Evan Frost opened Iowa State's home wrestling season on Sunday, November 1, with a technical fall win and a flex to the Hilton Coliseum crowd, and the third-ranked 141-pounder says the show is only getting started under new head coach Brent Metcalf.
Metcalf, the former Iowa star and two-time NCAA champion hired to lead the Cyclones, pulled Frost aside days before that dual with a message that has quickly become the theme of the season in Ames: knowing how to win is one thing, but learning how to dominate is another. According to Yahoo Sports, that conversation has already changed how the 2024 All-American approaches every match.
Metcalf's mandate: separate yourself
“Once you get to a certain level, it's one thing to know how to win matches, and it's another thing to learn how to dominate matches, how to really, really separate yourself,” Metcalf told Yahoo Sports. “That takes a little bit of skill, because you get to the point where, that rank's on your name and a lot of the guys that you're gonna wrestle, they're not out there to win. They're out there not to get teched, or not to get majored.”
Metcalf knows the territory. He won the 2008 Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation's most dominant wrestler and built his career at Iowa on bonus-point aggression. Now he is asking Frost, currently ranked No. 3 at 141 pounds, to bring that same mentality to a Cyclone lineup that has not hosted a home dual since that November 1 opener and will not again until January.
Frost said he wanted to give the Hilton crowd something to remember.
“I wanted to get a little bit of a reaction out of the crowd,” Frost said. “Obviously, it was our first dual back at home. Our next one's not until January, so I just wanted to get the Cyclones kind of feeling it and they responded well.”
A healthy Frost brings a different mindset
Frost won 13 of his 14 matches last season before illness and a shoulder injury knocked him out of the postseason, a bitter end for a wrestler who had established himself as one of the country's best. He said a top-three ranking invites a certain kind of opponent, one content to survive rather than win, so he has narrowed his focus to his own scoring.
“Some dudes take it as, 'OK, I'm a high number. I've got something to prove,'” Frost said. “Or some dudes take it as the less pressure side of it, where I really don't care. I'm just gonna go out there and score points and do what I do. That's kind of the approach I take.”
His twin brother, Jacob Frost, is also in the lineup and ranked 11th at 149 pounds, giving the Cyclones a family foundation as Metcalf rebuilds the program in his first season at the helm.
Big 12 adds dual season trophy
The Big 12 Conference has added a dual team trophy for the first time this season, and Metcalf said the move should sharpen competition from November through March.
“It's something that we've been asking for for a number of years,” Metcalf said. “Just from a conference point of view of us just having one more trophy in the trophy case, or one more thing as a conference for us to be able to celebrate throughout the year.”
Frost embraces the change as another reason to pile up points.
“I think there's gonna be a lot of power in that, going undefeated in the dual season,” Frost said. “Doing the best you can do, scoring the absolute max points you can score. Get the domination factor to just beat everybody by as many points as you can.”
Paniro Johnson's fifth-season reset
At 157 pounds, fifth-year Cyclone Paniro Johnson enters the season with a 50-13 career record, two Big 12 titles, and a sobering reminder of how quickly the sport can be taken away. A severe neck injury cut his 2025-26 campaign short, and he missed the NCAA podium in both of his previous trips to nationals.
“I don't want to say I feel like I've got something to prove, but it's kind of like I've got nothing to lose,” Johnson said. “Some people feel like I could be a national champ. And some people feel like I shouldn't be in the lineup sometimes. So it's just focusing on myself and competing hard.”
Johnson is ranked 14th at 157, and Metcalf believes the ceiling is high if Johnson can quiet the noise between his ears.
“The one thing he needs to control is this, his mind,” Metcalf said. “His belief in himself. He's really good at talking about it, but he's got to get it dialed in and take the pressure off of himself and just go out and wrestle. It's the same message I have for all of my guys, just go out there and perform. Focus on your performance over placement.”
Johnson said the message has landed.
“I've felt better about myself every week,” Johnson said. “Hopefully I can keep doing that until I'm on a top step, you know?”
What's next for the Cyclones
Iowa State does not wrestle another home dual until January, which puts the spotlight on road performances and early-season tournaments as Metcalf's first roster takes shape. For Iowa wrestling fans, the storyline writes itself: a former Hawkeye great now leading the Cyclones, with a No. 3-ranked 141-pounder who says he plans to let it fly.
“Just going out there and letting it fly,” Frost said. “And hopefully getting myself tired, because I know if I'm tired, the other guy's probably also gonna be tired, you know?”
Frequently asked questions
Who is Iowa State's new wrestling coach?
Brent Metcalf, a two-time NCAA champion at Iowa and the 2008 Dan Hodge Trophy winner, is in his first season as Iowa State's head wrestling coach.
Where is Evan Frost ranked?
Evan Frost is currently ranked No. 3 nationally at 141 pounds. He is a 2024 All-American and two-time NCAA qualifier.
What changed in the Big 12 this wrestling season?
The Big 12 added a dual team trophy for the first time this season, giving conferences a second championship to celebrate alongside the traditional tournament title.