Bastida Reaches Semifinals; Three Cyclones Compete in Blood Round

Yonger Bastida advanced to the national semifinals after a 4-2 quarterfinal win over Iowa’s Ben Kueter Friday in Cleveland. The victory secured Bastida his second All-America honor and moved Iowa State to seventh in the team standings.

Bastida advances to the semifinals

Bastida dominated the hand fighting and opened the match with a first-period takedown. He held the lead and denied Kueter consistent offense en route to the 4-2 decision.

Earlier in the bracket Bastida recorded two technical falls. He beat Emmanuel Ulrich 22-5 in 3:20. He followed with a 20-4 technical fall over Jimmy Mullen in the second round.

Bastida reached the podium for the first time since 2022. He is the 89th Cyclone to earn at least two All-America honors.

Three Cyclones face Blood Round

Three Cyclones will compete in the Blood Round tonight with All-America status at stake. Anthony Echemendia, MJ Gaitan and Jacob Frost will represent Iowa State in elimination matches.

Frost kept his season alive with two afternoon wins. He beat Eugene Harney 4-2 and Max Petersen 10-6 to reach the consolation round.

Quarterfinal setbacks

Echemendia fell 6-4 to Lehigh’s Luke Stanich in a close 141-pound quarterfinal. Echemendia scored first, but Stanich secured a late takedown and riding time to win.

MJ Gaitan was defeated 11-3 by Nebraska’s Christopher Minto. Minto logged three takedowns and moved Gaitan to the consolation bracket.

Other Cyclones eliminated in Session 3

• Stevo Poulin (125) was eliminated after consolation losses.
• Garrett Grice (133) exited following a run through consolation rounds.
• Vinny Zerban (157) was removed after a consolation-round loss.
• Connor Euton (165) finished his weekend after a pair of losses.
• Rocky Elam (197) was eliminated in consolation action.

What’s next

Session 4 begins at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Semifinal and Blood Round matches will be contested.

Filmogaz.com will follow the Cyclones’ progress as Bastida reached the semifinals and three Cyclones compete in the Blood Round.