mentioned

Zemua Baptista

Luke Entzel

Earl Hall

Dale Hilleman

Gabe Moreno

Ian Parker

Dane Pestano

Markus Simmons

Kanen Storr

Chase Straw

Lelund Weatherspoon

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