Preview: Quick turnaround for @UNCBearsWrestle as they travel to face Iowa State

Friday, January 5

Ames, IA

6 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

Iowa State

1/4/2018 12:08:00 PM | Wrestling

Northern Colorado will stay on the road for its second Big 12 dual

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo.- After a strong showing at the Southern Scuffle, Northern Colorado wrestling jumps right back into conference season when they travel to take on Iowa State. The Bears stay in the Midwest and look for their first dual victory this season against the Cyclones on Friday night.

UNC finished tied for 12^th with Appalachian State this past weekend during the Southern Scuffle, a program best at the annual tournament. Rico Montoya also made program history by finishing fourth in the 133 lb weight class, the highest a Bear has finished. Keilan Torres placed seventh in the 165 lb weight class, giving UNC two placers in Chattanooga for the second consecutive season. Torres is currently ranked #23 by trackwrestling.com.

Along with Torres, Jacob Seely and Dylan Gabel are also ranked by trackwrestling.com at No. 20 and No. 23 respectively. Seely and Gabel both advanced to the second day of competition at the Scuffle this past holiday weekend.

The dual against Iowa St. will be the first true road dual of the season for UNC. The Bears hosted Northwestern at Legacy High School in Broomfield, where they dropped a close match to the Wildcats 20-24. Although winning five matches in the dual, Northwestern was able to edge UNC in bonus points to secure the victory.

UNC faced No. 3 Oklahoma State in the first conference dual of the season. The Bears wrestled tough, but the Cowboys defeated them 37-4. The Bears will look to keep the momentum from the Scuffle going as they compete in the bulk of their dual schedule.

Scouting Iowa State
Iowa State is coming off of an almost month long break since its last competition in early December. The Cyclones are 0-3 on the season and 0-1 in Big 12 duals. They opened their dual season with a 21-16 loss to Drexel and then lost a close contest with Rider 22-15, bonus points being the difference. At the Cliff Keen Invitational, Iowa St. finished 29^th with Kanen Storr placing eighth in the 141 lb weight class. The Cyclones had three champions at the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open to begin the season and also had nine placers at the Lindenwood Open in mid-November.

UNC and Iowa St. faced off last season in Greeley for the first Big 12 dual of the season. The Cyclones narrowly edged the Bears 19-16 in a hard fought contest between the two programs.

Probable Lineups

Northern Colorado [0-2, 0-1]:
125 – Michael Johnson or Sean Cannon
133 – Rico Montoya
141 – Benjamin Polkowske or Owen Lamb
149 – Jimmy Fate
157 – Tyler Kinn or Macoy Flanagan
165 – #23 Keilan Torres
174 – Sethan Bogulski
184 – #23 Dylan Gabel
197 – #20 Jacob Seely or Tanner Davis
285 – Robert Winters Jr.

Iowa State [0-3, 0-1]:
125: Jakob Allison
133: #19 Ian Parker or Markus Simmons
141: #11 Kanen Storr
149: Jarrett Degen or Dante Rodriguez
157: Chase Straw
165: Logan Breltenbach or Skyler St. John
174: Danny Bush or Hank Swalla
184: Dane Pestano
197: Sam Colbray or Joe Teague
285: Marcus Harrington

Following the Bears
Northern Colorado and Iowa State face off at 6 P.M. (MT) on Friday, December 5^th in Ames, IA. The dual will be streamed live on Cyclone TV (subscription required) and live stats are available on Trackwrestling.com. Follow on twitter for updates and results with @UNCBearsWrestle.