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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The fourth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team defeated top-ranked Oklahoma State, 18-16, on Saturday in front of 42,287 fans, the largest dual crowd in NCAA history.
The Hawkeyes and Cowboys split 10 matches, 5-5, but Iowa scored bonus points at 125 and, after dropping three straight, regained the lead for good with a crowd-pleasing technical fall at 184.
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“The hype for the fans is what’s important for me,” said UI head coach Tom Brands “That’s what it’s about, our fans, I’m selfish that way. I know it is great for wrestling, and people in Russia and Iran are going to see this, as well. This is the city that Dan Gable lives in, that’s a big part of it as well, they will know about it internationally.”
Iowa leaned on its four All-Americans to push through Saturday. Cory Clark (133), Brandon Sorensen (149), and Nathan Burak earned decisions, and Thomas Gilman (125) opened the scoring with a 9-1 major decision over Oklahoma State All-American Eddie Klimara.
But it was Sammy Brooks at 184 that turned the dual in Iowa’s favor for good. Brooks needed just 4:09 to build a 17-2 lead and put the Hawkeyes in front, 15-13.
“You should be looking for bonus points every time you go out there and sometimes last year I was a little too reserved,” Brooks said. “I just want to open it back up and keep that going against whoever steps on the matt.”
Brooks snapped a three-match stretch of Hawkeye losses that turned a 10-3 lead into a 13-10 deficit.
“A five-point win team wise, that’s big,” Brands said. “The way that he was wrestling, hitting those holds, that’s what we want. He can do that against anybody, his consistency is that good. I’ve said that for a long time.”
Burak extended Iowa’s lead to 18-13 at 197, setting up a pin-or-go-home situation for Oklahoma State at 285. The Cowboy’s Austin Marsden, a 2014 All-American, twice got to the legs of Hawkeye rookie Sam Stoll, but the fall never happened and Iowa now has its first three-dual win streak against Oklahoma State since 1995-96.
The Hawkeyes built a 7-0 lead in team score at 125 and 133. Gilman scored one takedown in each period, and Clark built a 6-0 lead on his way to an 8-2 win at 133.
“I started us off right,” Gilman said. “The pace was high. Maybe not where it needed to be, but I was able to get that major decision and help set the tone for the rest of the dual.”
“I think (Clark) could have had a little more urgency to get the major decision on his feet,” Brands said. “He is wrestling his match and we aren’t going to question him.”
Oklahoma State’s top-ranked Dean Heil (141) and Alex Dieringer (165) earned wins, and the Cowboys won at 157 and 174 in a pair of seven-minute slugfests. Fifteenth-ranked Chance Marsteller topped Edwin Cooper, 14-11, at 157, and fourth-ranked Kyle Crutchmer scored a takedown with 34 seconds left to top sixth-ranked Alex Meyer at 174.
“That W is important,” said Brands. “We didn’t wrestle well. You look at eight back-points given up in Cooper’s match, and in Meyer’s match giving up four, coming so close and just not really realizing how your opponent is feeling and how to capitalize on it and be ready. We did a good job of not letting things unravel completely.”
NOTES: Attendance was 42,287, the largest dual crowd in NCAA history… Iowa has won three straight duals against the Cowboys, it’s longest such streak since winning four straight from 1995-96… Logan Ryan made his Iowa dual debut… Sam Stoll made his Iowa debut.
#4 IOWA 18, #1 Oklahoma State 16
125 #4 Thomas Gilman (I) maj. dec. #7 Eddie Klimara (OSU), 9-1; 4-0
133 #2 Cory Clark (I) dec. Gary Wayne Harding (OSU), 8-2; 7-0
141 #1 Dean Heil (OSU) dec. Logan Ryan (I), 7-1; 7-3
149 #3 Brandon Sorensen (I) dec. #8 Anthony Collica (OSU), 6-1; 10-3
157 #15 Chance Marsteller (OSU) dec. Edwin Cooper, Jr. (I), 14-11; 10-6
165 #1 Alex Dieringer (OSU) maj. dec. Patrick Rhoads (I), 17-5; 10-10
174 #4 Kyle Crutchmer (OSU) dec. #6 Alex Meyer (I), 11-10; 10-13
184 #12 Sammy Brooks (I) tech. fall Jordan Rogers (OSU), 17-2 in 4:09; 15-13
197 #4 Nathan Burak (I) dec. Nolan Boyd (OSU), 5-3; 18-13
285 #5 Austin Marsden (OSU) dec. Sam Stoll (I), 6-1; 18-16