Get Ready for Oklahoma State-Iowa at Sold Out Gallagher-Iba on Sunday
STILLWATER – You go all the way back to the Paycom National Duals Invitational and Oklahoma State had beaten No. 12 Cornell and then No. 7 North Carolina State and the semifinals featured the Cowboys and their old rival the Hawkeyes of Iowa. The Hawkeyes scored decisions at 125 and 133 to jump out 6-0. Then 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 fired major salvos. Now, the Pokes frosh have added world-class and rapidly rising Jax Forrest at 133. 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.
I think everybody except Iowa head coach Tom Brands is anxious for the rematch on Sunday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
“This is a good opportunity to wrestle this team again and see where we’ve made improvement,” Taylor said of the Iowa dual knowing it is much more. It is the biggest rivalry in college wrestling.
“We’ve wrestled elite competition all season,” continued Taylor. “We have the best competition in our room with our wrestlers and our RTC. We are always being challenged. The best practice is when you are out there competing with another team.”
The Oklahoma State true freshmen, that are starters, include 133 pound Forrest, Sergio Vega at 141, Landon Robideau at 157, and Stillwater native Dee Lockett at 165. Those four have a combined 49-1 record this season. They are all confident, but none any more than Sergio Vega, who 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 in general and then he got specific with 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 added. “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.”
It will spread like a wrestling disease on Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. inside the grand old cathedral of wrestling.
| 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) |
So, what is Vega expecting for his first Oklahoma State-Iowa dual?
“For it to be loud and fun,” Vega said. “And hopefully confetti.”
Yes, it would be nice for a lot of confetti and fireworks inside the building.
