It was a special senior night for the Iowa State men’s wrestling team after the fourth ranked Cyclones dispatched No. 14 Missouri on Sunday. The Cyclones won the first five matches and six overall in the 20-14 dual meet victory.
Iowa State improved to 12-2 and 8-1 in the Big 12 while Missouri fell to 12-8 and 5-3.
The Cyclones’ wins came from five decisions and one tech fall while Missouri had three decision wins and one tech fall victory. The Cyclones scored more takedowns than Missouri 14 to 13 and held
an advantage in riding time.
Eight Cyclone seniors were recognized for senior day. They were Yonger Bastida, Rocky Elam, Vinny Zerban, Stevo Poulin, Isaac Dean, Manny Rojas, Rowan Udell, and Xaiver Bruening.
Bastida said that it was an emotional meet.
“When we walked into the meet as a team, I was getting emotional. I had to stop and take in in, breathe and it helped me calm down,” he told Cyclones.com.
“The meet was important. I have seen great support from the first day to the last day (senior night). This is my last shot for a Big 12 and national title. All the fans supporting me, I didn’t want to stand up because I was going to start crying. All of the coaches, fans, my experience here,” he said.
Bastida said that during his match that his last shot on his opponent gave him a tech fall win, that he almost didn’t want to take the shot as he knew it was his last one at Hilton.
“I didn’t want to take that last shot, because I thought that ‘this is my last shot here at ISU at home. I am excited to get to the postseason, Everyone is 0-0 now. We are restarting. Forget about the record to this point, it all begins again now,” said Bastida.
Fellow senior Vinny Zerban echoed Bastida’s thoughts on senior day.
“It was good for me. My little sisters got to come and see me wrestle for the first time, they had never got to experience something like that. They loved it. They told me I wrestled good, but they didn’t know what they were watching,” he told Cyclones.com.
The dual started at the 197-pound weight class where second ranked Rocky Elam beat 13th ranked Evan Bates by a 7-3 decision. Elam wore down Bates and used a pair of takedowns in the final period to break open a 1-0 lead going to the final period. That win gave the Cyclones a 3-0 lead.
At heavyweight, top ranked Yonger Bastida won his last match at Hilton Coliseum, winning a 22-6 tech fall over Sampson Stillwell, finishing off the match with 1:16 left in the third period. The win extended Iowa State’s lead to 8-0. Bastida had seven takedowns in the match.
At 125, 10th ranked Stevo Poulin won a 9-4 decision over Mack Mauger. Poulin led 7-0 and was in control on his way to the win. The win gave the Cyclones an 11-0 lead.
At 133, Garrett Grice upset the 28th ranked Missouri wrestler, Gage Walker by decision, 7-3. Grice scored first with a takedown right off the opening whistle to lead 3-0. Leading 3-1 after one period, Grice scored another takedown late in the second period for a 6-1 lead. He cruised from there to extend Iowa State’s lead to 14-0.
Iowa State added to their lead with a tight decision win, 3-2, by 3rd ranked Anthony Echemendia at 141 over Easton Hilton. Hilton gave Echemendia a good run though. Echemendia led 3-1 after the first period and 3-2 after the second period and held on for the win. After the win the Cyclones led 17-0 and had won the first five matches in the dual.
Over the last five matches, the Cyclones won only one, at 157 when 7th ranked Vinny Zerban won a 5-3 decision over 15th ranked Teague Travis. Zerban scored a takedown for a 3-0 lead in the first and led 3-1 after one. He scored an escape in the second for a 4-1 lead after two periods. Zerban got called for stalling and gave up an escape point as the score was 4-3 with less than ten seconds left. Zerban got another point for riding time to get the final to 5-3. The win gave the Cyclones a 20-3 lead with three matches left in the dual.
Losing by decision for Iowa State was Jacob Frost at 149, 8-2; Connor Euton at 165, 8-6; MJ Gaitan at 174, 4-3; and Jacob Helgeson at 184, by tech fall in 2:56.
The Cyclones will now be in preparation for the Big 12 Wrestling Championships coming up March 6-7 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
#4 Iowa State 20 vs. #14 Missouri 14
Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026
Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa
Officials: Derek Lark, Kevin Looper
Attendance: 5,404
Dual Results:
MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
No. 4 Iowa State 20, No. 14 Missouri 14
197: No. 2 Rocky Elam (ISU) dec. No. 13 Evan Bates (MIZ), 7-3
285: No. 1 Yonger Bastida (ISU) TF Sampson Stillwell (MIZ), 22-6 (5:43)
125: No. 10 Stevo Poulin (ISU) dec. No. 30 Mack Mauger (MIZ), 9-4
133: Garrett Grice (ISU) dec. No. 28 Gage Walker (MIZ), 7-3
141: No. 3 Anthony Echemendia (ISU) dec. Easton Hilton (MIZ), 3-2
149: Seth Mendoza (MIZ) dec. No. 10 Jacob Frost (ISU), 8-2
157: No. 7 Vinny Zerban (ISU) dec. No. 15 Teague Travis (MIZ), 5-3
165: Max Mayfield (MIZ) dec. No. 14 Connor Euton (ISU), 8-6
174: No. 9 Cam Steed (MIZ) dec. No. 12 MJ Gaitan (ISU), 4-3
184: No. 3 Aeoden Sinclair (MIZ) TF Jacob Helgeson (ISU), 21-5 (2:56)
Attendance: 5,404
Officials: Derek Lark, Kevin Looper
Individual Match Results:
197 POUNDS
#2 Rocky Elam (ISU) vs. #13 Evan Bates (MIZ)
First Period
Time Score Action
0:05 Stall Warning Bates
No Scoring
Second Period
Elam Defers, Bates Chooses Down
0:47 1-0 Stall Warning Bates
Third Period
Elam Chooses Down
1:46 2-0 Escape Elam
1:26 3-2 Takedown Bates
1:11 3-3 Escape Elam
0:37 6-3 Takedown Elam
Elam Riding Time 2:06
FINAL: Elam Dec. Bates 7-3
ISU 3, MIZ 0
HEAVYWEIGHT
#1 Yonger Bastida (ISU) vs. Sampson Stillwell (MIZ)
First Period
2:53 3-0 Takedown Bastida
2:50 3-1 Escape Stillwell
2:00 6-1 Takedown Bastida
1:51 6-2 Escape Stillwell
0:36 Stall Warning Stillwell
0:31 9-2 Takedown Bastida
0:21 9-3 Escape Stillwell
Second Period
Stillwell Chooses Down
1:51 9-4 Escape Stillwell
1:27 12-4 Takedown Bastida
1:21 12-5 Escape Stillwell
1:09 15-5 Takedown Bastida
0:56 15-6 Escape Stillwell
0:20 18-6 Takedown Bastida
Third Period
Bastida Chooses Neutral
1:34 19-6 Stall Warning Stillwell
1:17 22-6 Takedown Bastida
FINAL: Bastida Tech. Fall Stillwell 22-6 (5:43)
ISU 8, MIZ 0
125 POUNDS
#10 Stevo Poulin (ISU) vs. #30 Mack Mauger (MIZ)
First Period
1:34 3-0 Takedown Poulin
1:21 7-0 Near Fall Four Poulin
0:03 Stall Warning Poulin
Second Period
Poulin Chooses Down
1:54 8-0 Escape Poulin
Third Period
Mauger Chooses Down
1:52 8-1 Escape Mauger
0:03 8-4 Takedown
Poulin Riding Time 1:28
FINAL: Poulin Dec. Mauger 9-4
ISU 11, MIZ 0
133 POUNDS
Garrett Grice (ISU) vs. #28 Gage Walker (MIZ)
First Period
1:59 3-0 Takedown Grice
1:41 3-1 Escape Walker
Second Period
Walker Defers, Grice Chooses Neutral
0:56 6-1 Takedown Grice
0:15 6-2 Escape Walker
Third Period
Walker Chooses Down
1:47 6-3 Escape Walker
1:20 Stall Warning Walker
Grice Riding Time 1:11
FINAL: Grice Dec. Walker 7-3
ISU 14, MIZ 0
141 POUNDS
#3 Anthony Echemendia (ISU) vs. Easton Hilton (MIZ)
First Period
2:26 3-0 Takedown Echemendia
2:18 3-1 Escape Hilton
Second Period
Echemendia Defers, Hilton Chooses Down
1:56 3-2 Escape Hilton
Third Period
Echemendia Chooses Neutral
No Scoring
FINAL: Echemendia Dec. Hilton 3-2
ISU 17, MIZ 0
149 POUNDS
#10 Jacob Frost (ISU) vs. Seth Mendoza (MIZ)
First Period
1:57 Stall Warning Frost
0:35 3-0 Takedown Mendoza
Second Period
Mendoza Chooses Down
1:54 4-0 Escape Mendoza
0:39 7-0 Takedown Mendoza
0:14 7-1 Escape Frost
Third Period
Frost Chooses Down
1:50 7-2 Escape Frost
Mendoza Riding Time 1:02
FINAL: Mendoza Dec. Frost 8-2
ISU 17, MIZ 3
157 POUNDS
#7 Vinny Zerban (ISU) vs. #15 Teague Travis (MIZ)
First Period
2:22 3-0 Takedown Zerban
2:08 3-1 Escape Travis
Second Period
Zerban Chooses Down
1:45 4-1 Escape Zerban
Third Period
Travis Chooses Down
0:45 Stall Warning Zerban
0:22 4-2 Stall Warning Zerban
0:07 4-3 Escape Travis
Zerban Riding Time 1:32
FINAL: Zerban Dec. Travis 5-3
ISU 20, MIZ 3
165 POUNDS
#14 Connor Euton (ISU) vs. Max Mayfield (MIZ)
First Period
0:59 3-0 Takedown Euton
0:38 3-1 Escape Mayfield
Second Period
Mayfield Chooses Down
1:34 3-2 Escape Mayfield
1:06 5-3 Takedown Mayfield
0:58 5-4 Escape Euton
Third Period
Euton Chooses Down
1:53 5-5 Escape Euton
1:14 Stall Warning Euton
0:47 8-5 Takedown Mayfield
0:30 8-6 Escape Euton
FINAL: Mayfield Dec. Euton 8-6
ISU 20, MIZ 6
174 POUNDS
#12 MJ Gaitan (ISU) vs. #9 Cam Steed (MIZ)
First Period
No Scoring
Second Period
Gaitan Chooses Down
1:56 1-0 Escape Gaitan
0:52 Stall Warning Gaitan
Third Period
Steed Chooses Down
1:31 1-1 Escape Steed
1:00 4-1 Takedown Steed
0:53 4-2 Escape Gaitan
0:44 Stall Warning Steed
0:22 4-3 Stall Warning Steed
FINAL: Steed Dec. Gaitan 4-3
ISU 20, MIZ 9
184 POUNDS
Jacob Helgeson (ISU) vs. #3 Aeoden Sinclair (MIZ)
First Period
2:56 3-0 Takedown Sinclair
2:53 3-1 Escape Helgeson
1:58 6-1 Takedown Sinclair
1:54 6-2 Escape Helgeson
1:40 Stall Warning Helgeson
1:33 9-2 Takedown Sinclair
1:29 9-3 Escape Helgeson
1:24 12-3 Takedown Sinclair
1:16 12-4 Escape Helgeson
0:59 15-4 Takedown Sinclair
0:48 15-5 Escape Helgeson
0:26 16-5 Stall Warning Helgeson
0:13 19-5 Takedown Sinclair
0:05 21-5 Near Fall Two Sinclair
FINAL: Sinclair Tech. Fall Helgeson 21-5 (2:55)
ISU 20, MIZ 14
