Oklahoma State 197-pounder Luke Surber has always seemed to come through when matches matter most. 

In 2022, Surber prevailed for the Cowboys in a tightly-contested Bedlam rivalry dual with Oklahoma. In the lineup for the first time, then as a 225-pound heavyweight, he earned the lone takedown against Josh Heindselman to win by a 4-2 decision before Gallagher-Iba Arena erupted as Surber led the “O-S-U” chant.

In 2023, again, in Bedlam, Surber got the job done. With the dual tied going into the final match, Surber pinned former Cowboy, Keegan Moore, in 34 seconds to seal the victory for OSU.

Surber said he enjoys wrestling in moments when the light shines brightest.

“I’m just excited — excited to go out there and rise to the occasion a little bit,” he said. “Really, just wrestling. I feel like I stay a little more focused during those times. I’ve been fortunate to have some pretty cool moments like that. I just stay in the moment and be excited for it.”

Last year, Surber never had that type of win. Of the 10 ranked matches he wrestled last season, he lost eight and finished the season with a 10-9 record. But it wasn’t without reason. Surber suffered a torn pectoral muscle at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The injury lingered well into the postseason and derailed all momentum from a solid junior year.

As Surber enters the final dual of his collegiate career boasting an 18-1 record this season, he said he’s excited to go out in front of an animated crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against #3 Iowa.

“It’s gonna be awesome it’s gonna be a fun experience,” Surber said. “I’ve wrestled in Carver before. Really, it’s gonna be no different than wrestling in Gallagher, it’s gonna be packed.”

Ranked fifth in the country, Surber will face the nation’s top-ranked 197-pounder, Stephen Buchanan. Surber and Buchanan met in the Big 12 tournament last season when Buchanan was at Oklahoma. Surber fell to the eventual third-placer in a 6-2 decision. 

Buchanan enters the final dual of his career with a perfect record on the season. 

“Just go do what I do, but they gotta really prepare for me,” Surber said. “I do a lot of different things that not a lot of people do. I wrestled him last year, but I don’t think either of us were very healthy. It’s gonna be a different match than it was last year.”

Taylor, Amine Ready For Rowdy Crowd

Oklahoma State coach David Taylor will return to a place he became all too familiar with during his time as a competitor at Penn State. With the Nittany Lions, Taylor went 9-0 against Iowa in duals and tournaments. 

“Wrestling Iowa is always a pretty fun opportunity,” Taylor said. “They have a pretty spirited fanbase and we like looking forward to wrestling good teams and matches that matter. We talked about that this year. On the other side of it, just getting our guys ready to go wrestle a match this weekend.” 

For wrestlers like Cam Amine, it will be his first time competing in front of the Hawkeye faithful. While he was with Michigan, he never had the opportunity to wrestle at Carver-Hawkeye as an elbow injury stonewalled his only chance with the Wolverines. He traveled with the team on the trip, though, and he saw how electric the atmosphere could be.

“Just being there, the atmosphere is awesome,” Amine said. “I think a lot people fear it, but I think if you go in there and you really love wrestling, I think you can enjoy it. I think they’re just passionate fans, and you can turn their energy into your momentum.”