It's a top 10 matchup in the McLeod Center on the campus of Northern Iowa as the #7 Panthers face Big 12 rivals #3 Oklahoma State! 

The dual is scheduled for Friday, January 24 at 8:00 PM ET or 7:00 PM local central time. You can watch it right here with your FloWrestling subscription.

Both teams are ranked in the top five in the latest coaches' poll. If you're within driving distance of Cedar Falls and that alone is not enough to get you to attend the dual, may I point out that there will be a mechanical bull available on the McLeod Center concourse? Click here to purchase tickets!

Series History

The all-time series currently stands at 34-4 in favor of Oklahoma State. 

There have been several distinct eras of the Cowboy-Panther rivalry. The first is from 2017-18 to the present. The series during that span is 5-2 in favor of OSU. UNI won in 2022 and 2020, both times by a score of 19-15. 

There were a few years of no duals in between the previous era. That one lasted from 2000 to 2013 and saw the two programs wrestle 15 times, all victories for the Cowboys.

Another break in competition was preceded by a time period where seven duals took place between 1984 and 1994. That record was 5-2 in favor of Oklahoma State. The squads only faced off one other time, in 1965, in a dual meet also won by OSU.

Current Season Recap

Newly minted coach David Taylor's Cowboys are 9-0 in duals on the season. They also won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which will likely prove to be the toughest and deepest in-season tournament of the 2024-25 NCAA wrestling calendar. 

The closest dual meet for the Cowboys this season was last Sunday when they defeated West Virginia 30-12, which was also the first time OSU surrendered double-digit team points. 

Doug Schwab, now in his 15th year at the helm of the Panthers, also sports a 9-0 dual meet record, although he's had several close duals along the way. The Panthers also finished sixth as a team at the CKLV that OSU won by over 70 points last Decemeber. 

UNI has shown steady improvement over the season, however. They finished second at the Soldier Salute over the holidays and have been on a tear ever since, racking up wins over Nebraska and Arizona State, as well as winning the NWCA National Duals. It's also worth noting that Nebraska finished second at the CKLV.

Projected Lineups

125: #4 Troy Spratley, OSU vs #20 Trever Anderson, UNI

133: #19 Reece Witcraft or Cael Hughes, OSU vs #21 Julian Farber, UNI

141: #4 Tagen Jamison, OSU Vs #5 Cael Happel, UNI

149: #12 Carter Young, OSU vs #13 Colin Realbuto, UNI

157: #13 Caleb Fish, OSU vs #4 Ryder Downey, UNI

165: #6 Cameron Amine, OSU vs #12 Jack Thomsen, UNI 

174: #3 Dean Hamiti, OSU vs #16 Jared Simma, UNI

184: #3 Dustin Plott, OSU vs #2 Parker Keckeisen, UNI

197: #7 Luke Surber, OSU vs #12 Wyatt Voelker, UNI

285: #3 Wyatt Hendrickson, OSU vs #15 Lance Runyon, UNI

We could see 20 ranked wrestlers on Friday! Not bad!

Bout by Bout Preview

125 pounds

Both Troy Spratley and Trever Anderson are redshirt sophomores. Spratley beat Anderson twice last season, 7-2 at the CKLV and 3-2 as last year's dual meet. Spratley has recorded several high-ranked wins this season but is also currently on a two bout losing streak, albeit to quality opponents in #3 Vincent Robinson and #10 Jett Strickenberger.

Anderson is also on a two-bout skid, also to top 10 ten opponents, in his case #2 Richie Figueroa and #9 Stevo Poulin. Anderson did pick up a nice win in the Panther's dual against Nebraska, beating #7 Caleb Smith 5-2. 

This matchup leans in Spratley's favor, but Anderson will have an opportunity to pull off an upset and give the Panthers a huge boost early in the dual (assuming they start at 125).

133 Pounds

Oklahoma State hasn't trotted senior Reece Witcraft out for a dual since its dual against Virginia Tech on December 19. It remains to be seen if Coach Taylor will have a healthy and available Witcraft or if he'll once again tap redshirt freshman Cael Hughes for the start. 

Neither Cowboy has seen redshirt junior Julian Farber on a college wrestling mat. Farber is on a three-bout streak of ranked wins, having beaten #17 Dominick Serrano, #22 Julian Chlebove, and #27 Derrick Cardinal all in 2025. 

If Witcraft is healthy, he'll be a slight favorite on paper with Farber, although it's hard to call that anything but a toss-up up considering Witcraft has been off the mat for over a month. If Hughes goes, Farber will be the favorite, although an upset is not out of the question for Hughes. 

141 Pounds

Panther senior Cael Happel owns a 3-0 record over redshirt sophomore Tagen Jamison. Happel is behind Jamison in the rankings, however, because Jamison beat #6 Brock Hardy at the CKLV semifinals, while at the same tournament, Happel lost to #23 Julian Tagg before medically forfeiting out of the tourney. 

Happel has been back on the mat since January 5th, when he picked up a win over the aforementioned Brock Hardy in a dual meet. If history is any indicator, Happel will run his career collegiate record to 4-0. However, all three of those previous wins were by three points or less. If Jamison can solve Happel's defense and record a takedown for the first time in four meetings, things will get much more interesting. 

Watch Jamison vs Hardy from the 2024 CKLV:

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149 Pounds

The Cowboy's redshirt junior Carter Young majored senior Colin Realbuto at the most recent CKLV in the pair's only NCAA meeting. However, that loss was the worst of Realbuto's season when judged by rankings, whereas Young has taken losses to #19 Jesse Vasquez and #21 Gabe Willochell. 

So we have a similar, though not identical, situation at 141 as we did at 133 but with the teams reversed. Recent results favor Oklahoma State, whereas the overall season's body of work points in Northern Iowa's favor. 

In both instances, the two wrestlers are neighbors on the national rankings with little separating them, making them both pivotal toss-up bouts. 

157 Pounds

Redshirt sophomore Ryder Downey is the favorite on paper, but Michigan State grad transfer Caleb Fish has a go-for-broke wrestling style that ensures he's never completed out of the match until the ref blows the final whistle. 

A bloodround finisher as a redshirt freshman, Downey has picked up in his second varsity season right where he left off in his first. He avenged his only loss on the season in the Nebraska dual after dropping a controversial match with Antrell Taylor at the CKLV. Ryder also has a win over #7 Joey Blaze this season. 

Fish's best wins on the season are over #14 Ed Scott and #16 Chase Saldate, though he did lose to #17 Johnny Lovett. 

Downey will be the favorite, though Fish is dangerous, and this is likely a must-win bout for the Panthers if they want to topple the Cowboys at home. 

Watch Downey get revenge on Taylor in an early January dual:

165 Pounds

Senior Cam Amine is known for wrestling close bouts, but the transfer from Michigan is also known for winning, as evidenced by three All-American honors in his career. 

Both of those qualities were on display when he defeated Panther senior Jack Thomsen at the CKLV in sudden victory. Thomsen was at South Dakota State for three years before transferring to UNI before the 2024 season when he qualified for his first NCAA tournament in his penultimate year of eligibility. The most likely outcome of this rematch is likely another close win for Amine. Another overtime bout would also not come as a surprise. 

174 Pounds

This is the first bout of the evening where a clear favorite can be identified, as Dean Hamiti has been wrestling lights out all season long. The two-time All-American from Wisconsin transferred to Oklahoma State for his final year of eligibility after missing the podium for the first time in his junior year in Madison. 

A reinvigorated Hamiti is undefeated this season with several ranked wins, including a victory over #4 Lorenzo Norman in the CKLV finals. 

Redshirt junior Jared Simma avenged a CKLV loss to SDSU's #11 Cade DeVos at the NWCA National Duals earlier this month. That was Simma's best win over the year. That fact would be eclipsed by a large margin if he can pull off the major upset against Hamiti. 

184 Pounds

Just as 174 appears to be a near lock for Oklahoma State, it's hard to see the Panthers taking a loss at 184 if their talisman Parker Keckeisen takes the mat. 

This is 100% a testament to the greatness of four-time All-American and 2024 NCAA champ Parker Keckeisen and 0% an indication of the weakness of his opponent, in this instance another great wrestler in three-time All-American and 2024 NCAA finalist Dustin Plott. 

The fact of the matter, however, is that Plott is 4-0 in college against Plott, with all four previous wins coming in the 2024 calendar. All four bouts were decisive wins for Keckeisen, including two times by major. 

Plott closed the gap slightly in their last meeting in the CKLV finals, holding Parker to an 8-3 decision. Since the year 2024 began, Plott has only lost to Keckeisen, and Keckeisen has only lost once, to Carter Starocci at the All-Star Classic. 

Parker will likely be gunning for bonus points to help the team, which could potentially leave an opening for Plott, but historical precedence in this case is overwhelmingly in Keckeisen's favor.  

Keckeisen vs Plott in the 2024 CKLV finals:

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197 Pounds

This bout is anyone's guess, and I certainly view it as a toss-up, which could ramp up the drama if the dual meet is still on the line for both teams. 

Senior Luke Surber is looking to break through and earn All-American honors for the first time in his career. He's been on a roll this season, sporting a 14-1 record and avenging his only loss of the year. He's got ranked wins over #8 Trey Munoz, #9 Andy Smith (who also defeated Surber at the CKLV), and #11 Joey Novak. 

Redshirt sophomore Wyatt Volker is having a pretty solid season as well with a 12-3 record. He avenged two of those losses and the third was to the aforementioned Novak. 

Voelker also pinned Surber at the 2024 Big 12s, though the year before that Surber beat a redshirting true freshman Voelker 2-1. Who gets the dub this meeting? We'll find out soon!

285 Pounds

With all due respect to Panther senior Lance Runyon, who started his career in Cedar Falls in 2019 as a 165-pounder and is now ending it as a heavyweight, all signs point to a bonus point win by Wyatt Hendrickson, the Cowboy grad transfer from Air Force. 

Runyon, whose last bout before the start of the season was in the 2023 Big 12 Championship at 174-pounds, will have his hands full just to avoid giving up six team points to the two-time NCAA third-placer Hendrickson. Things could get extra spicy if the Cowboys find themselves down by 4 or 5 before the last bout of the dual. 

Predictions

For the sake of everyone watching, I'm very much rooting for this dual to stay competitive for as long as possible, and with all the toss-ups involved, I think there's a safe bet that it does. But having a closer like Hendrickson means the Panthers need to build a very healthy cushion on the team score before getting to 285 if they want to complete the upset. 

In only a few weights do I possess anything resembling confidence in my picks. In order of certitude, I would go 285, 184, 174, 157, alternating wins for OSU and UNI, and after that its a bunch of 50/50s. 

But I promised predictions, so below is how I "predict" the dual will go:

Northern Iowa will have an opportunity, and I would enjoy being proven wrong, I just think the Cowboys have too much firepower. We'll see how wrong I am on Friday night. A dual worth watching in my humble opinion!