MINNEAPOLIS - Second-ranked Iowa State defied the national wrestling rankings, winning two individual upsets and knocking off No. 1 Minnesota, 18-13, Sunday at Williams Arena.

The victory marked the first time a No. 2 ISU team beat a No. 1 squad in 21 years. On Feb. 23, 1986, the second-ranked Cyclones topped Iowa by a 18-16 margin at Hilton Coliseum.

Sunday's effort also improved the Cyclones' 2007-2008 record to 6-0 overall, while the Gophers fell to 3-1.

Minnesota won three of the first four matches to build a 10-3 lead. Yet Iowa State got a lift during that rocky start from eighth-ranked Nick Fanthorpe, who defeated No. 2 Mack Reiter at 133 pounds. The Cyclones then closed the dual meet with five victories in the final six individual bouts, including No. 11 Cyler Sanderson's 3-2 victory over fourth-ranked and previously undefeated C.P. Schlatter at 157.

The two upsets paved the way for Iowa State's victory.

"Obviously, this is a great win," said ISU wrestling coach Cael Sanderson. "We did a good job today but we have a lot of room for improvement. Nick and Cyler both beat returning all-Americans in a hostile arena.

"This is the best possible preparation for the Iowa match and the NCAA competition down the road. I do think that a win like this demonstrates for our wrestlers that we are teaching them the right things. We still have a long season ahead of us."

Fanthorpe's third-period reversal of Reiter sealed a 3-2 win for the Iowa State sophomore. Reiter, a Don Bosco graduate and a two-time all-American, escaped from Fanthorpe to open the second period and grab a 1-0 advantage. Starting the final period from the down position, Fanthorpe was able to reverse the Golden Gopher standout and add 90 seconds of riding time.

Fanthorpe improved to 10-0.

"The opportunity was there to get the reversal," he said. "But after I scored, I wanted to make sure I kept the pressure on him."

Cyler Sanderson, wearing a protective mask because of a broken nose, boosted his mark to 9-0 with the decision over Schlatter.

Sanderson, who suffered the injury against Clarion two weeks ago, used an escape at the beginning of the second period to go up 1-0 on the Minnesota all-American.

Schlatter evened the score at 1-1 with his own escape in the final period, but Sanderson won the bout by taking down Schlatter with 1 minute, 8 seconds left on the clock.

"This was a big win, but it's way too early to worry about who is ranked in what spot," said Cyler Sanderson. "We just have to keep improving."

In a highly-anticipated rematch from two weeks ago at the NWCA All-Star Classic, Iowa State's Jake Varner showed why he's the No. 1 wrestler at 184 pounds when he defeated two-time all-American and second-ranked Roger Kish, 3-0.

Varner fended off a single-leg shot by Kish in the closing seconds of the first period and then scored first with a second-period escape. Late in the period, Kish took a shot on Varner, but the Cyclone all-American spun around on top and scored the deciding two points.

Varner is now 3-2 against Kish and 5-0 this season.

Minnesota could still have won the match with a victory at heavyweight, but fifth-rated David Zabriske claimed a 7-2 decision over Ben Berhow. Zabriske climbed to 8-0.

"I'm used to being in the last match," he said. "It is a pretty nice win when everyone was watching. On paper, we had some upsets."

Iowa State hosts Iowa Sunday at 2 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum for the 73rd meeting between the in-state rivals on the mat.

125 - Jayson Ness (M) dec. Mark Kist 10-0; 133 - Nick Fanthorpe (ISU) dec. Mack Reiter 3-2; 141 - Manuel Rivera (M) dec. Nick Gallick 7-3; 149 - Dustin Schlatter (M) dec. Mitch Mueller 8-1; Cyler Sanderson (ISU) dec. C.P. Schlatter 3-2; 165 - Jon Reader (ISU) dec. Scott Glasser 6-1; 174 - Gabe Dretsch (M) dec. Aron Scott 9-2; 184 - Jake Varner (ISU) dec. Roger Kish 3-0; 197 - David Bartolino (ISU) dec. Justin Bronson 4-0; Hwt. - David Zabriske (ISU) dec. Ben Berhow 7-2