Upcoming Event: Wrestling versus Cyclone Invitational on November 8, 2025 at 10:00 AM
10:00 AM
Wrestling
Cyclone Invitational
Iowa State University Athletics
Sunday, February 24
Ames, Iowa
2:00 PM
Iowa State University
22
vs
12
Nebraska
Bertolino and No. 6 ISU Upend No. 2 Nebraska, 22-12
02.24.2008 | Wrestling
AMES, Iowa ? Iowa State 197-pound wrestler David Bertolino brought a frantic Hilton Coliseum crowd of 3,330 fans to their feet with a dramatic 7-6 tie-breaker upset of No. 6 Craig Brester of Nebraska and Nick Gallick pinned Mike Rowe at 141 pounds to lead the sixth-rated Cyclones to a 22-12 win over the No. 2 Huskers Sunday. Iowa State finished the season with a 16-4 dual record and a 3-1 mark against Big 12 opposition. A Nebraska win Sunday would have marked the first time in the 98-year history of its wrestling program that the Huskers had swept its conference opponents in dual action. Instead, the Huskers finish the season at 14-3 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 action. The Cyclones will now prepare for the Big 12 Championships March 8 in Stillwater, Okla.
“It was a great way to end the season,” Iowa State head coach Cael
Sanderson said. “The match is more important individually than as a
team score. We were in nine matches against a very good team, we were
aggressive in every match and won the majority of them. This is exactly
how we want to be wrestling heading into the Big 12 Championships. We
will go back to work this week and get ready to go for Stillwater.”
ISU
won six of 10 bouts, including a 14-4 major decision win by No. 12
Cyler Sanderson over Chris Oliver at 157 pounds. The Cyclones lead the
all-time series 78-14-2 and have won two straight against Nebraska.
In
a marathon bout, the 13th-ranked Bertolino emerged victorious with an
escape from Brester 10 seconds into the second tie breaker. The Cyclone
senior notched a takedown in both the first and second periods for a
6-4 lead, but Brester was able to close the gap and tie the match 6-6
with a pair of escapes in the second and third periods. Neither
wrestler was able to score in a 60-second sudden victory round, pushing
the bout to a tie-breaker. Brester, a 2007 NCAA qualifier, chose to
start the first tie-breaker from the down position, but Bertolino was
able to maintain his ride, not allowing Brester to escape. Ten seconds
into the second tie-breaker, Bertolino freed himself and was awarded a
point for the escape that eventually won the match. Bertolino improves
to 20-10 this season. Brester is 20-4.
“It all came together,”
Bertolino said. “The crowd was really into it. It was my last match in
Hilton and the pace of the match worked to my advantage. The match took
like 20 minutes. Fatigue was a factor.”
ISU All-American Jake
Varner moved to 23-0 with a 5-1 decision over No. 12 Vince Jones at 184
pounds to open the dual. The top-rated Varner used a first-period
takedown and a second-period reversal en route to the win. The
Bakersfield, Calif., native also racked up over five minutes of riding
time.
Iowa State went up 9-0 when No. 6 heavyweight David
Zabriskie, a sophomore, defeated No. 16 Jon May, 3-1 on a last-second
takedown. A scoreless first period led to both big men exchanging
escapes in the second and third periods to even the score at 1-1. With
seven seconds remaining in the match, May had a shot on Zabriskie, but
the Cyclone countered and was awarded the winning takedown. The
reigning Big 12 champ, Zabriskie has not dropped a match to a
conference opponent in his career (12-0) and improves to 24-4.
Nebraska
won its first bout of the day with defending NCAA champion Paul Donahoe
picking up a 5-4 decision over No. 15 Tyler Clark via 1:25 of riding
time at 125 pounds. ISU added to its lead before heading into
intermission on No. 7 Nick Fanthorpe's 6-4 decision over No. 9 Kenny
Jordan at 133 pounds. Fanthorpe's win improves his record to 26-4. The
Iowa State sophomore led the squad with 64 dual takedowns and 67 dual
points scored this season.
Coming out of the break, Gallick
notched the second pin of his sophomore campaign with a 4:17 stick of
No. 13 Mike Rowe. During the opening three minutes, Gallick struck with
a takedown and rolled Rowe's shoulders on two occasions for pair of
back points, a three-point and two-point nearfall, for a 7-1 advantage
heading into the second period. The sophomore from Tucson, Ariz., used
a spladle to get the pin. His record now stands at 20-11.
“The
spladle is part of my offense,” the 16th-rated Gallick said. “I like
it. I am good there. Now we get ready for the Big 12 Championship.”
Sanderson
registered his eighth major decision with the victory over Oliver. The
ISU sophomore notched a pair of takedowns in each period and allowed
none. He now has a record of 26-4.
Prior to the start of the
dual, six ISU wrestling seniors were honored. The senior class
includes: Bertolino, Ben Hanisch, Adam Ketcher, Aron Scott, Anthony
White and Jerome Whitter.
Iowa State will have two weeks off
before heading to Stillwater, Okla. to defend the Big 12 title it won
in 2007. Hosted by Oklahoma State, the all-day tournament will take
place in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Live stats will be available throughout
the day on cyclones.com.
IOWA STATE 22, NEBRASKA 12
184 ? Jake Varner (ISU) dec. Vince Jones (NU), 5-1
197 ? David Bertolino (ISU) dec. Craig Brester (NU), 7-6 (TB)
HWT ? David Zabriskie (ISU) dec. Jon May (NU), 3-1
125 ? Paul Donahoe (NU) dec. Tyler Clark (ISU), 5-4
133 ? Nick Fanthorpe (ISU) dec. Kenny Jordan (NU), 6-4
141 ? Nick Gallick (ISU) pinned Mike Rowe (NU), 4:17
149 ? Jordan Burroughs (NU) dec. Mitch Mueller (ISU), 11-5
157 ? Cyler Sanderson (ISU) maj. dec. Chris Oliver (NU), 14-4
165 ? Stephen Dwyer (NU) dec. Jon Reader (ISU), 6-5
174 ? Brandon Browne (NU) dec. Aron Scott (ISU), 7-3
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