Oklahoma State Will Move Up Rankings Taking Down No. 3 Iowa State in Emotional Dual

STILLWATER – Sunday’s showdown between Big 12 unbeatens No. 3-ranked Iowa State (9-1/5-0) and No. 5 Oklahoma State (11-1/6-0) featured Cowboy football’s new quarterback Drew Mestemaker leading the wrestlers out to the mat. It also included a high school reunion at 141 pounds and the first appearance of the No. 1 ranked wrestler with Iowa State’s Younger Bastida.

It also drew the second-largest crowd of the season with 10,002 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.

What was confusing was the team rankings as with each team having to sub for a starter, you’d still expect a close dual. It wasn’t as David Taylor’s young Cowboys plastered the Cyclones 24-9.

“This was probably our toughest challenge that we’ve had this year,” Taylor said after the dual. “I kind of got on these guys on Friday (after the win over Northern Iowa). I thought we had more to give, more effort and more energy. They responded really well.”

The most exciting match of the afternoon was slightly unexpected as No. 2 and unbeaten Rocky Elam of Iowa State was expected to beat the Cowboys No. 7 Cody Merrill at 197 pounds. It sure looked like Merrill was going to get the upset. The Cowboys redshirt freshman seemed to have an early takedown that was waived off and reviewed by the officials. He built up over a minute and a half of riding time in the second period. The score was 1-1 with Merrill down in the third, but Elam wrestled out the third to erase the riding time and send it to overtime. 

In the sudden victory start of overtime, there was another near takedown that was reviewed when the Cowboys protested. Another close miss. Then in the tiebreaker Merrill rode out Elam, but a locked hands call cost him three seconds of riding time. Elam rode out the 30 seconds in his half of the tiebreaker and won a 4-1 OT tb1 decision.  

That was only Iowa State’s second win of the dual.

Then at heavyweight, No. 1 and unbeaten Younger Bastida led most of the match, but No. 6 Konner Doucet gave the top-ranked Cyclone all he wanted losing a 5-2 decision that was highly competitive leading to the final score of 24-9. It was just Doucet’s second loss of the season as he is now 11-2. Bastida is now 18-0.

The best match numerically of the dual laid out for 141 pounds with No. 2 Sergio Vega going against No. 3 Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State. It was a high school reunion as well as both wrestlers are from Sunnyside High School in Tucson, Ariz. 

There was plenty of movement through two periods but no scoring. Vega got an escape point when Echemendia gave it to him at the start of the third period. Midway through the third, Vega got his second stall warning and the match was 1-1. Then it looked like Vega was in trouble as Echemendia hit a single and had Vega’s leg but the freshman countered and took control and was awarded a takedown.

An official’s review confirmed it with just three seconds on the clock, Echemendia got the escape, but Vega had a 4-2 decision. He stayed unbeaten at 12-0. Oklahoma State led 11-0.

“In that third period when things got tough I was ready for it,” Vega said.

Asked about the reunion aspect of the match with Echemendia?

“When he was in high school (Sunnyside), I was 5-1, 130 pounds, real fat and chubby,” Vega joked. “I’d always see him around and he was all muscles. It was funny.”

It wasn’t funny for Echemendia now.

The dual started at 125 pounds with a very technical-style of match. No scoring in the first period with No. 7 Cowboy Troy Spratley taking shots but no success. Then in the second period, Spratley started down and No. 13 Steve Poulin went to work riding and he picked up 1:33 in riding time, but he also picked up a stall warning and then a stall call. Poulin was called for lacked hands giving Spratley another point. He got the third with the escape. That was it for scoring. None in the third, Poulin got the riding time point and Spratley got his 10^th win of the season with a 3-1 decision. 

It is hard to describe exactly what happened at 133 pounds other than Jax Forrest stayed unbeaten with constant movement and domination over Iowa State backup and freshman Osmany Diversent. The Cyclones No. 3-ranked Evan Frost (13-1) was reportedly ill and he missed the Cowboys rising star. Frost also did not wrestle in Norman on Friday night.

Forrest started with jumping on Diversent and then took him down. There was a two-point near fall, a four-point near fall and then another four-point move and by the end of the first period it was 13-0. Diversent looked like a fish out of water. Forrest wasted little time as he got a takedown 31 seconds into the second for the 16-0 tech fall at 3:31. Oklahoma State led 8-0 on the scoreboard. 

The Cowboys No. 12 Casey Swiderski was the only Cowboy wrester that got to take on a Frost as Swiderski had No. 6 Jacob Frost. The match was 1-1 in the third period after each wrestler got an escape. Frost seemingly had Swiderski dead to rights with s deep single leg, but somehow Swiderski fought it off and then got both of Frost’s legs and had a solid takedown as the crowd roared sensing the upset. Frost escaped with 41 seconds left but could not score and Swiderski had the 4-2 decision. Oklahoma State leading 14-0. 

Oklahoma State Athletics

Swiderski salutes after upsetting Jacob Frost at 157 pounds.

“They were high,” Swiderski answered when asked about the emotions of his match. “It was an opportunity for me to just stay present, like Coach (Taylor) tells me and just wrestle and have clarity. I couldn’t hold back a little at the end. It was big for me. I’ve had people say things about me and this (win) was important. It was fun.”

The Robideau second-semester retribution campaign continued as the freshman had been seemingly ticked off since her first loss of his career at Nebraska in the last dual of the first semester. He’s been perfect since but Iowa State’s No. 8 Vinny Zerban was a challenge.

They traded escapes for a 1-1 score in the third and then went on a crazy scramble in the third period that had split seconds that seem to favor each wrestler before Robideau finally got his arm clear of Zerban and took advantage of having the legs for the takedown and a 4-1 decision. Oklahoma State led 17-0.

After the intermission, No. 2 Dee Lockett did not need the late drama and heroics of Friday night with his late takedown of No. 6 Ryder Dwoney of Northern Iowa. Lockett downed No. 16 Conner Euton in a 12-3 major decision. He took control in the second period with first a single leg and trip for the takedown and then a four-point near fall, but fans won’t forget later that peiod a lightning quick move behind Euton to grab his left leg and get another takedown. 

The theme and the rhythm of the dual continued at 174 pounds as No. 7 Alex Facundo of the Pokes and No. 13 M.J. Gaitan each got an escape before Facundo got as solid a double leg takedown as you will ever see. The frustration was he just missed two other takedowns, one at the end of the first period but Gaitan was saved by the horn. The other close call came as the action went off the mat in the third period. Facundo went to 12-4 with a 4-2 decision. Oklahoma State led 24-0. 

Iowa State got on the scoreboard at 184 pounds as Oklahoma State wrestled Trever Dopps with No. 8 Zack Ryder out with a shoulder injury. Dopps, a senior from Goddard, Kan. held his own with No. 12 Isaac Dean, It was 2-1 with just three seconds left when Dean scored a late takedown to win a 5-1 decision. The lead was still 24-3 Cowboys.

With the win, the Cowboys go to 12-1/6-0 in the Big 12 and sole possession of the conference lead. Iowa State drops to 9-2 and 5-1 in the Big 12. Oklahoma State will be at home again on Friday (Feb. 6) hosting Little Rock.

No. 5 Oklahoma State 24 No. 3 Iowa State 9

Attendance: 10,002