Iowa State Set For Fresno State, No. 13 UNI

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State wrestling team (7-8, 2-5 Big 12) begins the final stretch of the regular season with duals against Fresno State (4-14, 1-3 Big 12) and No. 13 Northern Iowa (5-4, 2-2 Big 12) this weekend. The Cyclones square off against the Bulldogs in Hilton Coliseum on Friday night at 7 p.m., followed by a contest with the Panthers in West Gym on Saturday at 7 p.m.

On Friday night, ISU will celebrate the work of two senior wrestlers. Prior to the dual, redshirt seniors Dane Pestano and Colin Strickland will be recognized for their contributions to the Iowa State wrestling program.

Iowa State v. Fresno State
Where: Ames, Iowa – Hilton Coliseum
When: Friday, Feb. 9 – 7 p.m.
Live Stats: Live results and match-by-match updates will be available at trackwrestling.com.
Live Broadcast: Cyclones.TV will carry the dual. Tom Kroeschell and Kyven Gadson will be on the call.
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneWR on Twitter for live scoring, match-by-match results and behind the scenes content.

ISU vs. FSU History
- Iowa State and Fresno State have met seven times, with the Cyclones having won all seven contests.
- The two teams met earlier this year at the Virginia Duals. ISU defeated FSU from Hampton, 25-16.
- Although the two squads have wrestled seven times, they've only met in Hilton Coliseum once, which was on Feb. 23, 2003. The Cardinal and Gold scrapped to a 34-8 victory in that contest.

Iowa State @ No. 13 Northern Iowa
Where: Cedar Falls, Iowa – West Gym
When: Saturday, Feb. 10 – 7 p.m.
Live Stream: FloWrestling will have a live stream of the dual ($) - http://bit.ly/2xCirmQ
Live Stats: Live results and match-by-match updates will be available at trackwrestling.com.
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneWR on Twitter for live scoring, match-by-match results and behind the scenes content.

ISU vs. UNI History
- The in-state rivalry between the Cyclones and the Panthers began on Jan. 26, 1924 in Ames. ISU won the first meeting, 21-0.
- Since the series began, Iowa State holds the all-time advantage at 57-18.
- Last year, Northern Iowa won the match-up in Hilton Coliseum. ISU fell to UNI, 20-12.

Cyclone Notebook
-The Cyclones are scheduled for two Big 12 duals this weekend. Iowa State will take on Fresno State in Hilton Coliseum on Friday night at 7 p.m., followed by No. 13 Northern Iowa in West Gym on Saturday at 7 p.m. ISU will celebrate seniors Dane Pestano and Colin Strickland prior to the dual on Friday night.
-ISU and FSU already met once this year. The Cyclones beat the Bulldogs at the Virginia Duals, 25-16.
-Last weekend, Iowa State split a pair of duals in the Dakotas, defeating NDSU 21-20 on criteria and then falling to No. 12 SDSU, 30-15.
-The win against North Dakota State was the largest comeback victory in program history. At the intermission, ISU trailed 20-3, but went on to win the final five matches, including a 10-2 major decision in the dual's finale from Marcus Harrington. The Cyclones won on criteria, most matches won, 6-4.
-Brady Jennings and Sam Colbray both notched wins over ranked opponents. Jennings knocked off No. 17 Andrew Fogarty by 7-2 decision in Fargo and Colbray pinned No. 11 Nate Rotert in 5:22 at South Dakota State.
-In Oklahoma, Iowa State dropped a pair of duals, falling to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. This broke a four match win streak for the Cyclones, the best since January of 2016.
-Ian Parker was named Big 12 Wrestler of the week after beating No. 26 Mike Longo of Oklahoma by 4-2 decision and No. 4 Dean Heil of Oklahoma State by 3-1 decision.
-Parker's win over the national champ makes him the first Cyclone to defeat a reigning champ since David Zabriskie beat Missouri's Mark Ellis in 2010. Since the weight class change in 1999, only six Iowa State grapplers have accomplished this feat in dual action.
-ISU started the year 0-4 in duals, but has since gone on to post a 7-4 mark. Iowa State's latest triumph came at the hands of West Virginia.
-The win over WVU is the first Big 12 victory at home for Iowa State since Feb. 14, 2016, which was also against West Virginia.
-Iowa State's hot streak started at the Virginia Duals. In Hampton, the Cyclones took down Virginia, Old Dominion, Lock Haven and Fresno State. Their only defeat came at the hands of eventual tournament champion, Arizona State.
-Iowa State has three wrestlers receiving national rankings. Ian Parker (16, 18, 15), Jarrett Degen (NR, 19, 24) and Sam Colbray (19, UR, UR) are all three in this week's FloWrestling, Intermat and the Trackwrestling polls.
-Prior to the defeat of Oregon State, the Cyclones hadn't won a dual since Nov. 26, 2016. ISU also broke a nine-match home losing streak, which dated back to Feb. 14, 2016.
-In total, 22 wrestlers have competed for Iowa State in dual competition this season, which is well over half of the roster. The Cyclones have featured a different lineup in all 10 duals this season.
Dresser and his staff have had to manage a very young Iowa State squad this season. Of the 33 Iowa State wrestlers, only 16 of them were on the team last year. The team also consists of 24 underclassmen (freshmen or sophomores.)
-In 14 dual competitions, the Cyclones have five wrestlers with seven or more wins. Sam Colbray (7), Chase Straw (7), Jarrett Degen (10), Dane Pestano (9) and Marcus Harrington (10) have been anchors in the Iowa State lineup.
-Those five have all tallied 18 or more takedowns in duals this season. Pestano (40), Degen (33), Harrington (24) Straw (21) and Colbray (18).
-Last year, Iowa State wrestled in 13 duals. They recorded 46 individual wins and 124 total takedowns. Through 13 duals this season, the Cyclones racked up 63 individual wins and 182 takedowns.
-Iowa State has a trio of freshmen who are redshirting this year that are performing very well unattached. Marcus Coleman has posted a 24-2 record with his only losses coming to UNI's Taylor Lujan. Ryan Leisure is 22-4. After sitting out the first half of the year, Austin Gomez his finally getting in on the action. He's a perfect 8-0 in three events. The three have combined for 11 tournament wins and 25 total bonus-point victories.

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Players Mentioned

Marcus Coleman

Jarrett Degen

Austin Gomez

Marcus Harrington

Brady Jennings

Ryan Leisure

Ian Parker

Dane Pestano

Chase Straw

Colin Strickland

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics