"It was a good tournament for us," head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson said. "Our guys wrestled hard and our young guys really went at it hard too. We saw the things we worked on. The level of competition was up this year and that is due to some very good programs from around the area that were here. We are grateful they were able to make the trip."
Jon Reader, the Cyclones' 165-pounder, did not give up a point in his first two matches that both ended in a technical fall. Reader defeated T.H. Leet from Iowa 16-0 (4:28) and Kody Kersten of Iowa Central 15-0 (4:37). Reader capped off his stellar Harold Nichols/Cyclone Open performance by defeating Iowa's Jake Kerr by major decision, 12-1.
"On Thursday, I think I went right back to my old habits," Reader said. "In the practice room we reiterated what I needed to work on this weekend and I put myself in lot more positions to score. And mainly, I had fun. This is my fourth year in a row here and the competition is great. This is a great tournament."
Varner, ranked first in the country at 197 pounds, and Mitch Mueller, ranked 13th at 149 pounds, each claimed their third titles. Mueller tallied a major decision in the 149-pound finals over Cole Schmidt from Wisconsin. Varner scored a major decision over Wisconsin's Trevor Brandvold in the 197-pound finals.
Zabriskie, the No. 2 heavyweight pick, recorded two falls during the day on his way to his second Cyclone Open title. Zabriskie beat Elijah Madison (UNO-Unattch.) in the heavyweight finals, 3-1, in sudden victory.
"It was a good experience," Zabriskie said. "It is a good way to start the year and now I have plenty of tape to go through."
Nick Fanthorpe captured his second title by edging Tyler Graff (UW-Unattch.) in the 133-pound final, 4-2. Fanthorpe notched two falls in the day on his way to the title.
There were two repeat matchups from the Cardinal and Gold intrasquad meet. In the 125-pound final, Tyler Clark decisioned Andrew Long 9-8 and in the 141-pound final, Nick Gallick beat Dalton Jensen, 5-2.
Taking third in the 157-pound class was freshman Matt Brown as he recorded six victories on the day.
The Cyclone wrestling team went an outstanding 12-3 in the opening round, while recording seven pins during the stretch. Dalton Jensen (141) stuck Brian Litch of Nebraska in 1:15 and Jared Ramsay (165) pinned Dylan Azinger in 1:28.
The Cyclones will hit the road for their next action at Wisconsin Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.. Uwbadgers.com, the official Wisconsin website, is providing a free, live web broadcast. The ISU squad then returns home to face Arizona State Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.
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