National champions Keegan O'Toole (left) and David Carr (Photos Courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)As the regular season winds down this week, we’ll be treated to one of the most anticipated individual matchups of the year. Tonight, #3 Iowa State travels to meet #11 Missouri in a battle of Big 12 heavyweights. While there are excellent matches up-and-down the lineup, all eyes will be focused on the 165 lb bout featuring the top-two wrestlers in the nation. Anytime #1 and #2 wrestle, at any weight, it’s must-see, but this match goes a little farther than that. Top-ranked Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) and number-two David Carr (Iowa State) are both past national champions that went undefeated on the way to winning their respective chips. For the bulk of their collegiate career, both have typically been head-and-shoulders above the competition.
What makes this match intriguing is that we’ve haven’t seen before on a collegiate mat. Before this season, Carr had done his damage at 157 lbs, but has moved up to O’Toole’s 165 lb class for the 2022-23 campaign. This also has the ability to be the first of many matches between the pair. A few weeks from now, the two could meet in the Big 12 finals. Two weeks after that, the NCAA finals, perhaps. Carr also has another year of eligibility remaining, so this rivalry could carry on into the 2023-24 season, provided both return at 165.
So to get ready for the matchup this evening, we have compared and contrasted the careers of both wrestlers. At the end of the day, they have put up very similar results, which makes it even more difficult to project a winner.
Current Ranking
Keegan O’Toole: #1
David Carr: #2
2022-23 Record:
O’Toole: 12-0
Carr: 18-0
Career Record:
O’Toole: 56-1
Carr: 84-2
Current Winning Streak:
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