Iowa State Wrestling: 2014-15 Season Review

AMES, Iowa – The No. 8 Iowa State wrestling team (11-2, 2-1 Big 12) posted one of the best regular season performances in the Kevin Jackson-era during the 2014-15 campaign. The Cyclones' 11 wins is tied for the most since Jackson took over the program in 2009.

The ISU wrestlers capped off their impressive regular season output with a runner-up finish at the Big 12 Championships and qualifying seven grapplers for the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal and Gold took 14th place at the 85th NCAA Championships, held in St. Louis, with 39 team points.

Iowa State senior Kyven Gadson put the finishing touches on the Cyclones' season as he captured both a Big 12 championship and an NCAA championship at 197-pounds. At the NCAAs, Gadson pinned Junior World Champion Kyle Snyder of Ohio State in 4:24 to become Jackson's fourth individual NCAA champion.

Following ISU wrestling team's success in 2014-15, Iowa State elected to extend Coach Jackson's contract through the 2017-18 season.

Weight-by-Weight Breakdown
125 – Kyle Larson
- 20-13 record (6-7 dual)
- Won the Kaye Young Open
- Finished third at the UNI Open
- Returns to the Cyclone line-up in 2015-16
133 – Earl Hall
- 27-8 record (10-3 dual)
- NCAA Qualifier – No. 7 seed (Round of 12)
- Wrestled to a 2-2 record at the NCAA Championships
- Big 12 runner-up
- Southern Scuffle Champion
- Finished fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
- Pinned 2015 NCAA champion Cody Brewer (1:02) in the ISU-OU dual
- Started 2015 off with 12-0 record, including five wins against top-10 opponents
- Won the Kaye Young Open
- Second on the team in wins (27)
- Returns to the Cyclone line-up in 2015-16
141 – Dante Rodriguez
- 19-8 record (6-2 dual)
- NCAA Qualifier – Unseeded
- Recorded a 1-2 record at the NCAA Championships
- Big 12 runner-up
- Second on the team in falls with 12 on the year
- Won the Kaye Young Open
- Returns to the Cyclone line-up in 2015-16
149 – Gabe Moreno
- 26-7 record (11-2 dual)
- NCAA Qualifier – No. 9 seed
- Finished third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
- Second on the team in major-decision wins (5)
- Earned Academic All-Big 12 first team honors for the second time
- Won the Kaye Young Open
- Returns to the Cyclone line-up in 2015-16
157 – Luke Goettl
- 18-10 record (6-7 dual)
- Capped off his career with a pin at the Big 12 Championships over Brutus Sceffel (WVU) in 0:28
- The fall was the second fastest in Big 12 Championships history
- Won the UNI Open
- Garnered his 50th career victory when he beat Grandview's Tre Rutz by 16-0 technical-fall
- Won the Kaye Young Open
165 – Michael Moreno
- 25-5 record (12-1 dual)
- NCAA Qualifier – No. 2 Seed (Round of 12)
- Finished with a 3-2 record at the NCAA Championships
- Secured his 90th career victory with a fall over Max Rohskopf of North Carolina State in 3:42
- Moreno pinned three opponents at the NCAAs, the most by a Cyclone wrestler since Cael Sanderson (1999)
- Big 12 runner-up
- Pinned then-No. 2 Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin in 4:26 on Senior Day
- Finished in third place at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
- Second on the team in bonus-point victories (17)
- Earned Academic All-big 12 first team honors
- Won the Kaye Young Open
174 – Tanner Weatherman
- 23-10 record (9-4 dual)
- NCAA Qualifier – No. 13 seed
- Big 12 runner-up
- Finished in seventh place at the Southern Scuffle with a win in SV-1 over Oklahoma State's Jordan Rogers, 10-8.
- Took home third place honors at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
- Paced the team in dual scoring, securing 101 total points behind 35 takedowns
- Won his 50th career match with an 11-3 major-decision over Utah Valley's Ethan Smith
- Won the Kaye Young Open
- Returns to the Cyclone line-up in 2015-16
184 – Lelund Weatherspoon
- 18-7 record (10-3 dual)
- NCAA Qualifier – Unseeded
- Posted a 1-2 record at the NCAA Championships, defeating Thomas Sleigh of Bucknell by 3-1 decision
- Big 12 runner-up
- Tied for the most technical-falls victories on the year (3)
- Won the Kaye Young Open
- Returns to the Cyclone line-up in 2015-16
197 – Kyven Gadson
- 30-1 record (13-0 dual)
- NCAA National Champion
- Defeated Ohio State's Kyle Snyder by fall in 4:24 to win the 197-pound title
- En route to being crowned champion, Gadson defeated four out of his five opponents via bonus-point victory
- Outscored opponents 38-11 and didn't surrender a takedown at the NCAA Championships
- Became Iowa State's 69th individual national champion
- Joins a list of 45 Cyclone grapplers to earn All-America honors in three or more season
- Big 12 Champion
- One of 19 ISU wrestlers to win three or more conference titles
- Cemented his dual winning streak at 43 in-a-row with a fall over Wisconsin's Timmy McCall in 6:12
- Won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with a 5-3 decision over Minnesota's Scott Schiller
- Earned Academic All- Big 12 first team honors for the second straight year
- Won the Kaye Young Open
- Led the team in bonus-point wins (23), falls (13) and dual takedowns (36)
285 – Quean Smith
- 14-11 record (5-7 dual)
- Pinned David Dill of California Baptist in 0:15, the fifth-fastest fall in school history
- Finished sixth at the UNI Open
- Won the Kaye Young Open
- Returns to the Cyclone line-up in 2015-16

Players Mentioned

Kyven Gadson

Kyven Gadson

Luke Goettl

Luke Goettl

Earl Hall

Earl Hall

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson

Gabe Moreno

Gabe Moreno

Michael Moreno

Michael Moreno

Dante Rodriguez

Quean Smith

Quean Smith

Tanner Weatherman

Tanner Weatherman

Lelund Weatherspoon

Lelund Weatherspoon

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