Cyclones Begin Postseason At Big 12 Championship

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State wrestling team (8-10, 3-6 Big 12) is headed to Tulsa, Okla., for the Big 12 Championship. This year's conference tournament returns to the BOK Center.

There will be 45 automatic qualifying spots up for grabs for the NCAA Championships, which are set for March 15-17 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Where: Tulsa, Oklahoma – BOK Center
When: Saturday, March 3, Session I (11 a.m.) Session II (5 p.m.) – Sunday, March 4, Session III (12 p.m.) Session IV (6 p.m.)
Live Stats: Live results and match-by-match updates will be available through FloArena.
Live Broadcast: Sessions I-III: Flowrestling.org ($) - Session IV: Fox Sports regional affiliates (check your local listings.)
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneWR on Twitter for live scoring, match-by-match results and behind-the-scenes content.

Iowa State Pre-Seeds
125: Sinjin Briggs - 9
133: Markus Simmons - 11
141: Ian Parker - 4
149: Jarrett Degen - 4
157: Chase Straw - 6
165: Skyler St. John - 9
174: Danny Bush - 12
184: Dane Pestano - 7
197: Sam Colbray - 5
285: Marcus Harrington - 2
Seeds subject to change.

Big 12 Championship History
Last year: 6th – 65 team points
Team Titles – 3
Last Team Title – 2009 (Tied Nebraska)
Individual Titles – 37

Cyclone Notebook
-Iowa State opens up the 2018 postseason at the Big 12 Championship. This year's conference tournament returns to Tulsa, Okla. and the BOK Center.
-The Big 12 expanded its conference championship to a two day tournament two years ago with the addition of six affiliate members. This year, they've added two more teams, Fresno State and Northern Iowa.
-Last week, the NCAA announced the automatic bids that each conference received for the NCAA Championships. The Big 12 received a total of 45. (125 - 7, 133 - 5, 141 - 3, 149 - 5, 157 - 3, 165 - 6, 174 - 5, 184 - 4, 197 - 4, 285 - 3).
-Five Cyclone wrestlers received a top-six pre-seed in their respective brackets. Marcus Harrington is No. 2 at heavyweight, Ian Parker and Jarrett Degen are No. 4 at 141 and 149 pounds, Sam Colbray received the No. 5 seed at 197 and Chase Straw is slated No. 6 at 157.
-This will be the first trip to the postseason for eight out of the 10 ISU wrestlers in the lineup. Dane Pestano and Marcus Harrington are both making their second appearance at the Big 12 championship.
-Prior to the Big 12 Championship, the conference announced its Academic All-Big 12 selections. Brady Jennings, Chase Straw, Colin Strickland and Hank Swalla all earned first team honors. Ian Parker was a second team honoree.
-Iowa State's win against North Dakota State was the largest comeback victory in program history. At the intermission, ISU trailed 20-3, but went on to win the final five matches, including a 10-2 major decision in the dual's finale from Marcus Harrington. The Cyclones won on criteria, most matches won, 6-4.
-Sam Colbray earned Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors after pinning South Dakota State's Nat Rotert in the third period of the dual against the Jackrabbits.
-Ian Parker was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week after beating No. 26 Mike Longo of Oklahoma by 4-2 decision and No. 4 Dean Heil of Oklahoma State by 3-1 decision.
-Parker's win over the national champ makes him the first Cyclone to defeat a reigning champ since David Zabriskie beat Missouri's Mark Ellis in 2010. Since the weight class change in 1999, only six Iowa State grapplers have accomplished this feat in dual action.
-Parker and Colbray become just the fifth freshman duo to be named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week in the same year and the first Cyclone pair since Cael Sanderson and Joe Heskett in 1999.
-ISU's win over WVU is the first Big 12 victory at home for Iowa State since Feb. 14, 2016, which was also against West Virginia.
-At the Virginia Duals, the Cyclones took down Virginia, Old Dominion, Lock Haven and Fresno State. Their only defeat came at the hands of eventual tournament champion, Arizona State.
-Prior to the defeat of Oregon State, the Cyclones hadn't won a dual since Nov. 26, 2016. ISU also broke a nine-match home losing streak, which dated back to Feb. 14, 2016.
-In total, 23 wrestlers competed for Iowa State in dual competition this season, which was well over half of the roster. The Cyclones featured 16 different lineups this year.
-The Cyclones had five wrestlers with seven or more dual wins. Sam Colbray (8), Chase Straw (8), Jarrett Degen (10), Dane Pestano (10) and Marcus Harrington (11) were anchors in the Iowa State lineup.
-Those five all tallied 18 or more takedowns in duals this season. Pestano (45), Degen (37), Harrington (26) Straw (23) and Colbray (18).
-Last year, Iowa State wrestled in 13 duals. They recorded 46 individual wins and 124 total takedowns. Through 13 duals this season, the Cyclones racked up 63 individual wins and 182 takedowns.
-Iowa State had a trio of freshmen redshirting this year that are performed very well unattached. Marcus Coleman posted a 24-2 record with his only losses coming to UNI's Taylor Lujan. Ryan Leisure was 22-4. After sitting out the first half of the year, Austin Gomez finally got in on the action. He was a perfect 8-0 in three events. The three combined for 11 tournament wins and 25 total bonus-point victories.

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Players Mentioned

Sinjin Briggs

Danny Bush

Marcus Coleman

Jarrett Degen

Austin Gomez

Marcus Harrington

Brady Jennings

Ryan Leisure

Ian Parker

Dane Pestano

Skyler St. John

Chase Straw

Colin Strickland

Hank Swalla

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics