Iowa

Iowa State wrestling notebook ahead of Cyclones’ season opener vs. No. 20 Stanford

Published

12 months ago

November 6, 2024

Iowa State wrestling notebook ahead of Cyclones’ season opener vs. No. 20 Stanford

AMES – Sixth-ranked Iowa State wrestling is set to begin the 2024-25 wrestling season with a dual meet against No. 20 Stanford.

Friday’s dual meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT from Hilton Coliseum and will be available on ESPN+.

“We got our hands full this first Friday night, I can tell you on paper, this is the toughest team we ever started out with,” head coach Kevin Dresser said. “I’m in my seventh or eighth year of home openers, and this is the toughest team we’ve got. … They have potentially six out of 10 weights ranked in the top 20, so it’s a lot for us to jump into right now, especially considering we got a really young squad and we’re going to be without a couple of All-Americans.”

The Cyclones are nursing several injuries, and it will have an opportunity to flex its depth early in the season. The Cyclones have penned three true freshmen in their starting lineup for Friday: Adrian Meza (125), Kane Naaktgeboren (157) and Daniel Herrera (HWT). Redshirt freshman Christian Carroll, InterMat’s No. 32-ranked 197-pounder, will also get to start.

“These freshmen that we got, man, I’m telling you, they’re dangerous,” senior Anthony Echemendia said. “They’re hungry, and they’re not going to take a step back for anybody. These guys wanted to be at Iowa State for a reason, because this program is doing great things, and I’m very happy with the freshmen that we have now. They’re going to carry the culture very well.”

There’s plenty of youth in the lineup overall. Eight of the 11 projected starting Cyclones are sophomores or younger, including 133-pounder Evan Frost, who was a NCAA All-American last season.

Additionally, six of 11 projected starters are new to the roster, including Meza, Naaktgeboren, Herrera, Iowa transfer Aiden Riggins (174), Utah Valley transfer Evan Bockman (184) and Oklahoma State transfer Christian Carroll (197).

It’ll be an opportunity for fans to become acquainted with the newcomers.

“We obviously had some wrestle-offs, and we have a few other wrestle-offs coming up here and we got some guys (coming back from injury) that we’re going to get back in the mix here, so they’re going to have to wrestle their way back into this, but it wasn’t a perfect puzzle,” Dresser said of the starting lineup selection process. “The coaching staff, we had hours and hours of meetings of hypotheticals, and sometimes an injury will force your hand a little bit.”

Iowa State wrestling roster and injury updates

Standout heavyweight Yonger Bastida is still recovering from a minor knee sprain that was announced to have him sidelined for 2-3 weeks, forcing him to withdraw from the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 16.

Casey Swiderski, a NCAA All-American last season at 149 pounds, is working on his weight cut.

“We’ve progressed him down slow,” Dresser said. “It’s no secret that he wanted to make the drop to 141.”

Cody Chittum sustained a concussion, and the Cyclones are “leaning towards a redshirt” for the sophomore.

“He’s had a couple in the year, so we got him evaluated,” Dresser said of Chittum. “The evaluation was good, but they’re going to want to sit him for about 4-5 more weeks.”

Kysen Terukina, Paniro Johnson and M.J. Gaitan are working on their return to the mat after minor injuries.

Iowa State’s starting lineup will be one to watch as the season progresses and as more of those wrestlers make their return and finalize their weight changes.

“We’ve got our 141, 149, and 157 – everything can change in a month, but right now, it’s going to be Anthony (Echemendia) at 149, Paniro (Johnson) at 157. Cody will redshirt, and then next year, we’ll look into redshirting Casey, but right now, it’s looking like we’ve got 141, 149 and 157 figured out.”

With Gaitan out, sophomore Connor Euton is the starter at 165 on Friday, but it’ll be a close race between those two moving forward.

“I’m excited to see what he can do, he’s got M.J. and him competing for the same spot, so we’re going to have to turn around and have a wrestle-off here sooner than later,” Dresser said. “Right now, he’s one of our hardest-working guys, and he’s excited to get out there and show all that hard work.”

Cyclones’ probable lineup for dual meet with Stanford

125: Adrian Meza, Fr., 0-0 career record, or Garrett Grice, So., 16-5 career
133: Evan Frost, So., 37-12 career
141: Zach Redding, Sr., 43-24 career
149: Anthony Echemendia, Sr., 30-7 career
157: Kane Naaktgeboren, Fr., 0-0 career
165: Connor Euton, So., 20-4 career
174: Aiden Riggins, R-So., 17-15 career
184: Evan Bockman, Sr., 58-33 career
197: Christian Carroll, R-Fr., 2-2 career
HWT: Daniel Herrera, Fr., 0-0 career

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.

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Iowa

Iowa State Cyclones Defensive Coach Still Searching for Answers at Key Position

Published

14 hours ago

October 22, 2025

Press Room

Iowa State Cyclones Defensive Coach Still Searching for Answers at Key Position

Jeremiah Coope — Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Jon Heacoc — Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

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Iowa

Here’s how D.O.G.E. Task Force would change Iowa

Published

1 day ago

October 22, 2025

Press Room

Here’s how D.O.G.E. Task Force would change Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) — It is 136 pages long, took seven months to put together, and looks to modernize, streamline, and reshape state and local governments in Iowa. It also already has opposition before any of the new ideas have been put into implementation.

On Tuesday, Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, released the Iowa D.O.G.E. (Department of Government Efficiency) Task Force’s report that the 15-member volunteer group submitted to her last month.

Reynolds said while discussing the task force’s 45 recommendations, “It is important that we never settle, that we continue to look for ways to be more effective, efficient and accountable to the taxpayers of Iowa.”.

Read the task force recommendations here.

Task force members called for changing Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) but not eliminating it. The report suggested keeping IPERS available for current state employeees but giving new employees the option of using IPERS or joining a defined contribution plan.

Members also suggested studying benefits that state workers receive and whether they contribute enough to their health care costs.

The task force called for incentives for teachers based on performance, a focus on expanding the number of instructors in high demand fields, and introducing work-based learning experiences to freshmen and sophomore high school students.

Utilizing technology so that artificial intelligence could take over some tasks in state government and freeing up workers to concentrate on other areas was also a suggestion. So was digitizing government forms.

The task force recommended sharing services whenever possible in local government, which could be part of an overall strategy of lessening expenses in local government to reduce property taxes.

House Minority Leader Brian Meyer, a Des Moines Democrat, criticized the overall set of proposals.

“This Governor’s DOGE task force report is deeply disturbing, coming from individuals who’ve never worked a day in their lives. They’re attacking the very people who keep our communities strong, teachers, public safety officers, and other dedicated public servants,” Meyer said in a statement.

Other than stressing that she would preserve IPERS, Reynolds did not take positions on the list of recommendations. She could announce some of them as part of her 2026 legislative priorities when she delivers the annual Condition of the State Address in January.

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Is it legal to sell margarine as butter in Iowa?

Published

2 days ago

October 21, 2025

Press Room

Is it legal to sell margarine as butter in Iowa?

Iowa was once known as one of the top butter producers in America.

According to “The Annals of Iowa,” the Hawkeye State was second in America in dairy production in 1943. Iowa even reportedly produced one third of all butter made in the United States.

Iowa loves butter so much, the Iowa State Fair features a sculpture of a cow made mostly out of butter.

But did you know there are state laws about butter?

What’s the Iowa state law regarding butter?

According to Iowa state law, it is illegal to sell margarine as butter.

The state law says oleo, oleomargarine, or margarine must be labeled as such and the packaging should include a full and accurate statement of all ingredients it contains.

The state law also says that margarine or similar margarine products may not be advertised or represented in any form as a dairy product for purchase.

Misrepresentation of other dairy products such as renovated butter, imitation cheese, and nonfat dry milk is also illegal.

What’s the penalty for breaking this state law?

Under Iowa law, misrepresenting margarine as butter is a simple misdemeanor.

The penalty for a simple misdemeanor is a fine of at least of at least $105 and no more than $855. The court may also order a prison sentence of up to 30 days. The prison sentence may be ordered in place of the fine or in addition to the fine.

For restaurants and other eating establishments, violating this law could also result in the suspension of state-issued licenses for a year.

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