AMES – No. 6 Iowa State fell to No. 20 Stanford 23-21 Friday. The Cyclones entered the dual down five starters including a surprise absence in No. 5 ranked sophomore Evan Frost.
“Evan [Frost] just did not do a good job with his weight,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said. “He made weight, but did not make weight the way you’re supposed to.”
Despite being down 23-16 at the end of the meet, freshman Daniel Herrera gave the Cyclone faithful something to cheer about in his first appearance in Hilton.
“I think him getting that exposure and getting after it should tell you the next four years of Cyclone wrestling and how dominant we’re going to be,” redshirt freshman Christian Carroll said.
Herrera tallied six takedowns and took the match by technical fall.
“It was a mismatch, but when you get a mismatch it’s your job to go beat the doo doo out of the guy,” Dresser said.
“As you can see he went up there and tried to put on a show,” senior Anthony Echemendia said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do and see him make a name for himself.”
The dual meet started out at 133 pounds due to Stanford forfeiting the 125-pound weight class. Sophomore Garret Grice filled in for Frost against Stanford’s No. 20 Tyler Knox. Knox controlled the entire match.
The highly anticipated 149 matchup did not disappoint. Stanford’s No. 10 ranked Jadan Abas controlled the first period, but No. 6 ranked Echemendia dominated the rest of the match, scoring two takedowns to lead to victory.
Iowa State’s Connor Euton had his hands full with Stanford’s No. 7 Hunter Garvin. Garvin got a quick takedown before Euton would earn a point from an escape.
Going into the final period, Euton earned a crucial point off the jump to be down 4-2, but ultimately Garvin prevailed with a takedown to take the match 7-3.
“I thought Euton competed really well,” Dresser said. “But for the first time he’s been in Hilton in a big match, I thought he did a really good job.”
Iowa State needed some noise from senior Evan Bockman to help get the Cyclones back in the match. Bockman was relatively quiet until the third period, but that is where he turned it around. He had three takedowns and would bring the Cyclones within 10 with two bouts to go.
“I thought Bock[man] really came back in the end and worked hard to get bonus points for the team,” Dresser said.
Iowa State turned to Carroll after an impressive performance from Bockman. He had two takedowns right off the bat against Stanford’s No. 17 Nick Stemmet before a lengthy challenge halted play.
That didn’t stop Carroll as he stretched his lead to 11-6 before a couple escapes from Stammet had it at 11-7. Carroll rode his momentum to a decision win and his first of the season but could not get the Cyclones within striking distance for Herrera.
“It was my first collegiate match and the first time at the weight since sophomore year of high school,” Carroll said. “I can say it’s my first match or whatever, but I need to get better.”
Iowa State returns to action next Friday against Navy at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.