Wrestling: Iowa State dominates Chattanooga at Hilton Coliseum

AMES, Ia. — The Chattanooga wrestling team hasn’t found much luck in the state of Iowa.

Last month, the Mocs traveled to Iowa City to face top-ranked Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes rolled to a 39-0 victory and scored bonus points in half the matches.

On Saturday night, Chattanooga made a return trip, this time to Hilton Coliseum to take on 15th-ranked Iowa State. The results weren’t much different, as the Cyclones beat the Mocs, 26-7.

The victory pushes Iowa State to 2-1 this season, the other victory coming over Bucknell last month. The Cyclones dominated Chattanooga, winning eight of 10 bouts. They managed distinct advantages in total match points, 70-46, and total takedowns, 21-10.

Only David Carr produced bonus points for the Cyclones, rolling up eight takedowns en route to a 21-6 technical fall over Tyler Shilson at 157 pounds. The redshirt freshman nearly pinned Shilson in the second period, then scored three takedowns in the third period to put Iowa State up 14-4 midway through the dual.

Outside of Carr, every other Cyclone won by decision. Four Iowa State wrestlers won by two points or fewer, and three won thanks to scoring sequences in the third period.

At 133, Todd Small scored a takedown with less than 10 seconds left to defeat Franco Valdez, 7-6. It was not Small’s best outing, especially after his fourth-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational put him into Trackwrestling’s national rankings this week. But the 10th-ranked Small overcame two Valdez takedowns to secure his 10th win of the year.

At 174, Marcus Coleman edged Hunter Fortner, 6-4, thanks to a third-period takedown. Fortner tied the match at 3-all on a second-period takedown and led 4-3 after an escape in the third. Coleman, ranked 14th nationally, scored near the edge and then rode Fortner out for the final 70 seconds to win.

Right after, at 184, Sam Colbray scored a takedown in sudden victory to defeat Matthew Waddell 3-1. Colbray, ranked 12th nationally by Track, wiggled out of a scramble off his own shot to come out on top and mathematically clinch the dual for the Cyclones with two matches still to go.

Elsewhere, Iowa State’s other decision victories were won handily.

Alex Mackall opened the dual with a 7-1 decision over Fabian Gutierrez at 125. Ian Parker scored three takedowns in a 10-4 win over Mason Wallace at 141. Chase Straw used two minutes of riding time to beat Drew Nicholson, 5-3, at 165. Gannon Gremmel closed the dual with two takedowns and over four minutes of riding time in a 6-0 win over Grayson Walthall at heavyweight.

The Cyclones’ two match losses came where their regular starters were absent — but for different reasons.

Jarrett Degen, Iowa State’s All-American at 149 pounds, injured his shoulder in Vegas, and took the bench to rest on this night. Clear Lake native Ryan Leisure took the mat and gave up two takedowns and four nearfall points in the third period in a 13-1 loss to Tanner Smith.

At 197, the staff opted for Iowa City West product Francis Duggan over Joel Shapiro, who had started the first two duals and competed in Vegas. A 3-5 record in that span prompted the staff to give Duggan the nod on Saturday. His dual debut was less than ideal, as he surrendered three takedowns in an 8-4 loss to 28th-ranked Rodney Jones.

A 2-1 dual record, plus a sixth-place finish in Vegas, has shown that the Cyclones are on par with their preseason expectations — a team with top-10 potential, but with work still to do. Iowa State won't compete again until the Southern Scuffle, set for Jan. 1-2, and won't return to Hilton until Jan. 19, when it hosts North Dakota State.

Chattanooga, meanwhile, falls to 3-5 overall and will see the Cyclones again at the Scuffle. The Mocs are 0-2 against Iowa teams this year — and no, Northern Iowa is not on their schedule.

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

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No. 15 Iowa State 26, UT-Chattanooga 7

• 125: No. 13 Alex Mackall (ISU) dec. Fabian Gutierrez (UTC), 7-1
• 133: No. 10 Todd Small (ISU) dec. Franco Valdez (UTC), 7-6
• 141: No. 8 Ian Parker (ISU) dec. Mason Wallace (UTC), 10-4
• 149: No. 27 Tanner Smith (UTC) maj. dec. Ryan Leisure (ISU), 13-1
• 157: No. 3 David Carr (ISU) tech. fall Tyler Shilson (UTC), 21-6
• 165: No. 32 Chase Straw (ISU) dec. Drew Nicholson (UTC), 5-3
• 174: No. 14 Marcus Coleman (ISU) dec. Hunter Fortner (UTC), 6-4
• 184: No. 12 Sam Colbray (ISU) dec. No. 17 Matthew Waddell (UTC), 3-1 (SV1)
• 197: No. 28 Rodney Jones (UTC) dec. Francis Duggan (ISU), 8-4
• 285: No. 12 Gannon Gremmel (ISU) dec. Grayson Walthall (UTC), 6-0

Rankings from Trackwrestling.