CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – No. 2 Iowa State beat third-seeded Ohio State 23-9 in the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals semifinals Sunday afternoon in the UNI Dome. Cyclone wrestlers were winners in seven of the 10 bouts. ISU advances to the Championship match to face top-seed Iowa at 3 p.m. The dual is being broadcast live on IPTV. Iowa State split the Dec. 6 dual with the Hawkeyes at five matches a piece, but were edged 18-16.

Iowa State’s Jerome Ward comes to play in big matches. Ward took down 2008 NCAA champion Mike Pucillo by a score of 5-3 in the 194-pound matchup. The Buckeye had no answer for the defensively-astute Cyclone grappler.

The star-studded dual featured seven returning All-Americans and two NCAA champions in ISU’s Jake Varner (2009; 197 pounds) and Ohio State’s Pucillo (2008; 184 pounds).

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