Late Victories Lift No. 3 Iowa State Over West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — With four wrestlers ranked in the Top 10 within the five heavyweight classes, Iowa State has garnered the reputation for finishing matches strong over the past handful of seasons, and Friday night inside the WVU Coliseum was no different.

Trailing 13-10 through seven bouts, the No. 3 ranked Cyclones rattled off three straight victories to close out the match and seal a 20-13 victory over the Mountaineers.

The triumph gives Iowa State (13-2, 6-0 Big 12) its sixth consecutive win overall and fifth straight over West Virginia dating back to 2017. The Cyclones are now 25-2 in their last 27 dual meets and have not lost a Big 12 match in over two calendar years, with the last being a fall to Oklahoma State on Jan. 30, 2021.

West Virginia dropped its third match in a row to slip to 7-4 overall and 1-4 in the Big 12. The Mountaineers are now 3-25 combined against ranked opponents under fifth-year head coach Tim Flynn.

More Tough Competition on the Way for WVU Wrestling Team

With the match tied at 10-10 through six bouts, West Virginia senior Scott Joll sparked the WVU Coliseum crowd with an 8-2 decision over Julien Broderson at 174 pounds that gave the Mountaineers a three-point advantage. The official attendance was announced at 1,494, the third-largest in West Virginia program history.

Following Joll’s win, Iowa State’s stars took over in the last three matches.

No. 4 ranked Marcus Coleman defeated Anthony Carman 9-5 at 184 to even the score before No. 3 Yonger Bastida gave the Cyclones the lead for good with a 17-8 major decision victory over Austin Cooley at 197. Iowa State’s No. 8 ranked heavyweight Sam Schuyler capped the match by edging Michael Wolfgram 4-2.

West Virginia began the meet on a high note, using the talent from its lightweights to jump out to a 10-0 lead. No. 9 ranked Killian Cardinale extended his unbeaten streak with a 3-2 win over Caleb Fuessley at 125 pounds. Cardinale, a sixth-year senior, is now 9-0 on the season.

Mountaineers redshirt freshman Davin Rhoads snapped a four-match losing streak by taking down Zach Redding 6-2 at 133 pounds. Jordan Titus then coasted by Casey Swiderski 11-3 at 141 to extend West Virginia’s lead.

The Cyclones answered with three straight wins to tie the match. No. 9 ranked Paniro Johnson defeated No. 21 Sam Hillegas 14-4 at 149 pounds and Jason Kaisser overcame an early deficit to edge Alex Hornfeck 5-3 at 157.

No. 11 ranked Peyton Hall, who is statistically West Virginia’s top performer this season, was tasked with taking on No. 2 David Carr, a former national champion, at 165 pounds. Carr used two early takedowns to gain an edge he would never lose en route to claiming an 8-2 win.

Carr improved his record to 16-0 for the 2022-23 season and has now won 22 consecutive matches dating back to last year, which is the sixth-longest active streak in Division I.

West Virginia will continue its homestand with a contest against No. 14 Northern Iowa at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Panthers have won all three of their matchups against the Mountaineers since the teams’ rivalry was rekindled in 2019 after a 28-year hiatus.

The match can be streamed live via Big 12 Now on ESPN+.