Iowa State starts slow, finishes strong, crowns three All-Americans at NCAA Wrestling

DETROIT, Mich. — The state of Iowa’s two Big 12 wrestling programs both finished in the top 20 at this week’s NCAA Championships, but they both got there by taking opposite paths through this three-day rollercoaster of a tournament.

Iowa State and Northern Iowa locked up 17th and 20th place, respectively, and combined for four total All-Americans on Saturday — three for the Cyclones, one for the Panthers.

Let’s start with Iowa State, who started slow and finished strong this week — slow being a 4-14 overall record during Thursday’s first two sessions; strong being a 15-3 record the rest of the way.

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That strong two-day record came largely from the Cyclones’ three All-Americans: David Carr (157 pounds), Marcus Coleman (184) and Yonger Bastida (197). That’s the most for the program since 2016, when Earl Hall (133), Lelund Weatherspoon (184) and Pat Downey (197) all earned the distinction under former head coach Kevin Jackson. 

Carr, the 1-seed this week and returning NCAA champion, lost in Thursday’s second round, 2-1 in overtime to Oregon State’s Hunter Willits, snapping a 55-match winning streak. He started a new one on Friday, winning six in a row — including three by two points or fewer — to finish third and become a two-time All-American. 

“Thursday was probably one of the toughest days of my life,” Carr said. “I really didn’t want to wrestle any matches … but every match, I wanted to give my all and give God the glory. Every match I wrestled was a form of worship for him, but wrestling for him, that made it easy.”

Coleman and Bastida followed Carr’s lead, turning second-round losses into first-time All-American finishes across both Friday and Saturday.

Coleman, just two weeks removed from the death of his grandfather, outscored his first three wrestleback opponents, 37-16, to reach the top eight at 184 pounds. He fell to Saturday’s seventh-place match, where he topped Cornell’s Jonathan Loew, 8-3.

“There’s still things to build on, but it was nice to experience the payoff,” Coleman said. “I think it was focus. Over time, I’ve been working hard for years, just making small investments, and now I’m getting paid out.”

Bastida, the Cuban freestyle star who’s been wrestling collegiate folkstyle for just 24 months, took the same route to the podium at 197, winning four straight wrestleback matches, including three by two points or fewer, to ultimately reach the fifth-place match. There, he pinned Ohio State’s Gavin Hoffman in the first period to take fifth.

“(Collegiate folkstyle), this is the hardest wrestling in the world,” Bastida said. “I worked hard for this.”

Their performances left Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser in a happier mood than the one he was left with on Thursday. He was encouraged by the response from Carr, Coleman and Bastida, and believes they’ll be leaders for an Iowa State team that seeks to climb higher in the team standings next season.

For Northern Iowa, the hot start came first.

The Panthers scored 15 points for sixth overall in the team race after Thursday’s first two sessions thanks to a flurry of bonus points. The slow finish quickly followed, as they finished with just 28.5 points to tie Rutgers for 20th overall in the team race.

The bulk of that came from Parker Keckeisen. The Wisconsin native lost in Friday’s quarterfinals, 6-5 to Cal Poly’s Bernie Truax, then won four in a row in the wrestlebacks to take third, a run capped by a 6-4 revenge win over Truax for third and that included an intense 7-5 overtime win over NC State’s Trent Hidlay, last year’s NCAA runner-up.

“It was bittersweet,” Keckeisen said. “Got redemption there, but every time I step on the mat, I need to wrestle like it's my last, and I didn't wrestle like it was my last. Taking that mindset and having it for today.

“I love to scrap. Those were fun matches — that third-place match and in the (wrestleback semifinals). I love the deep waters.”

Outside of Keckeisen, the Panthers struggled on day two of competition. After six of Northern Iowa’s eight qualifiers reached the second day of the national tournament, only Keckeisen finished on the podium. He is now a two-time All-American, the 35th multiple-time All-American in program history.

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