With the win, the Cowboys moved to 7-2-1 on the season. Iowa went to 8-0-1 overall.
Both teams won five bouts, with Oklahoma State registering 13 takedowns in the dual to Iowa’s nine.
"A tie doesn't do a lot for anyone. I think we had our opportunities, but didn't really take advantage of them,” Oklahoma State coach John Smith said. “We had some guys in tough battles that won matches. Some of those young ones out there were just wearing their emotions on their sleeves, and we have to train through that. We have to make sure that we are prepared and mentally ready to push through tough, hard matches.
Iowa struck first when reigning NCAA champion Matt McDonough handed OSU freshman Jon Morrison a 7-3 setback. One of the key moments of the dual came in the 133-pound match when Tyler Clark’s escape with one second remaining in the second period of his 11-4 loss to top-ranked Cowboy Jordan Oliver was the difference between the Cowboy having to settle for a win by decision instead of a bonus-point major-decision victory.
The Hawkeyes and Cowboys traded victories at 141 pounds and 149 pounds, respectively, but a win from Iowa freshman Derek St. John over OSU senior Neil Erisman at 157 pounds gave the Hawkeyes the advantage going into the second half of the dual.
OSU responded by rattling off wins in three of the next four bouts, with freshmen Dallas Bailey and Chris Perry and senior Clayton Foster all getting their hand raised to put the Cowboys up, 15-12, on the team scoreboard with only the heavyweight bout remaining.
Perry’s 2-0 win over No. 16 Grant Gambrall was particularly important because a loss there would have been a devastating blow to the Cowboys since the Hawkeyes had control of the dual at the time.
“We’ve actually been rivals since we were little kids, probably like 12 years old,” Perry said of facing Gambrall. “We would just wrestle a ton. We’ve worked out together before one time when I went to see my brother. We know each other pretty well. It’s just a good little rivalry we’ve had since we were little kids and we just kind of like to battle.”
Cowboy freshman Blake Rosholt – giving up no fewer than 60 pounds to his opponent - lost a 3-1 decision in sudden victory to Blake Rasing to bring the final score to 15-15.
The Cowboys return to action when they travel to Ames for a rematch with Iowa State on Jan. 23. Oklahoma State was a 37-9 winner over the Cyclones at the National Duals earlier in the season.
“They have had a lot of challenges these last two weeks with National Duals and with Iowa and it doesn't get any easier next week with Iowa State,” Smith said. “That is what is fun, when you embrace it and look forward to it, but we didn't look like we embraced it today. We wore our emotions a little bit on our sleeves and it is something that we need to learn from as we go down this stretch."
Results:
125: No. 2 Matt McDonough (Iowa) dec. No. 8 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State), 7-3
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 11 Tyler Clark (Iowa), 11-4
141: No. 19 Mark Ballweg (Iowa) dec. No. 13 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State), 8-3
149: No. 9 Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) dec. Matt Ballweg (Iowa), 8-4
157: No. 15 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Neil Erisman (Oklahoma State), 7-5
165: No. 13 Dallas Bailey (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 15 Aaron Janssen (Iowa), 6-2
174: No. 16 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) dec. No. 10 Mike Benefiel (Oklahoma State), 4-3
184: No. 14 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 16 Grant Gambrall (Iowa), 2-0
197: No. 3 Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 15 Luke Lofthouse (Iowa), 5-3
285: Blake Rasing (Iowa) dec. Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma State), 3-1 SV
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