Friday, February 13
Ames, Iowa
8 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
No. 4 Iowa State
No. 18 WVU Heads to Iowa to Face No. 4 Cyclones, No. 15 Panthers
February 12, 2026 02:19 PM | Wrestling
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 18 West Virginia University wrestling team battles the No. 4 Iowa State Cyclones and the No. 15 Northern Iowa Panthers on a road swing through Iowa this weekend.
West Virginia (9-4, 4-2 Big 12) will face the Cyclones on Friday at 8 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, on ESPN+. On Saturday, WVU will take on the Panthers at 8 p.m. at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on FloWrestling.
These matches mark the seventh and eighth ranked teams the Mountaineers have faced this season. They are 2-4 against ranked teams.
Last time out, West Virginia dropped just its second Big 12 Conference match of the season with a loss against then-No. 20 Missouri. Despite the loss, multiple Mountaineers did well.
Graduate student No. 8 Jett Strickenberger picked up his sixth ranked win of the season and only has one loss on the year against Big 12 opponents. Freshman No. 16 Gunner Andrick also earned his sixth win against a Big 12 opponent and leads the team with 19 wins on the year.
Redshirt sophomore No. 7 Ty Watters continues to lead the Mountaineers in the rankings and on the mat. He is undefeated against ranked opponents at 7-0 and has only lost once all year.
West Virginia's Projected Lineup
125: No. 8 Jett Strickenberger
133: No. 16 Gunner Andrick
141: Jordan Titus
149: TJ Langley or Willie McDougald
157: No. 7 Ty Watters
165: Sasha Gavronsky or Cole Evans
174: No. 17 Brody Conley
184: No. 22 Ian Bush
197: No. 14 Rune Lawrence
HWT: Brock Kehler
Iowa State's Projected Lineup
125: No. 11 Stevo Poulin
133: No. 3 Evan Frost or Adrian Meza
141: No. 4 Anthony Echemendia
149: No. 8 Jacob Frost
157: No. 8 Vinny Zerban
165: No. 12 Connor Euton
174: No. 12 MJ Gaitan or Aiden Riggins
184: No. 11 Isaac Dean
197: No. 2 Rocky Elam or CJ Carter
HWT: No. 1 Yonger Bastida
Northern Iowa's Projected Lineup
125: No. 23 Trever Anderson or Bowen Downey or Brandon Paez
133: No. 17 Julian Farber
141: No. 26 Max Brady
149: No. 18 Caleb Rathjen or Ethan Basile
157: Cael Rahnavardi or RJ Weston
165: No. 6 Ryder Downey or Jack Thomsen
174: No. 14 Jared Simma
184: No. 21 Nick Fox
197: John Gunderson or Carson Babcock
HWT: No. 28 Adam Ahrendsen or Grant Stromberg
*Rankings from FloWrestling
West Virginia (9-4, 4-2 Big 12) will face the Cyclones on Friday at 8 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, on ESPN+. On Saturday, WVU will take on the Panthers at 8 p.m. at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on FloWrestling.
These matches mark the seventh and eighth ranked teams the Mountaineers have faced this season. They are 2-4 against ranked teams.
Last time out, West Virginia dropped just its second Big 12 Conference match of the season with a loss against then-No. 20 Missouri. Despite the loss, multiple Mountaineers did well.
Graduate student No. 8 Jett Strickenberger picked up his sixth ranked win of the season and only has one loss on the year against Big 12 opponents. Freshman No. 16 Gunner Andrick also earned his sixth win against a Big 12 opponent and leads the team with 19 wins on the year.
Redshirt sophomore No. 7 Ty Watters continues to lead the Mountaineers in the rankings and on the mat. He is undefeated against ranked opponents at 7-0 and has only lost once all year.
West Virginia's Projected Lineup
125: No. 8 Jett Strickenberger
133: No. 16 Gunner Andrick
141: Jordan Titus
149: TJ Langley or Willie McDougald
157: No. 7 Ty Watters
165: Sasha Gavronsky or Cole Evans
174: No. 17 Brody Conley
184: No. 22 Ian Bush
197: No. 14 Rune Lawrence
HWT: Brock Kehler
Iowa State's Projected Lineup
125: No. 11 Stevo Poulin
133: No. 3 Evan Frost or Adrian Meza
141: No. 4 Anthony Echemendia
149: No. 8 Jacob Frost
157: No. 8 Vinny Zerban
165: No. 12 Connor Euton
174: No. 12 MJ Gaitan or Aiden Riggins
184: No. 11 Isaac Dean
197: No. 2 Rocky Elam or CJ Carter
HWT: No. 1 Yonger Bastida
Northern Iowa's Projected Lineup
125: No. 23 Trever Anderson or Bowen Downey or Brandon Paez
133: No. 17 Julian Farber
141: No. 26 Max Brady
149: No. 18 Caleb Rathjen or Ethan Basile
157: Cael Rahnavardi or RJ Weston
165: No. 6 Ryder Downey or Jack Thomsen
174: No. 14 Jared Simma
184: No. 21 Nick Fox
197: John Gunderson or Carson Babcock
HWT: No. 28 Adam Ahrendsen or Grant Stromberg
*Rankings from FloWrestling
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