Get Ready for Oklahoma State-Iowa at Sold Out Gallagher-Iba on Sunday
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State had already beaten No. 12 Cornell and No. 7. North Carolina State by the time they met Iowa in the semifinals of the Paycom National Duals Invitational. The Hawkeyes scored decisions at 125 and 133 to jump out 6-0. Then Cowboy freshman Sergio vega at 141 stopped the bleeding and upset No. 9 Nassir Bailey 3-0 in sudden victory overtime. After Casey Swiderski was decisioned by Ryder Block to give Iowa a 9-3. The Hawkeyes got a taste of the other Oklahoma State freshmen as Landon Robideau majored former Cowboy Victor Voinovich and at 165 pounds, Dee Lockett rocked then No. 2 Mikey Caliendo 7-3.
Iowa won the dual 18-16, but the Oklahoma State freshmen made a major impact. The Pokes have since added world-class and rapidly rising Jax Forrest at 133 pounds. Since that early meeting the Cowboys have been unbeaten at 11-0, while the Hawkeyes have struggled and lost five times including to Ohio State later that day at the National Duals.
“This is a good opportunity to wrestle this team again and see where we’ve made improvement,” coach David Taylor said. “We’ve wrestled elite competition all season. We have the best competition in our room with our wrestlers and our Regional Training Center. We are always being challenged. The best practice is when you are out there competing with another team.”
Oklahoma State lists four true freshmen as starters: Forrest, Vega at 141 pounds, Robideau at 157 and Stillwater native Lockett at 165. Those four have a combined 49-1 record this season. Vega is wrestling with the most confidence. He got the only bonus points in the 19-12 win at No. 6 Virginia Tech last week.
“I’ve had a lot of matches where I’m doing a lot in my offense but I’m not getting the most out of it. I finish but then I don’t get past the takedown,” Vega said. He then gave a specific example from his match at Virginia Tech. “I cut that dude and then I heard Coach Taylor saying that I needed two takedowns. I knew I could get one, but I was really tired, so digging down deep and getting two takedowns for the team was really big.”
“You just can’t be successful if you’re not confident,” Taylor said. “This is not the environment to be in if you don’t have confidence. When we look at guys, we’re looking at the guys that are confident in their abilities and show it. Guys who want to wrestle and want to showcase their skills. It is contagious throughout our team.”
So, what is Vega expecting for his first Oklahoma State-Iowa dual?
“For it to be loud and fun,” Vega said. “And hopefully confetti.”
| Weight |
No. 7 Iowa Hawkeyes (12-5/5-3) Head Coach: Tom Brands (303-33-1) 20th Year |
No. 3 Oklahoma State Cowboys (14-1/7-0) Head Coach: David Taylor (27-2) 2nd Year |
| 125 | No. 6 Dean Peterson (10-3) | vs. | No. 7 Troy Spratley (11-3) |
| 133 | No. 9 Drake Ayala (9-6) | vs. | No. 6 Jax Forrest (9-0) -or- Ronnie Ramirez (7-3) |
| 141 | Kale Peterson (18-3) | vs. | No. 2 Sergio Vega (14-0) |
| 149 | No. 18 Ryder Block (9-6) | vs. | No. 9 Casey Swiderski (10-5) -or- Kolter Burton (11-5) -or- Beau Hickman (7-5) |
| 157 | No. 14 Jordan Williams (9-5) -or- Victor Voinovich II (9-5) | vs. | No. 5 Landon Robideau (13-1) |
| 165 | No. 4 Mikey Caliendo (14-3) | vs. | No. 2 Dee Lockett (13-0) |
| 174 | No. 3 Patrick Kennedy | vs. | No. 7 Alex Facundo (14-4) |
| 184 | Gabe Arnold (14-4) | vs. | No. 9 Zack Ryder (9-6) -or- Trevor Dopps (5-4) |
| 197 | Brody Sampson (7-9) | vs. | No. 7 Cody Merrill (12-3) |
| Hwt. | No. 9 Ben Kueter (5-5) | vs. | No. 8 Konner Doucet (13-2) |
The greatest rivalry in college wrestling takes place on Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. inside the grand old cathedral of wrestling, Gallagher-Iba Arena.
