Iowa History Daily: On February 23, 1986, the second-ranked Iowa State Cyclones broke the first-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes 36-duel wrestling win streak at Hilton Coliseum. In a regular season where Iowa and Iowa State only lost to each other, the epic match-up stands as one of the greatest in Cy-Hawk wrestling history.
Although Iowa State prepared for the regular season ending duel with an 18-1 record, many throughout the state penciled in Dan Gable’s Hawks as the likely winners in Ames. The Hawkeyes came in riding not only the 36-duel win streak, but also boasted ten straight wins over Iowa State including a 25-9 win earlier in the season.
With 8,915 fans packed into Hilton during a snowy February day, the Cyclones proved up to the challenge. When Iowa State’s Perry Summit pinned Iowa’s Matt Egeland in the 118-lb match, an upset started to brew. Bill Kelly pushed the Cyclones to a 9-0 lead when he decisioned Brad Penrith 5-2 in the 126-lb bout, but the Hawkeyes hung tough.
After Hawkeyes Greg Randall and Kevin Dresser won at 134 and 142, things appeared to have turned around for Iowa. However, the Cyclones responded with Tim Krieger upsetting the number one ranked 150-pounder Jim Heffernan. When Iowa State’s Bill Tate took a 10-2 decision from Iowa’s Royce Alger, the Cyclones held a commanding 16-5 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. A victory for the ages, the night stands as one of the most memorable in the vaunted history Iowa-Iowa State wrestling. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
