Cyclones Fall At No. 3 Iowa, 26-9

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa State wrestling team (1-4, 1-3 Big 12) fell to No. 3 Iowa (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) by a score of 26-9 in Carver Hawkeye Arena on Saturday night. The Cyclones got victories from Quean Smith (HWT), No. 10 Earl Hall (133 pounds) and Marcus Harrington (197 pounds), but were unable to pull off a few near-upsets to narrow the gap.

Quean Smith came out of the gates and got things going in Iowa State's favor in the first match of the dual at heavyweight against Iowa's Steven Holloway. The redshirt senior from Detroit, Michigan controlled the match throughout, picking up four takedowns and found a way to keep Holloway from connecting on his offense. Leading 5-3 in the third period, Smith solidified the win with a takedown with 1:03 left in the match, eventually locking up the riding time point and collecting one last takedown for a 10-5 victory.

No. 10 Earl Hall also took care of business in his 133-pound bout against Hawkeye junior Phillip Laux. The senior from Homestead, Florida opened up in the first period with a pair of takedowns, including a double-leg in the first minute of the match. Laux was able to fend off Hall's offensive attack from that point forward, but was unable to get anything going himself. Hall came away with a 5-3 win, giving Iowa State a 6-5 advantage through three matches.

The tide turned toward the home team in the ensuing matches, as Iowa got a 7-4 decision at 141 followed by a major decision at 149 to lead 13-6 at the intermission. At 157, redshirt freshman Colston DiBlasi showed flashes of his potential in his match-up with Iowa's No. 4-ranked Michael Kemerer. DiBlasi controlled much of the match on top and came up with a pair of reversals, to give himself a chance, but in the end a four-point nearfall by Kemerer in the second period proved to be too much to overcome, as DiBlasi fell 8-7.

Marcus Harrington got Iowa State back in the win column in his 197-pound bout with Cash Wilcke in the final match of the evening. Harrington came through with a timely takedown with just eight ticks left in the opening period to take the lead. The sophomore from Waterloo, Iowa picked up escapes in the second and third and came out with a hard-fought 4-3 victory.

Match of the Night: 285 Pounds
Quean Smith's victory at heavyweight got Iowa State on the scoreboard to open the dual. Wrestling in the final Cy-Hawk dual of his career, Smith made the most of the opportunity and controlled the match throughout, picking up a 10-5 win with 1:45 of riding time.

Next Up
The Cyclones will be back in action Dec. 29-30 at the Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern, in Evanston, Ill.

ISU vs. Iowa Match-by-Match
285: Quean Smith (ISU) dec. Steven Holloway (UI), 10-5 (1:45 RT)
125: Thomas Gillman (UI) tech. fall Markus Simmons (ISU), 19-4
133: Earl Hall (ISU) dec. Phillip Laux (UI), 5-3
141: Topher Carton (UI) dec. John Meeks (ISU), 7-4
149: Brandon Sorensen (UI) mdec. Chase Straw (ISU), 11-3 (3:06 RT)
157: Michael Kemerer (UI) dec. Colston DiBlasi (ISU), 8-7
165: Joey Gunther (UI) dec. Dane Pestano (ISU), 3-2
174: Alex Meyer (UI) dec. Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU), 5-3
184: Sammy Brooks (UI) tech. fall Carson Powell (ISU), 19-3
197: Marcus Harrington (ISU) dec. Cash Wilcke (UI), 4-3

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Players Mentioned

Colston DiBlasi

Earl Hall

Marcus Harrington

John Meeks

Dane Pestano

Carson Powell

Markus Simmons

Quean Smith

Chase Straw

Lelund Weatherspoon

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics