ISU Defeats Michigan, 25-15

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Trent Paulson etched his name among distinguished Iowa State wrestlers by becoming the 30th Cyclone to claim 100 career victories as ISU advanced through the first round of action at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals by beating Michigan, 25-15 Saturday in the UNI-Dome. The Cyclones will take on Hofstra, which beat Nebraska 32-6 in the first round, at 3 p.m. in the second round. Iowa State, seeded sixth in the tournament, took six of 10 matches against the Wolverines, as Nick Fanthorpe (125), Nick Gallick (133), Mitch Mueller (141) and Kurt Backes (197) recorded bonus points for the Cyclones.

Paulson, ranked second at 157-pounds, won a 9-2 decision over Jeff Marsh en route to reaching the century career victory plateau as a Cyclone. The two-time All-American scored an early takedown on Marsh and took control of the match in the second period with a reversal and a takedown. The only points Paulson surrendered were escapes in the third period. With another takedown in the final period and 1:29 worth of riding time, Paulson sealed the victory and improved to 14-2.

At 125 pounds, Fanthorpe exploded offensively during the final period and recorded a 16-5 major decision over Mike Watts. Watts kept within range of Fanthorpe, who is ranked 15th nationally, through two periods, trailing 6-3 heading into the final period. The Iowa State freshman then took Watts down three times and tacked on back points to close out the bout. Fanthrope, who finished runner-up in last month's Midlands Championships, has won four matches via major decision and is now 15-5 this season.

Gallick tallied his seventh pin of the season by sticking Chris Diehl in 2:23. Gallick has recorded five pins in less than three minutes in his freshman campaign and is now 18-5.

Mueller earned the match's second major decision with an 11-3 defeat of Justin Chrzanowski at 141 pounds. Ranked 11th nationally, Mueller took the Wolverine down five times and did not give up a takedown. The second period was key for the redshirt freshman as he took Chrzanowski down twice to take a five-point lead going into the final two minutes of action.

Backes put on a dominating offensive performance at 197-pounds, scoring a 19-2 technical fall of Casey White. Giving up an early takedown, the All-American responded with a takedown, a three-point nearfall and back points, all in the first period. Numerous times Backes nearly had White's back on the mat, but was unable to get both shoulders down for the pin. Backes scored back-to-back three-point nearfalls during the second period to go up 16-2. Early in the third period, Backes ended the match with an early takedown. He is 14-2 in his senior campaign and only five wins shy of reaching 100 career victories.

David Zabriskie was the sixth wrestler to emerge victories for ISU by decisioning Omar Maktabi 6-1. Tied 1-1 after an early escape in the final period, Zabriskie rallied by taking Maktabi down and scoring back points. He is 13-6 in his redshirt freshman season.

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Players Mentioned

Kurt Backes

Nick Fanthorpe

Nick Fanthorpe

Nick Gallick

Nick Gallick

Mitch Mueller

Mitch Mueller

Trent Paulson

Trent Paulson

David Zabriskie

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