Cowboys fall to Hawkeyes
Iowa handed the Oklahoma State wrestling team its first loss of the season in a battle between two of the nation’s best programs.
IOWA CITY, IOWA — Seventh-ranked Iowa beat the Oklahoma State wrestling team 20-12 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday afternoon, handing the Cowboys their first loss of the season.
The No. 3-ranked Cowboys (6-1, 3-0 Big 12) were unable to overcome a couple of upsets on the road in the 52nd meeting between the two powerhouse programs.
The Hawkeyes struck first at 125 pounds. Iowa freshman Spencer Lee defeated Nick Piccininni in a 10-5 match.
OSU took a 7-3 lead with a pair of wins from Kaid Brock and Dean Heil. Brock had little trouble with Iowa’s Phillip Laux, taking the Hawkeye senior down seven times on the way to a 16-6 major decision. Heil shut out Vince Turk for a 4-0 decision, getting back on track after a two-match skid.
The Hawkeyes regained the lead with threestraight wins from 149 to 165.
In his second career start, Boo Lewallen took a 23-8 technical fall from Brandon Sorensen at 149 pounds.
At 157, Jonce Blaylock dropped a 9-2 decision to Michael Kemerer.
At 165, Chandler Rogers was upset 5-2 by Alex Marinelli.
Jacobe Smith earned a decision at 174 pounds to keep the Cowboys alive, but Iowa responded with a Mitch Bowman 10-6 decision over OSU freshman Keegan Moore to stretch the deficit to 17-9.
OSU’s Preston Weigel remained undefeated since his return at 197 pounds, picking up a 6-0 win over Cash Wilcke.
The dual came down to OSU heavyweight Derek White. The Cowboys needed a tech fall over No. 3 Sam Stoll to tie or a pin to win. Despite being outsized by Stoll, White led 3-2 heading into the third period. Stoll was able to escape quickly in the third to tie it up and force sudden victory.
With no score after the first sudden victory period, the bout headed to tiebreakers where both wrestlers were able to escape from the down position and tie it at four. Finally, in the second sudden victory period, Stoll was able to convert on a takedown to take the 6-4 decision.