The Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys are doing a little do-si-do with their Iowa conference foes Northern Iowa and Iowa State. The second-ranked Cowboys will step into Hilton Coliseum Sunday afternoon after taking on the Panthers in Cedar Falls Friday evening. Below is a preview and my best guess as to how the dual goes!

Location: Ames, Iowa - Hilton Coliseum

Time: 4 pm Central

How To Watch: ESPN main channel

Series History

Two of college wrestling’s most history-rich programs, Oklahoma State leads 63-22-3. However, the Cyclones have won two of the last three. Prior to 2022, the Cowboys won 14 straight dating back to 2010. OSU won the dual last season 21-12, but Iowa State got the last laugh winning the Big 12 tournament and placing 4th at the NCAA Championships while OSU finished 2nd in the Big 12 and 10th at NCAAs.

Current Season Recap

The Cowboys have been looking phenomenal under new head coach David Taylor. They are 6-0 with the closest dual being a 30-12 win over West Virginia. They also dominated the toughest tournament in college wrestling - the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. 

The Cyclones, on the other hand, have been hampered by injuries. Suffering season ending injuries so far this year for Iowa State has been Yonger Bastida, Casey Swiderski, and Connor Euton. 2024 All-American Anthony Echemendia has been out CKLV. And Dresser just announced that 125 lb starter Kysen Terukina will be out 2-4 weeks and 157 lb starter Cody Chittum is questionable for this weekend. The Cyclones will go into Friday night’s dual with Oklahoma sitting at 7-3 on the year in duals.

2024 Dual Results

Oklahoma State 21 over Iowa State 12

125: #20 Troy Spratley (OSU) dec. #25 Kysen Terukina (ISU), 4-2

133: #3 Daton Fix (OSU) maj. dec. #7 Evan Frost (ISU), 11-3

141: #9 Tagen Jamison (OSU) dec. #8 Anthony Echemendia (ISU), 4-1 SV-1

149: #10 Casey Swiderski (ISU) dec. #17 Sammy Alvarez (OSU), 8-2

157: #18 Teague Travis (OSU) dec. Jason Kriasser (ISU), 8-3

165: #3 David Carr (ISU) dec. #4 Izzak Olejnik (OSU), 8-1

174: #23 MJ Gaitan (ISU) dec. #25 Brayden Thompson (OSU), 6-3 SV-1

184: #2 Dustin Plott (OSU) maj. dec. #10 Will Feldkamp (ISU), 17-3

197: Jersey Robb (OSU) maj. dec. #30 Julien Broderson (ISU), 15-6

285: #3 Yonger Bastida (ISU) dec. #9 Konner Doucet (OSU), 7-2

Projected Lineups

125: #4 Troy Spratley vs Ethan Perryman

133: #19 Reece Witcraft OR Cael Hughes vs #5 Evan Frost

141: #4 Tagen Jamison vs #14 Jacob Frost

149: #12 Carter Young vs #8 Paniro Johnson

157: #13 Caleb Fish vs #10 Cody Chittum

165: #6 Cam Amine vs Aiden Riggins OR Manny Rojas

174: #3 Dean Hamiti vs MJ Gaitan

184: #3 Dustin Plott vs #14 Evan Bockman

197: #7 Luke Surber vs Nate Schon OR Sawyer Bartelt OR McCrae Hagarty 

285: #3 Wyatt Hendrickson vs #28 Daniel Herrera

Predictions

The handful of toss-up matches make this team score hard to feel very confident in, but I think the back half of Oklahoma State's lineup combined with Iowa State's hampered lineup will lift the Cowboys to a decisive victory.

Oklahoma State over Iowa State 28-9

125: Spratley over Perryman by decision

133: Frost over Witcraft by decision

141: Jamison over Frost by decision

149: Johnson over Young by decision

157: Chittum over Fish by decision

165: Amine over Riggins by decision

174: Hamiti over Gaitan by tech fall

184: Plott over Bockman decision

197: Surber over Schon by tech fall

285: Hendrickson over Herrera by fall

Bonus Exhibition!

The fans in Ames won't just be treated to a good college dual on Sunday. The Cyclone RTC's Reineri Ortega and Oklahoma State assistant coach Thomas Gilman will square off immediately following the completion of the dual. The two have split matches in the past with Ortega winning at 2018 Pan Ams and Gilman winning at 2020 Pan Am Olympic Qualifier. It is unclear at this time if ESPN will show this match or not.

Gilman vs. Ortega exhibition match is going down after the Iowa State dual next weekend on Jan. 26! These two are tied 1-1, and Gilman will be competing alongside our college guys—a truly unique circumstance for the sport of wrestling. pic.twitter.com/3v1Bndlwzh

— Cowboy RTC (@CowboyRTC) January 17, 2025

You'll want to stay in your seat for this one 👀

Reineri Ortega (@CycloneRtc) and Oklahoma State assistant coach Thomas Gilman (@CowboyRTC) will wrestle a freestyle exhibition following the Iowa State-Oklahoma State dual on Jan. 26.

🎟️ https://t.co/dK2gRT7Ad4

🌪️🚨🌪️ pic.twitter.com/WNXUe2OH7n

— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR) January 17, 2025