3 things we learned from Iowa State wrestling media day

The Brent Metcalf era of Iowa State men's wrestling is nearly here.The Cyclones held their annual media day on Oct. 21, where the Register spoke with Iowa State's coaching staff and wrestlers to preview the season ahead. The first dual will be on Nov. 1 at home against Bucknell, where Iowa State hopes to start hot and improve on an eighth-place finish at last season's NCAA Championships.Faces like Yonger Bastida and Rocky Elam are gone. A lot of production has to be replaced, but Metcalf challenged his team to punch above what outside voices expect."We're the sort of team that needs to have a chip on our shoulder," Metcalf said. "I don't know what we're ranked. I don't really care what we're ranked. But as far as I'm concerned, we're not ranked where we belong and we need to go out and we need to earn it."Here are three of the major storylines that came out of media day.1. Wrestlers energized for start of Brent Metcalf-era with Iowa StateExcitement was the general vibe of media day. Of course, it's the start of the year and hopes are high, but Metcalf at the helm has brought a different style of attitude to the forefront.Metcalf was known as the energy guy. The coach who would participate in practice and breathe energy into the team when vibes were low. As head coach, he cannot be everyone's friend, but he is focusing on instilling a positive mindset in his athletes. Specifically, he's focused on effort vs. outcome. It's a generalized idea many Cyclones repeated at media day, as it seems like his mentality has spread through the team."I'm not going out there for the outcome, I'm going out there to perform really hard," said Evan Frost. "If I go out there and lose, but I perform really hard, we'll take that as a win."Metcalf points out that winning national championships and striving for goals is a must in the program. However, he's asking his team to focus on the effort, not the result. Even in a win, the question will be, 'How do you feel about your effort?' If you lost, 'Did you give it your all?'It's a mantra that Metcalf was known for in his time as a competitor. Behind that, he's hoping his program takes leaps one spot at a time. Whether it is successful or not remains to be seen, but it is clear the athletes are responding to it."Go out and attack," Metcalf said. "Go out and attack the match. Go and try to take it. Not try to play games, try to hold on for wins and things like that. I believe if you focus on being your best, I think you're going to get your hand raised a lot more."2. Evan Frost, Paniro Johnson, Aiden Riggins step into larger weights, other lineup notesThere are four NCAA All-Americans returning — Evan Frost, Jacob Frost and MJ Gaitan. Paniro Johnson is a two-time Big 12 champion. Two of them will be at new weights — Evan Frost and Johnson. Evan Frost will be at 141 pounds, while Johnson is going to 157 pounds, where we have seen him before, but where he slotted into this year's roster was a bit of a question before the updated roster was released. Evan Frost had a stellar regular season at 133 pounds last year, but a shoulder injury kept him off the mat for the postseason. It's something that disappointed him, but he's recovered and ready to roll at a larger weight."Things happen," Evan Frost said. "You can't really sit there and be mad forever about it. Obviously, I was disappointed in the moment, for a couple weeks, maybe a month. Life moves on."Johnson also suffered a season-ending neck injury last season. It was serious enough that Johnson said it could have ended his career, and when he returned, he wasn't wrestling like his normal self in fear of taking unnecessary risks. Now, he says he's back to it and feeling great as the season approaches.At 157 pounds, Johnson is making a leap. He's been working with strength and conditioning coach Lance Runyon and athletic trainers on exercises to keep his neck strong, but is ready to put out his best wrestling yet despite a tough injury."Just believing in myself and telling myself, 'If I can't put my best product out there, I don't want to put nothing out there at this point,'" Johnson said. "I got to let it rip. I gotta trust my athletic trainers."Another big jump comes from Aiden Riggins. This summer, he had an internship and wasn't in the wrestling room as much, but Metcalf was stunned by his progress."The guy that showed up was like a whole new person," Metcalf said. "His body was built like he'd been working."Riggins is one of two 184-pounders on the roster, along with Sawyer Bartelt. At 165 at the 2025 NCAA Championships, he went 3-2, but did not make the lineup last year with Connor Euton back from injury. He's wrestled at 184 before when he was at Iowa, but there seems to be confidence he's got the size to contend for the starting job at 184.That is one of four places of ambiguity in the lineup, along with 125, 133 and 197. There are plenty of options there, but Metcalf didn't get into who may get the early season nod. Instead, he said he's been challenging those at the weights to aim high with opportunities to be grabbed."Who's going to separate yourself?" Metcalf said. "Who is going to make it clear as day you're the guy? Not only just for this team, but in the country. I want you dreaming bigger."3. Freshmen bringing energyOne big change for all programs in 2026-27 is the new age-based eligibility. With the removal of redshirts, there's no reason a freshman can't challenge for a spot. College wrestling teams now are open to starting the best wrestler at each weight, regardless of year.That means the Iowa State freshmen aren't holding back because there's no reason they can't be the guy if they prove it in practice. "You grab one of those guys (freshmen), and they're going to try to kill you," Jacob Frost said. "Every single day."The freshman getting the most attention is heavyweight Coby Merrill. The U23 World bronze medalist projects to start right away. That's exciting for Metcalf and the staff, having a foundational piece of the lineup for five years.He likened Merrill's potential impact to that of other Cyclone heavyweights like Chris Taylor. That's big praise, but his size and talent at the position make him one of the most intriguing wrestlers to watch on this budding squad."He's college-ready," Metcalf said. "What's unique about him, is because he's so big, and so physical and he can own the center of the mat, at heavyweight, that's key No. 1. Don't get out-hand fought, don't let guys push you around. As far as I am concerned, he's got half the battle won."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: 3 things we learned from Iowa State wrestling media day