Iowa State Wrestling at NCAA Championships: Bastida Reaches Final, Echemendia and Gaitan Earn All-American Honors

CLEVELAND – Iowa State wrestling concluded a strong showing at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, with heavyweight Yonger Bastida advancing to the national final. Senior Anthony Echemendia and junior MJ Gaitan both secured All-American status, though their championship runs were cut short.

Bastida Dominates Path to NCAA Final

Yonger Bastida continued his impressive run through the tournament, earning a dominant victory over Nebraska’s No. 4 AJ Ferrari in the semifinals with a score of 15-7. Iowa State Athletics reports this is the first time an Iowa State heavyweight has reached the NCAA final since 2010.

Bastida will face No. 2 Isaac Trumble of NC State in the championship match on Saturday evening.

Echemendia and Gaitan Achieve All-American Status

Anthony Echemendia and MJ Gaitan both earned All-American honors on Friday night, prevailing in the “Blood Round.” Iowa State Athletics confirmed this is Echemendia’s second career All-America honor and the third consecutive year Iowa State has had an All-American at 141 pounds.

However, Echemendia’s tournament ended prematurely due to a medical withdrawal after sustaining an arm injury during his Blood Round match. He finished in sixth place with a 23-5 record for the season.

Gaitan finished in eighth place after falling to Michigan’s No. 9 Beau Mantanona by fall in the seventh-place match. He concluded the season with a 19-9 record.

Team Standings and Match Results

Iowa State currently sits eighth in the team race with 52 points. HawkCentral provided detailed match-by-match results:

• No. 13 Stevo Poulin (125) – DNP (1.5 pts.)
• No. 28 Garrett Grice (133) – DNP (1 pt.)
• No. 4 Anthony Echemendia (141) – 6th Place (13 pts.)
• No. 16 Jacob Frost (149) – DNP (4 pts.)
• No. 12 Vinny Zerban (157) – DNP (1.5 pts.)
• No. 15 Connor Euton (165) – DNP (2.5 pts.)
• No. 11 MJ Gaitan (174) – 8th Place (7.5 Pts.)
• No. 13 Isaac Dean (184) – DNP (0 pts.)
• No. 2 Rocky Elam (197) – DNP (1 pt.)
• No. 1 Yonger Bastida (285) – Finals

Looking Ahead

All eyes will be on Yonger Bastida as he competes for the NCAA title tonight at 5:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN against Isaac Trumble of NC State. Both wrestlers enter the match with undefeated records.