No. 14 ISU Opens With Two Conference Duals

AMES, Iowa – No. 14 Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) is set to kick off its 2016-17 campaign this weekend with a trip to the Dakotas. The Cyclones will take on the Jack Rabbits of South Dakota State on Friday night and wrap up the weekend with a trip to North Dakota State to dual the Bison on Sunday afternoon.

The duals will also mark the opening of Big 12 action for all three squads. Last season, SDSU and NDSU were added to the Big 12 conference as affiliate members. At the 2016 Conference Championship, Iowa State took third, South Dakota State finished fourth and North Dakota State brought home seventh.

at South Dakota State
Where: Brookings, S.D., Frost Center
When: Friday, Nov. 4 7:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: FloWrestling will broadcast the dual for FloPremium subscribers.
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 North Dakota State
Where: Fargo, N.D., Scheels Center at the SHAC
When: Sunday, Nov. 5 2:00 p.m. CT
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. SDSU History
-Iowa State leads the all-time series against the Jack Rabbits, 9-0
-The two last met in November of 2009, where the Cyclones defeated SDSU, 43-3.
-The series inception was nearly 65 years ago. On Feb. 15, 1952, ISU and SDSU met for the first time. The Cyclones won the dual, 27-2.

ISU vs. NDSU History
-The Cardinal and Gold and North Dakota State have only met on three other occasions. Iowa State was victorious in all three match ups.
-Their last meeting came on Dec. 14, 2013. Iowa State defeated the Bison 22-13 in Fargo.
-On Dec. 13, 2008, the two squads met for the first time. The Cyclones went on to win the inaugural match up, 42-0.

Cyclone Headlines
-Iowa State opens the season with a pair of Big 12 duals to start the season. The Cyclones will take on South Dakota State on Friday evening at 7 p.m. and will close out the weekend with a matchup against the Bison of North Dakota State on Sunday at 2 p.m.
-In 2015-16, ISU posted a 10-6 dual mark. The double-digit wins marked the second-consecutive season that a Kevin Jackson-led squad won 10 or more duals in a season.
-Five Cyclones begin the year ranked in the national polls. Earl Hall (5, 5, 4), Gabe Moreno (17, 16, 14), Lelund Weatherspoon (7, 6, 7), Patrick Downey (7, 9, 6) and Marcus Harrington (17, 19, 19) all begin the year slotted in the top-20 in FloWrestling, TheOpenMat and Intermat rankings.
-Hall (7), Weatherspoon (6) and Downey (5) are all coming off 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.
-The Cyclones also return two other 2016 NCAA-Qualifiers in Kyle Larson and Dante Pestano.
-ISU finished third at the newly-expanded Big 12 Conference Championship. Weatherspoon won his second-career conference title, making him the 56th wrestler in program history to win multiple conference championships.
-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.
-Hall and Weatherspoon are both knocking on the door of 100 career wins. Hall has tallied 81 career wins, and Weatherspoon has compiled 70 career victories. In 2015-16, Hall compiled 33 total wins, while Weatherspoon racked up 27.
-After shuffling around his lineup quite often last season, Coach Jackson's lineup features several weight changes. Moreno will be bumping down to 141 pounds, Dane Pestano will be cutting down to 165 pounds and Downey is set to wrestle at 184 pounds.
-Iowa State's dual season is jam-packed with Big 12 matchups. The Cardinal and Gold is slated to face seven out of the nine other Big 12 and Big 12 affiliate squads.
-In 2017, the Big 12 Championship makes its debut at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. The conference championship will be hosted at the BOK Center in 2017 and 2018.
-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.
-In the offseason, Iowa State named Dana Vote the new Iowa State Wrestling Director of Operations.
-Iowa State head coach Kevin Jackson is in his eighth year leading the Cyclones.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Earl Hall

Marcus Harrington

Kyle Larson

Gabe Moreno

Dane Pestano

Lelund Weatherspoon

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics