Oklahoma State Finishes Third in National Duals Invitational After Tough Semi Loss to Iowa
In a battle between the top seed and the No. 4 seed, and still the most storied rivalry in college wrestling and maybe, college athletics in general, Iowa advanced to the finals of the inaugural Paycom National Duals Invitational 18-16 over No. 5-ranked Oklahoma State. The Cowboys rebounded from the loss immediately after to crush No. 22-ranked and three-seed Nebraska 33-6 to earn third place in the event. The Cowboys won at every weight except for two in claiming the $150,000 cash prize in the unprecedented and first-time event wrestled at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.
It was a huge weekend for a number of Oklahoma State wrestlers including freshmen Sergio Vega, Landon Robideau, and Dee Lockett. Troy Spratley, the No. 2 wrestler at 125 pounds lost to No. 1 -ranked Vincent Robinson of N.C. State by one point and lost 5-4 to dean Patterson of Iowa, but came back in the third-place dual to get the only fall of the day for the Cowboys as he pinned his opponent from Nebraska.
No. 3-ranked Iowa clinched the semifinal in the 197 pound match between No. 9 Cody Merrill and No. 16 Massoma Endene. Endene put Merrill on his left shoulder in the third period and pushed through for the takedown and a 4-2 lead. Merrill got the escape to narrow it to 4-3 with just under a minute to go, but his repeated shots were successfully blocked by Endene and he prevailed 4-3. The decision clinched the dual at 18-10.
Iowa head coach Tom Brands immediately had his injured heavyweight Ben Kueter forfeit the match to the Cowboys Konner Doucet to give the Cowboys their final six points.
Iowa will wrestle No. 4-ranked (2nd seed) Ohio State, who downed No. Nebraska (3rd seed) 33-3 to win the other semifinal
The margins were tight throughout the semifinal between Iowa and Oklahoma State as three matches went into overtime and all decided in sudden victory. It started with No. 10 Dean Peterson with a 5-4 decision over No. 2 Troy Spratley. At 141 pounds, Sergio Vega, the Pokes No. 20 freshman, got the upset over No. 9 Nassir Bailey with a takedown in sudden victory to win and get the Cowboys their first team points as Iowa led 6-3. The other sudden victory win came at 174 pounds and started a three weight Iowa win streak leading to the verdict. Iowa’s No. 2 Patrick Kennedy got the takedown in sudden victory over No. 9 Cody Merrill of the Cowboys. The senior beating the redshirt freshman in overtime gave Iowa a 12-10 lead.
Oklahoma State’s Casey Swiderski lost a 4-3 decision at 149 pounds to Iowa’s unranked and somewhat of a surprise wrestler in Ryder Block. Oklahoma State got bonus points as freshamn 157 pounder and No. 5-ranked Landon Robideau went to 4-0 on his freshman season with a 16-5 major decision over former Oklahoma State wrestler Victor Voinovich.
As usual for an OSU-Iowa dual, there was controversy. At 165 pounds freshman and No. 6-ranked Dee Lockett, the local hero from Stillwater and a 20u freestyle World Champion from this summer was wrestling Iowa’s No. 2 Mickey Caliendo and late in the third period the two were tiend 4-4. Lockett got behind Caliendo late and put him on his shoulder and scrambled to the top. The official called a takedown.
Iowa head coach Tom Brands immediately threw his red challenge brick. The two officials looked at it and reversed the call to no takedown. Here came the green challenge brick from the Cowboys corner and head coach David Taylor. Now, a neutral official reviewed the action and the call and he awarded the takedown and win 7-4 to Dee Lockett, who starts he collegiate career 4-0 including a win over the No. 2 wrestler at his weight.
Iowa won with Kennedy at 174 points to recapture the lead and then Angelo Ferrari decisioned Zach Ryder 4-2 to put Iowa up 15-10 before the decider at 197 pounds.
The Cowboys had advanced to face the Hawkeyes after winning their first two matches in the National Duals Invitational, 22-12 over No. 12 Cornell and then over No. 7 North Carolina State in the quarterfinal match 23-11. Oklahoma State finished the weekend in the Paycom National Duals Invitational with the resounding win over Nebraska. Oklahoma State is now 4-1 on the season with the next dual at Air Force, a Big 12 Conference dual on Friday, Nov. 21. They will wrestle at Arizona State on Sunday, Nov. 23.
National Duals Invitational sponsored by Paycom – Day 2
Nov. 16, 2025 | BOK Center | Tulsa, Okla.
Semifinal Dual:
No. 3 Iowa 18, No. 5 Oklahoma State 16
125: No. 10 Dean Peterson (IOWA) dec. No. 2 Troy Spratley (OSU), 5-4
133: No. 2 Drake Ayala (IOWA) dec. Ronnie Ramirez (OSU), SV 7-4
141: No. 20 Sergio Vega (OSU) dec. No. 9 Nasir Bailey (IOWA), SV 3-0
149: Ryder Block (IOWA) dec. No. 3 Casey Swiderski (OSU), 5-3
157: No. 5 Landon Robideau (OSU) MD Victor Voinovich III (IOWA), 16-5
165: No. 6 Dee Lockett (OSU) dec. No. 2 Michael Caliendo (IOWA), 7-3
174: No. 2 Patrick Kennedy (IOWA) dec. No. 17 Alex Facundo (OSU), SV 4-1
184: No. 3 Angelo Ferrari (IOWA) dec. No. 4 Zach Ryder (OSU), 4-2
197: No. 16 Massoma Endene (IOWA) dec. No. 10 Cody Merrill (OSU), 4-3
HWT: No. 9 Konner Doucet (OSU) wins by forfeit
Third-Place Dual:
No. 5 Oklahoma State 33, No. 2 Nebraska 6
125: No. 2 Troy Spratley (OSU) fall Alan Koehler (NEB), 2:59
133: Ronnie Ramirez (OSU) dec. Kale Lauridsen (NEB), 9-3
141: No. 20 Sergio Vega (OSU) MD No. 2 Brock Hardy (NEB), 13-2
149: No. 3 Casey Swiderski (OSU) dec. Nikade Zinkin (NEB), 7-6
157: No. 5 Landon Robideau (OSU) TF Dez Garterell (NEB), 21-6, 6:45
165: No. 6 Dee Lockett (OSU) wins by forfeit
174: No. 17 Alex Facundo (OSU) dec. No. 4 Christopher Minto (NEB), 2-1
184: No. 6 Silas Allred (NEB) dec. No. 4 Zach Ryder (OSU), SV 5-2
197: No. 10 Cody Merrill (OSU) dec. No. 6 Camden McDanel (NEB), TB-2 2-1
HWT: No. 2 AJ Ferrari (NEB) dec. No. 9 Konner Doucet (OSU), 2-1
