Men's College Notebook: Who takes the annual Cy-Hawk Dual?
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by Brian Reinhardt
Yonger Bastida of Iowa State (left), Ben Kueter of Iowa (right)
What a way to finish off your Thanksgiving weekend!
Grab some final leftovers, park yourself on the couch, and tune into ESPN on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. (ET) as #3 Iowa travels to #6 Iowa State for the annual Cy-Hawk Dual.
This top-10 non-conference match-up between in-state rivals could feature all 20 starters in the national rankings and seven match-ups between top-10 foes.
“We're getting ready for the next thing,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands at his weekly media availability. “It's highlighted. It's underlined. It's circled in red. And we're getting ready. It's not the first time it's been on ESPN, but certainly a big stage for this year again.”
Brands is an incredible 19-0 all-time against the Cyclones as Iowa’s head coach.
“As a coaching staff, we always talk about the biggest date on the calendar is always the next date,” said Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser at his weekly media availability. “But I think it's also fair to say that there's probably some dates that you might circle twice.”
Not counting the COVID-shortened year of 2020-21, this will be the 53rd straight year the two teams have met on the mat. A string of consecutive duals that dates back to the 1972-73 season.
Iowa has reeled off 20 straight wins in the series and has won 50 of the last 52 overall. The last Iowa State victory came in the 2004-05 season, and the last home Cyclone win was the year prior in 2003-04.
In a sold-out Carver Hawkeye Arena last year, Iowa pulled out a 21-15 win, thanks to winning five straight matches in the back half of the dual.
Both squads have dramatically transformed their lineups from last year, as there is a potential for only three rematches.
“When you come into a dual like this again, how big is it to have a guy who can live up to the limelight a little bit and seems to thrive on that type of stuff?” said Brands. “Well, we're going to need 10 guys to do it.”
“Anything that's Cy-Hawk in the state of Iowa is a big deal,” said Dresser. “But wrestling fans are a little bit crazier than most fans. And so, the Cy-Hawk in wrestling ends up being a little bit crazier too.”
If everybody is healthy and all 20 starters are sent out onto the mat, here are the potential matchups.
A battle between two transfers, both in their final season. Peterson was a three-time NCAA qualifier at Rutgers, reaching the Blood Round last year. Poulin is at his third school, having redshirted at NC State, then spent three years at Northern Colorado, and was a 2025 All-American, placing eighth last year. Poulin won the only career match-up, 6-4, last year at the NCAAs in the Blood Round.
One of the three potential rematches from last year, which saw Ayala score an 11-7 win. Ayala is a two-time NCAA finalist, last year at 133 pounds. Frost was a 2024 All-American with a sixth-place finish and lost in the Blood Round last year.
Bailey is in his first season at Iowa after spending his first two years at Little Rock. He was a 2024 All-American with a fourth-place finish at 133 pounds. In his third season at Iowa State after transferring from Ohio State, Echemendia was also a 2024 All-American with a fifth-place showing.
This week, Dresser indicated Frost has gained the inside position to be the 149-pound starter, but stopped short of saying who would get the start this weekend. Dresser said that the two have wrestled off three times, Johnson winning the first and Frost the last two. Block is in his first year in the lineup at 149 pounds. Johnson is a two-time Big 12 champion and NCAA qualifier, while Frost was an All-American last year at 141 pounds.
A second battle between a pair of transfers new to this rivalry. Williams is at his third school, spending time at both Oklahoma State and Little Rock. Last year at Little Rock, he was the Pac-12 champion and NCAA qualifier at 149 pounds. While Williams started the first three duals of the year, Voinovich was the starter for the last three. Zerban was a 2025 All-American last year at Northern Colorado with a sixth-place finish.
Caliendo is a three-time All-American in his final season. In two years at Iowa, after transferring from North Dakota State, he was runner-up last year and fourth in 2024. Euton won the starting spot at 165 pounds last year before suffering a season-ending injury after three duals. The match he was injured in was last year’s Cy-Hawk dual, but he was able to finish the bout, suffering a 12-7 loss.
Now in his final season at Iowa, Kennedy was a 2025 All-American, placing fourth last year. Gaitan is a three-year starter, reaching the NCAAs each of the two previous years. Way back in the 2023-24 season, Kennedy took a wild 14-13 decision between the two.
The rookie versus the vet. After a redshirt year last year, in his first month in the lineup, Ferrari has shot up to the top spot in the weight class. He already has three top-10 wins, including over current #2 Aeoden Sinclair of Missouri (3-2). Dean transferred to Iowa State for his final season after spending four years at Rider. His breakthrough season came last year, winning a MAC title and earning the No. 7 seed at NCAAs before finishing 2-2.
D1 newcomer against the D1 vet. Endene was a three-time DIII national champion at Wartburg and a two-time NJCAA All-American at Iowa Lakes. Elam was a four-time All-American (fifth-fourth-third-sixth) at Missouri before transferring to Iowa State for his sixth and final season.
Another potential rematch, which took place before Bastida was shut down for the season. Bastida won 7-2 last year. Kueter returned against Pitt in Iowa’s last dual after missing the National Duals. Bastida is back in the Iowa State lineup after missing most of last season with an injury. Keuter was a 2025 All-American in his first year in the lineup, while Bastida was a 2022 All-American at 197 pounds before moving up to heavyweight.
