On Jarrett Degen's homecoming trip, Iowa State wrestling blanks MSU-Northern and Providence

Cody Goodwin, Des Moines Register
·4 min read

Jarrett Degen's trip home on Sunday was a successful one.

Degen, a senior All-American for the Iowa State wrestling team, led the 15th-ranked Cyclones to two shutout wins on Sunday. They posted identical 49-0 victories over Montana State-Northern and Providence, a couple of NAIA programs in Montana.

To make matters more special, both duals took place inside the Belgrade High School gym — the same Belgrade High School where Degen won four Montana state titles before joining Kevin Dresser at Virginia Tech, following him to Iowa State ahead of the 2017-18 season and becoming Dresser's first All-American as the Cyclones' coach.

"My dad really wanted to set it up, so him and Dresser have been talking about it pretty much the entire time I've been (at Iowa State)," Degen said last week. "It's really exciting to get to wrestle in my high school again."

Degen recorded two pins on Sunday, over MSU-Northern's Colin Silverthorn and Providence's Gavin Gies. He led Silverthorn 8-1 when he recorded the pin in 2 minutes, 35 seconds, then led Gies 17-4 on 6 takedowns when he recorded the fall in 6:28.

Iowa State's Jarrett Degen recorded two pins on Sunday and led the Cyclones to identical 49-0 wins over Montana State-Northern and Providence at Belgrade High School in Montana. Degen was a four-time Montana state champ at Belgrade before joining Kevin Dresser at Virginia Tech, then following him to Iowa State ahead of the 2017-18 college wrestling season.

"I made a deal with his dad when he transferred from Virginia Tech to Iowa State, and all his dad asked was that we'd come out and wrestle in Montana one time," Dresser said. "So Terry, here we are."

"We actually had it set up last year with Oregon State and Duke, but it fell through because of COVID. But we weren't able to get any Division I teams out there, so we thought, hey, let's help Montana out, since they've got two NAIA programs close."

Degen's wins were the highlight of two shutout wins for Iowa State, which is now 8-1 overall after winning three times this weekend and has posted four shutouts in their last five dual victories (all against inferior opponents). Dresser flew in most of the B-team for both duals on Sunday after the A-team beat Wyoming, 32-6, on Friday night in Laramie.

The only regular starters to wrestle on Sunday were Degen, Austin Kraisser (he's been in the mix to start at 165 and went 2-0 on Sunday); Yonger Bastida (who went 2-0 at 197, including a 13-5 major over MSU-Northern's Isaac Bartel, a two-time NAIA national finalist from Mason City); and Sam Schuyler (2-0 with a pin and a major at 285).

Elsewhere, plenty of backups got some run this weekend:

  • Caleb Fuessley recorded two pins at 125;

  • Corey Cabanban, normally at 125-pounder, registered another pin and a 2-1 decision over MSU-Northern's Nick Kunz up at 133;

  • Charlie Klepps won by forfeit and by a 7-2 decision over Providence's Caleb Birdwell at 141;

  • Andrew Huddleston recorded a third-period pin and an 8-1 win over Providence's Dougie Swanson at 157;

  • Carter Schmidt, a Norwalk graduate, notched a pair of decision wins, 2-1 overtime win over MSU-Northern's NaKoda Siegel, and a 9-4 win over KJ Swanson;

  • Julien Broderson, who Dresser said is in the mix to start at 174, bumped to 184 and recorded two pins.

Iowa State will host North Dakota State (6-1 overall, 1-1 Big 12) next Sunday, Jan. 23, at 2 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones were supposed to wrestle Utah Valley that afternoon too, but COVID-19 issues within the Utah Valley program nixed that dual.

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

#15 Iowa State 49, MSU-Northern 0

  • 125: Caleb Fuessley (ISU) over Kaleb Frank (MSN) (Fall 6:16)

  • 133: Corey Cabanban (ISU) over Nick Kunz (MSN) (Dec 2-1)

  • 141: Charlie Klepps (ISU) over (MSN) (For.)

  • 149: Jarrett Degen (ISU) over Colin Silverthorn (MSN) (Fall 2:35)

  • 157: Andrew Huddleston (ISU) over Connor Harris (MSN) (Fall 6:28)

  • 165: Austin Kraisser (ISU) over Chase Short (MSN) (Dec 10-4)

  • 174: Carter Schmidt (ISU) over NaKoda Siegel (MSN) (TB-1 2-1)

  • 184: Julien Broderson (ISU) over Carl Hansen (MSN) (Fall 4:26)

  • 197: Yonger Bastida (ISU) over Isaac Bartel (MSN) (MD 13-5)

  • 285: Sam Schuyler (ISU) over Rylan Moldenhauer (MSN) (Fall 0:55)

#15 Iowa State 49, Providence (Mont.) 0

  • 125: Caleb Fuessley (ISU) over Philip Gerard (UP) (Fall 2:25)

  • 133: Corey Cabanban (ISU) over Joel Avila (UP) (Fall 2:53)

  • 141: Charlie Klepps (ISU) over Caleb Birdwell (UP) (Dec 7-2)

  • 149: Jarrett Degen (ISU) over Gavin Gies (UP) (Fall 6:28)

  • 157: Andrew Huddleston (ISU) over Dougie Swanson (UP) (Dec 8-1)

  • 165: Austin Kraisser (ISU) over (UP) (For.)

  • 174: Carter Schmidt (ISU) over KJ Swanson (UP) (Dec 9-4)

  • 184: Julien Broderson (ISU) over Alan Badley (UP) (Fall 3:57)

  • 197: Yonger Bastida Pomares (ISU) over Liam Swanson (UP) (Fall 3:43)

  • 285: Sam Schuyler (ISU) over Kc Buday (UP) (MD 18-6)

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State wrestling crushes MSU-Northern, Providence on Montana trip

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