Primer: No. 4 Iowa State vs. No. 17 Northern Iowa

AMES, Iowa - No. 4 Iowa State will take on its fifth consecutive top-20 opponent Sunday when it hosts No. 17 Northern Iowa inside Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones have won four-straight duals against their in-state foe. Sunday's dual will mark the teams' first meeting in Ames since 2021.

The Matchup: No. 4 Iowa State (11-2, 4-1 Big 12) vs. No. 17 Northern Iowa (5-5, 4-1 Big 12)
Where: Ames, Iowa // Hilton Coliseum
When: Sunday, Feb. 11 - 1 p.m.
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
[Shawn Kenney, pxp; Kyven Gadson, analyst]
Live Stats: TrackWrestling
Listen: Varsity App & Cyclones.com
[Ryan Rohlk, pxp; Joe Sinclair, pxp; Nate Carr, analyst]
Match Notes: Iowa State // Northern Iowa
Tickets: https://bit.ly/47Ymyr4

MATCH PROMOTIONS - Jr. Cyclone/Youth Wrestling Day
- Two free tickets for all JCC Member Parents
- Free admission for youth wrestling programs (Email cy@iastate.edu for signup and more details.)
- Foam ISU Wrestling Championship Belts for the first 125 fans
- Students: Free black Cyclone wrestling beanies for first 125 students, student raffle, free Papa John's Pizza

PROJECTED MATCHUPS
No. 4 Iowa State vs. No. 17 Northern Iowa
125: #24 Kysen Terukina (10-5) vs. Trever Anderson (7-10)
133: #8 Evan Frost (13-3) vs. #24 Julian Farber (14-6)
141: #9 Anthony Echemendia (14-4) or Zach Redding (9-3) vs. #6 Cael Happel (15-4) or Connor Thorpe (11-4)
149: #7 Casey Swiderski (15-2) vs. Adam Allard (4-7) or Cael Rahnavardi (8-8)
157: #14 Cody Chittum (11-3) vs. #15 Ryder Downey (13-4) or Kaleb Olejniczak (9-5)
165: #2 David Carr (17-1) vs. RJ Weston (20-7) or Jack Thomsen (13-3)
174: #19 MJ Gaitan (14-5) vs. #30 Jared Simma (10-5)
184: #8 Will Feldkamp (10-5) or Tate Naaktgeboren (9-3) vs. #1 Parker Keckeisen (19-0)
197: Julien Broderson (6-6) vs. #23 Wyatt Voelker (11-4)
285: #3 Yonger Bastida (18-0) vs. #16 Tyrell Gordon (6-3) or Adam Ahrendsen (15-6)
*InterMat Indiv. Rankings (2/6/2024)

NOTABLE

Last time out, Iowa State topped No. 17 West Virginia, 29-11, after taking seven of 10 bouts from the Mountaineers. Four Cyclones won with bonus points while Casey Swiderski and David Carr each defeated top-10 opponents.
The Cyclones have won 12 consecutive Big 12 duals inside Hilton Coliseum dating to the 2020-21 season.
ISU is looking for its fifth consecutive win in the series against Northern Iowa. The Cyclones are 30-7 in Ames against the Panthers and haven't lost at home since 2017.
Six of 10 bouts in Friday's matchup between ISU and UNI project to feature two ranked wrestlers, including top-15 battles at 141, 157 and 184 pounds if all ranked individuals wrestle.
MJ Gaitan is on a career-best eight match winning streak with three consecutive wins against a ranked opponent. Last weekend, Gaitan pinned No. 17 Brody Conley in 38 seconds, the fastest pin of his career.
Casey Swiderski is 3-0 with three ranked wins since making his return to the lineup after missing a month and a half due to injury. The sophomore recently picked up his third top-10 win of the season by defeating West Virginia's No. 7 Ty Watters, 7-4, in sudden victory.
Yonger Bastida is still undefeated with an 18-0 record, which includes five victories over top-10 foes. The Cuban has 11 bonus-point wins and has only allowed two takedowns on the year.
David Carr has six wins over top-10 opponents this season. Three of his final four matches of the season will have come against a top-10 adversary.
Iowa State wrestlers have pushed the pace and been aggressive on their feet this season. The Cyclones own a 421-135 takedown advantage over their opponents this season.

FAMILIAR FOES
Iowa State and Northern Iowa will face off for the 82nd time on Sunday, the fifth-most contested series in program history. Two of the last four duals have been decided by only a point.

Most Duals vs. Opponent in Program History
Oklahoma - 101
Nebraska - 98
Oklahoma State - 88
Iowa - 87
Northern Iowa - 81

Last season, MJ Gaitan, a true freshman at the time, delivered the moment of the dual with a comeback victory over No. 24 Lance Runyon. Gaitan trailed 3-0 entering the final period in a pivotal swing match but secured a pair of takedowns, including one that turned into a four-point near fall, to earn the victory for ISU.

MJ Gaitan vs. UNI (2023)

MEDIA AVAILABILITY
(Kevin Dresser, Evan Frost, Cody Chittum)

Primer: No. 4 Iowa State vs. No. 17 Northern Iowa

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Yonger Bastida

Julien Broderson

David Carr

Cody Chittum

Anthony Echemendia

Will Feldkamp

Evan Frost

MJ Gaitan

Tate Naaktgeboren

Zach Redding

Casey Swiderski

Kysen Terukina

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics

Primer: No. 4 Iowa State vs. No. 17 Northern Iowa

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Yonger Bastida

Julien Broderson

David Carr

Cody Chittum

Anthony Echemendia

Will Feldkamp

Evan Frost

MJ Gaitan

Tate Naaktgeboren

Zach Redding

Casey Swiderski

Kysen Terukina

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