There’s no need for hype. No need for hoopla. When Iowa State meets Iowa on the wrestling mat Sunday at 2 p.m., a raucous atmosphere will form organically for a highly-anticipated Cy-Hawk dual meet that should be tight, intense and brimming with plot twists.

“We don’t need to tell anybody in the wrestling world how big the Cy-Hawk opportunity is for both schools,” said Dresser, who won a national title at Iowa in 1986 and is in his seventh season with the Cyclones. “I made a comment (after last weekend’s 42-0 win over Wisconsin) that when you put two really good products together, you get a big-tip dual meet, and I think that’s what’s gonna happen Sunday. It’s gonna be a big stage. I know the state of Iowa’s excited about it. Our guys are excited about it. (Hawkeye head) coach (Tom) Brands’ guys are gonna be excited about it. So it should be a really fun weekend.”

Iowa State hasn’t beaten Iowa at home since 2003 and has lost 18 consecutive duals to the Hawkeyes. But this Cy-Hawk event is different in a variety of ways. The dual will be televised live nationally on ESPN. Several of the matches are widely considered to be toss-ups. And marquee matchups exist, as well. Most notably, decorated Cyclone David Carr, the second-ranked 165-pounder in the country, will face #6 Michael Caliendo, who transferred to Iowa from North Dakota State.

“No problem putting David out there against anybody at any time,” said Dresser, who saw Carr beat the Badger’s #5 Dean Hamiti, 2-0, last Sunday. “He gets himself ready for those big matches. I mean, we had a run (Tuesday) morning and you could tell he’s dialed in right now. And he was last week, too, so he’ll be ready to go Sunday, I know that.”

One of the other most intriguing matchups crops up at 157, where former Iowa greyshirt and current Iowa State freshman Cody Chittum is poised to take on #2 Jared Franek — another North Dakota State transfer.

Chittum, at one point, was tabbed the nation’s top pound-for-pound prospect in the Class of 2023, and Franek earned All-American honors last season.

“Chittum (is) high energy,” Dresser said. “Loves wrestling so much and you can see it. It’s all he thinks about. It’s all he wants to do. … He’s gonna make some mistakes. He’s got to figure out some things, but I can tell you this: he’s excited. There’s probably not many times after this year that that guy is gonna be the underdog and he’s a pretty strong underdog on Sunday.”

The Cyclones remain slight underdogs from top to bottom against the Hawkeyes, but if a couple of things break their way, a long streak of futility in the Cy-Hawk series could finally evaporate into the Hilton Coliseum rafters.

“We haven’t beaten them in I don’t know how many years,” said Iowa State redshirt freshman 174-pounder MJ Gaitan, who likely will grapple with highly-touted true freshman Gabe Arnold. “(The fans) are definitely gonna be going insane. Every match, every point scored, they’re gonna be going crazy, which is gonna be fun.”

Feldkamp Debuts

Will Feldkamp, an All-American transfer from Clarion, won by fall in his Cyclone debut last weekend against Wisconsin’s Shane Liegel. It’s a familiar position for the Michigan native, who ranked third among Division I wrestlers last season in pins with 14.

“We’ve got guys up and down the lineup (who) can definitely get a tech, get a major, get a pin. So it’s important (to score bonus points), but at the same time, you’ve just gotta go out there and wrestle your match. If you go out there maybe looking to force a pin, or to force an extra takedown, sometimes that can lead to mistakes. So just wrestling your match, usually good things will happen.”

Feldkamp will obviously wrestle in his first Cy-Hawk dual, so what does he expect?

“We’re just looking at it like another dual,” he said before pivoting from cliche mode.

“Obviously, it’s a little bigger than that,” he added. 

Dresser’s Dual Ties

About three weeks before Dresser won his individual 142-pound national title for Iowa, the Cyclones beat the eventual national champion Hawkeyes in a dual meet in Ames. That turn of events unfolded in 1986, so Dresser’s highly familiar with both sides of this annual landmark event.

“I helped recruit Tom and Terry Brands to the University of Iowa way back in the late 80’s,” Dresser said. “There (are) not two more guys out there in the whole wrestling world who are more passionate about winning, so we know they’re gonna be ready. Their staff is gonna be ready. That’s just the way they are. I’ve seen them fight over Monopoly and run down the street after they’ve lost with their clothes off, so, you know, that’s just the way they are. They’re just wired to win and they like to win, and when they don’t win, they’re not happy. I like the competitive nature of that, so let the circus begin, I guess.”