Iowa State junior Jerome Ward found his team needing a win in the last match of the dual to beat Virginia Tech. Ward stepped up for the team and defeated Chris Penny 6-4 to secure a 17-16 win for the Cyclones.
The Cyclones got off to a slow start with losses at 285, 125 and 133 pounds, but Chris Drouin was determined to get the momentum going Iowa State's way. Drouin defeated returning All-American Chris Diaz in a hard-fought 2-1 victory.
"Chris Drouin battled back in a match against a really tough kid," Iowa State head coach Kevin Jackson said. "It was a match that we needed to win and he went out there and got it done."
Nate Carr, Jr. garnered the deciding takedown with only eight seconds left in overtime to defeat Brian Stephens at 149 pounds.
Andrew Sorenson and Jon Reader came through with two of the most impressive performances of the Virginia Tech dual as both wrestlers pounded their opposition on their way to major decisions.
"Andrew Sorenson came out and competed exactly like he trains, like a Cyclone," Jackson said. "He really took it to a kid that was rated ahead of him, and I really think that was the most important match in the dual for us. Jon Reader just came out and dominated, which is exactly what we expected of him."
True freshman Matt Riley wrestled well but was unable to crack his opponent's defense in the match at 184-pounds, falling 1-0.
After the 184-pound match, the team score was 16-14 in favor of Virginia Tech, but Ward would not allow the win to slip through the fingers of the Cyclones.
Junior 285-pounder Kyle Simonson started off the Kent State dual in exciting fashion with a pin over Brenden Barlow, the 14th-ranked heavyweight in the nation.
"Kyle's pin was a huge way for us to start the dual," Jackson said. "He is a pro the way that he wrestles and he sticks to what he does well. He pinned a highly-ranked kid, and I expect him to jump up in the rankings as well."
In the first dual match of his Iowa State career, Brandon Jones dominated Sean Collins the entire match en route to 9-3 victory.
Drouin immediately notched his second victory as a Cyclone with an 11-4 victory over Chase Skonieczny, while compiling well over three minutes of riding time.
Nate Carr won another close match with a 2-1 decision victory over Marcell Clopton.
Chris Spangler won a back-and-forth match over Ross Tice in overtime. Spangler notched the winning takedown with fifteen seconds left.
Jon Reader dominated from the whistle in his match against Chris Estep. The two-time All-American piled up six takedowns in the third period to ice the dual with a 24-9 technical fall.
Tyler Christensen and Phil Hawes suffered defeats from a pair of tough opponents to close out the dual.
"We have to clean things up and improve before we hit the mat tomorrow," Jackson said. "We did not wrestle great today, but we won, and that is what matters. We expect to wrestle better and bring a lot of intensity tomorrow."
The Cyclones will be back in action Sunday at the Hokie Open in Salem, Va.
Iowa State vs. Virginia Tech
285 pounds - David Marone dec. Matt Gibson, 7-4
125 pounds - Jarrod Garnett dec. Patrick Hunter, 7-2
133 pounds - Devin Carter tech. Ben Cash, 23-8
141 pounds - Chris Drouin dec. Chris Diaz, 2-1
149 pounds - Nate Carr, Jr. dec. Brian Stephens, 6-4
157 pounds - Pete Yates dec. Trent Weatherman, 8-1
165 pounds - Andrew Sorenson mdec. Matt Epperly, 13-3
174 pounds - Jon Reader mdec. Nick Vetterlein, 14-6
184 pounds - Tommy Spellman dec. Matt Riley, 1-0
197 pounds - Jerome Ward dec. Chris Penny, 6-4
Iowa State vs. Kent State
285 pounds - Kyle Simonson pin Brenden Barlow, 6:18
125 pounds - Nic Bedelyon pin Patrick Hunter, 0:47
133 pounds - Brandon Jones dec. Sean Collins, 9-3
141 pounds - Chris Drouin dec. Chase Skonieczny, 11-4
149 pounds - Nate Carr, Jr. dec. Marcel Clopton, 2-1
157 pounds - Matt Cathell pin Trent Weatherman, 6:38
165 pounds - Chris Spangler dec. Ross Tice, 7-5
174 pounds - Jon Reader tech. Chris Estep, 24-9
184 pounds - Casey Newburg dec. Tyler Christensen, 8-2
197 pounds - Dustin Kilgore mdec. Phil Hawes, 13-2
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