Nearly four years have passed since Yonger Bastida beat Rocky Elam on the wrestling mat.

But it took just a few days for Bastida — and Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser — to convince Elam he should team up with his formerly bitter foe at 197 pounds as a Cyclone.

“Through Instagram and stuff before he came, I was talking to him, and when he came we kind of connected together,” said Bastida, who is Iowa State’s third-ranked heavyweight, but used to tangle with Elam at 197. “On the mat is one thing, outside the mat is another thing. It’s a good connection with him. He’s a great guy, so everything’s good with him.”

Everything’s looking up for the Cyclones this season, particularly after attracting top transfer talent such as the four-time All-American Elam, and All-Americans Stevo Poulin and Vinny Zerban (both formerly of Northern Colorado), among others.

“There’s a lot of talent here,” Dresser said. “That doesn’t guarantee anything, so we’ve got to turn that talent into wins, and we’ve had a really good preseason.”

Injuries to key starters — including Bastida, who missed most of last season with a knee malady — caused Iowa State to tumble to 27th at the NCAA Championships after securing a trophy-worth fourth-place spot the previous season.

So Dresser reloaded via the transfer portal and feels good about the competition in his room as wrestle-offs wind down and the season-opening Cyclone Invitational swings into view on Saturday.

“I told all the guys after the NCAA Tournament last year, that we’ve gotta have guys (who) can go deep into Friday at each weight,” Dresser said. “And if we don’t have guys (who) can go deep into Friday, we’re gonna shop around.”

Elam, who placed between third and sixth at the NCAAs for four seasons at Missouri, never thought he’d “shop around” his talents, but here he is.

He’s ranked second at 197 pounds. He went 4-2 overall against Bastida in the old and intense rivalry days — and his formerly stern foe became a big draw for him when he decided to transfer.

“We train together,” Elam said. “We are next to each other in the locker room, so we chat (there). It’s just one of those things. I’ve known Yonger longer than anybody on this team. Even if it hasn’t been from a relationship standpoint for the whole time, it’s been from a competition standpoint for half of it, so the familiarity we have is pretty strong.”

Dresser’s just making sure they pick their spots for practice scraps, as both are coming off significant injuries.

“Yonger is a little too big for him right now, so I don’t want Yonger touching him for another couple weeks until we get Rocky fully healthy,” Dresser said. “But even (recently), I saw those guys drilling together and Rocky’s wrestling IQ is really good, and I saw him kind of coaching Yonger up in a couple positions. So, yeah, there’s already that friendship and that bond there.”

Perspective For Echemendia

Iowa State 141/149-pounder Anthony Echemendia’s on his second school and coming off a major injury.

How significant?

The All-American faced a potentially life-threatening infection last season that gave him an entirely new outlook on life.

“Yeah, that was really scary because it started with my ankle,” the Cuban transplant said.

And?

“I sprained my ankle and two ligaments,” Echemedia said. “A lot of athletes go through that, but I (had) surgery, and they put a metal plate inside to keep everything together, and I started training too early and I got an infection.”

Echemendia yearned to help the Cyclones have a better finish at the NCAAs than they did last season, so he told his doctors to hold off on fixing the severe ankle issue and infection until March had passed.

Then he got a reality check.

“The doctor told me, ‘This is not a matter of wrestling anymore,’” said Echemendia, who is ranked #7 at 141 by FloWrestling. “‘You don’t really understand the gravity of your infection. If the infection goes from the metal to your bone, then we have to cut your leg off — or you could lose your life.”

Echemendia said at that moment he felt humbled. All he cared about was getting to the NCAAs and performing well, but when the doctor spoke, he listened and recalibrated his goals — zeroing in on this season.

“That taught me I’m not just a wrestler,” Echemendia said. “I really started praying and was like, ‘God, I just want to keep my leg and be able to walk again,’ If wrestling is over, it’s fine for me. I just want to be able to get back on both feet at some point.”

He’s there now — and recently married to the woman who stood by his bedside throughout his ordeal.

“I try to make memories with my boys,” Echemendia said. “And I try to enjoy the process.”