As the Binghamton University crowd left the West Gym Sunday, there was a sense of accomplishment in the air.

No, the Bearcats wrestling team did not upset the No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones. They were, however, able to go ‘toe to toe’ with the Cyclones and even had a 15-9 lead before eventually falling 30-15.

‘This was a great dual meet for our guys ‘ they really competed well,’ said BU head coach Pat Popolizio in an athletics department press release.

Anwar Goeres (141 pounds), a Bearcat sophomore, brought the crowd of over 900 to its feet with his huge upset win over ISU’s Nick Gallick, the 14th-ranked wrestler in the nation.

Goeres took down Gallick early in the first period. After an escape by Gallick, Goeres threw Gallick to his back and pinned him, earning him a standing ovation from the crowd.

No. 19 Kyle Fried (149 pounds), a senior for the Bearcats, followed Goeres with an overtime victory over No. 14 Mitch Mueller.

Fried used a first period takedown to jump out to a 2-1 first period lead. With the score tied 2-2 going into the third period, Fried escaped, giving him a 3-2 advantage.

Mueller’s takedown with 36 seconds left gave him his first lead of the match, 4-3. Fried escaped soon after tying the score at four and sending the match into sudden victory overtime. With eight seconds left in sudden victory, Fried secured a takedown to win the match 6-4.

‘The whole atmosphere was great,’ Popolizio said. ‘It was a huge statement for us to get a couple of individual wins against ranked opponents.’

The Bearcats were without their only national qualifier from a year ago, No. 20 Josh Patterson (174 pounds), who did not wrestle. Patterson forfeited the finals at the Cornell Body Bar Invitational on Saturday in Ithaca due to injury.

For a wrestling program that had no team in 2004 and no team wins in 2005, Sunday was another example of how far this team has come under Popolizio. It was also another huge step forward for Binghamton athletics, as Iowa State, the defending Big 12 champion and national runner-up, was the highest-ranked team to ever come to Vestal.