How high can Iowa State wrestling go? Cyclones are confident bunch after Cliff Keen title

AMES − After taking first place at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 2, there's only one question that remains for Iowa State wrestling.

What is the ceiling for this sixth-ranked Cyclones team?

It's a valid inquiry considering the level of competition Iowa State rolled through back in Las Vegas. Not only were 12 of the nation's top 20 program's in Sin City, but also dozens of highly ranked wrestlers with All-American dreams were competing. In fact, per Andrew Spey of Flowrestling, seven wrestlers who did not place at Cliff Keen in 2022 were All-Americans at the NCAA Championships the following March.

The Cyclones went out and put seven on the podium, including four with top-three finishes.

Before the season started, Iowa State senior heavyweight Yonger Bastida (the Cliff Keen champion at 285 pounds), said this Cyclones team was going to have six or seven All-Americans when the NCAA Championships came to a close.

Now, Iowa State assistant coach Derek St. John is questioning if there might be more Cyclones capable of the honor.

"This may be crazy, but I think we have more than that, to be completely honest," St. John said. "That's (Cliff Keen) a great measuring stick for us. I mean, holy smokes. If you don't believe it before and then you go place in that tournament? You better believe it afterwards."

St. John and many others inside the Iowa State program are beaming with confidence following the team's performance at the Cliff Keen Invite. Up and down the lineup, guys are popping after the team's loss to Iowa on Nov. 26.

Coming off an 8-1 victory over No. 8 Brody Teske of Iowa, freshman 133-pounder Evan Frost added four victories to his season total in Vegas, finishing second after losing in the final to No. 4 Kai Orine of North Carolina State (12-4, major decision).

At 141 pounds, Anthony Echemendia wrestled five ranked opponents and defeated three of them. Iowa State 149-pounder Casey Swiderski finished fifth in Vegas, defeating No. 9 Jaden Abas of Stanford, losing only to the Nos. 3 and 5 ranked wrestlers in the country.

Even 165-pounder and former national champion David Carr, despite suffering just the fourth loss of his career, bounced back from his semifinal defeat to No. 7 Julian Ramirez of Cornell by taking down No. 3 Cam Amine in the third-place match. Carr recorded four bonus-point wins in the desert.

Will Feldkamp beat three-ranked wrestlers at 184, including No. 3 Trey Munoz of Oregon State and No. 14 David Key of Navy. His only loss was to Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen, who is wrestling better than anyone in the nation currently.

But perhaps nobody is more confident and wrestling better than Bastida. Since taking a bad shot and suffering a takedown in the early moments of his match with Cleveland State's Daniel Bucknavich, the country's No. 3-ranked heavyweight has recorded 44 consecutive takedowns without conceding one.

That incredible run of success has come despite wrestling a difficult schedule at the Cliff Keen, where the Cuba native defeated the country's No. 17 (Nick Feldman, Ohio State), No. 10 (Grady Griess, Navy) and No. 3 (Lucas Davison, Michigan) wrestlers in the country at the time. Bastida has outscored his opponents 144-45 this season, and seven of his nine matches are bonus-point victories. Bastida had just nine bonus-point wins in his entire junior season at 197 pounds.

This opportunity at heavyweight for Bastida is well-documented as something he wanted for a long time, and while the coaching staff had its concerns, they are all turning into believers now.

"To go through the Cliff Keen and wrestle and compete the way he did, I kind of had to take a step back and go, 'Oh, I guess he does belong at heavyweight,'" St. John said.

None of this comes as a surprise to Bastida. He knew that given this opportunity, people were going to see his potential.

"I know what I can do at this weight class, I know what I am capable of," Bastida said. "My confidence is at the same level. I know that I can do that more."

The team's confidence level will be crucial as the Cyclones wrap up the calendar year with three Dec. 18 duals in Nashville against No. 5 Cornell, red-hot No. 13 Pittsburgh and a pesky Little Rock (Arkansas) squad.

National Wrestling Coaches Association team rankings

• 1, Penn State

• 2, North Carolina State

• 3, Missouri

• 4, Iowa

• 5, Cornell

• 6, Iowa State

• 25, Northern Iowa

Iowa State projected lineup for Collegiate Duals in Nashville

• 125 pounds - No. 22 Kysen Terukina or Ethan Perryman

• 133 pounds - No. 8 Evan Frost

• 141 pounds. - No. 14 Anthony Echemendia or Zach Redding

• 149 pounds - No. 7 Casey Swiderski

• 157 pounds - No. 21 Cody Chittum or Jason Kraisser

• 165 pounds - No. 4 David Carr or Connor Euton

• 174 pounds - No. 22 MJ Gaitan

• 184 pounds - No. 5 Will Feldkamp or Caleb Helgeson

• 197 pounds - No. 25 Julien Broderson or Nando Villaescusa

• 285 pounds - No. 3 Yonger Bastida

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State wrestling's confidence is high following Cliff Keen Invite