ARLINGTON, Texas – The second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team defeated No. 12 Oklahoma State, 23-9, on Saturday night in the inaugural Bout at the Ballpark at Globe Life Field.
The Hawkeyes won seven-of-10 matches, picked up a pair of bonus-point wins and held a 16-7 advantage in takedowns to hand the Cowboys their sixth loss in the last eight series meetings.
“We’re still getting better as a team and that’s probably the thing that I’m looking at, individual matches and where we’re headed in the season,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. “Our guys won some tough matches with some tough wrestling. I think we’re still getting better and I know we have to continue to get better.”
Oklahoma State jumped in front of Iowa, 6-0, with decisions at 125 and 133. Jesse Ybarra surrendered a takedown in the final seconds to drop a 6-5 decision to seventh-ranked Trevor Mastrogiovanni, and second-ranked Daton Fix topped third-ranked Austin DeSanto, 5-3, at 133.
Iowa climbed back with wins at 141, 149 and 157 to take a 9-6 lead at intermission. Jaydin Eierman scored takedowns in the first and third periods and added a second-period rideout to put Iowa on the board with a 6-1 decision at 141.
Max Murin used a first-period takedown and second-period rideout to take a 3-2 lead into the third. He escaped to open the third and added one minute, 57 seconds of riding time to win 5-2 at 149.
Kaleb Young put Iowa in front for good with a 4-1 decision at 157. Young escaped to open the second, added a takedown and rideout to close the period, and tacked on one minute, 11 seconds of riding time to seal the win.
Iowa extended its lead to 15-6 with back-to-back top 10 wins at 165 and 174. Alex Marinelli’s first-period takedown was the difference in a 3-2 win at 165, and Michael Kemerer used a pair of takedowns and nearly four minutes of riding time to win, 6-1, at 174.
The Cowboys ended Iowa’s stretch of five straight wins with a decision at 184, but the Hawkeyes responded with bonus points at 197 and 285. Jacob Warner’s fourth and final takedown with seven seconds on the clock secured an 11-3 major decision at 197, and Tony Cassioppi finished his third takedown with 14 seconds left to earn a 9-1 major decision at 285.
UP NEXT
The No. 2 Hawkeyes travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face No. 7 Nebraska at the Bob Devaney Center on Feb. 20. The dual begins at 6 p.m. (CT) and is televised live on BTN.
NOTABLES
• Iowa has won six of the last eight meetings.
• Head coach Tom Brands is 8-7-1 against Oklahoma State.
• Eierman improved to 42-14 all-time against ranked opponents.
• Murin defeated a top 20 opponent for the third time this season.
• Kaleb Young won his seventh straight and second in a row against a ranked opponent.
• Marinelli improved to 19-0 in his career in nonconference duals. His last three wins have been against top 11 opponents.
• Kemerer improved to 17-0 in nonconference duals.
• Warner wrestled his ninth straight match against a ranked opponent (8-1).
• Cassioppi has won seven straight overall, the last seven against ranked opponents.
#2 IOWA 23, #12 OKLAHOMA STATE 9
125 #7 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OKST) dec. Jesse Ybarra (IA), 6-5; 0-3
133 #2 Daton Fix (OKST) dec. #3 Austin DeSanto (IA), 5-3; 0-6
141 #2 Jaydin Eierman (IA) dec. #21 Carter Young (OKST), 6-1; 3-6
149 #10 Max Murin (IA) dec. #13 Kaden Gfeller (OKST), 5-2; 6-6
157 #12 Kaleb Young (IA) dec. #18 Wyatt Sheets (OKST), 4-1; 9-6
165 #5 Alex Marinelli (IA) dec. #8 Travis Wittlake (OKST), 3-2; 12-6
174 #2 Michael Kemerer (IA) dec. #10 Dustin Plott (OKST), 6-1; 15-6
184 #11 Dakota Geer (OKST) dec. #15 Abe Assad (IA), 9-2; 15-9
197 #4 Jacob Warner (IA) major dec. Gavin Stika (OKST), 11-3; 19-9
285 #4 Tony Cassioppi (IA) major dec. #31 Luke Surber (OKST), 9-1; 23-9
Records: Iowa (13-1), Oklahoma State (11-4)
Date: Feb. 12, 2022
Attendance: 12,028
