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Coming off an 18-16 win against Oklahoma in their Big 12 opener, the wrestlers are back in the friendly confines of Hilton again this weekend for an afternoon full of wrestling. As with every weekend this season the name of the game is matches. And there will be a lot of them as the team has a 1 o’clock appointment with junior college Iowa Central, a 3 o’clock tilt with Division II Lindenwood, and then a 7:00 PM nightcap against Oklahoma State. Even though UNI won’t be there they’ll still be having an impact on the day, as the Cowboys will wrestle in Cedar Falls against UNI at 1:00PM before getting on a bus to Ames.
Where: Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA
When: All Afternoon, Saturday, January 30th
Stream: ESPN+ for OSU ($$)
Projected Lineups
| Weight | ISU Wrestler | Record | - | Oklahoma State Wrestler | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | ISU Wrestler | Record | - | Oklahoma State Wrestler | Record |
| 125 | Kysen Terukina | 4-1 | vs | 19/13 Trevor Mastrogiovanni | 6-0 |
| 133 | Zach Redding | 3-2 | vs | Reece Witcraft | 5-1 |
| 141 | 5/7 Ian Parker | 4-1 | vs | Dusty Hone | 3-1 |
| 149 | Cam Robinson | 3-1 | vs | 4/4 Boo Lewallen | 5-0 |
| or | Ben Monroe | 3-3 | |||
| 157 | 3/3 David Carr | 5-0 | vs | 8/12 Wyatt Sheets | 1-0 |
| 165 | Isaac Judge | 3-2 | vs | 5/4 Travis Wittlake | 5-0 |
| 174 | Julien Broderson | 3-2 | vs | UR/17 Dustin Plott | 5-0 |
| 184 | Tate Battani | 3-2 | vs | 6/9 Dakota Geer | 5-0 |
| or | Joel Shapiro | 0-0 | - | ||
| 197 | UR/18 Yonger Bastida | 3-2 | vs | UR/14 A.J. Ferrari | 5-0 |
| HWT | 6/9 Gannon Gremmel | 5-0 | vs | Austin Harris | 5-0 |
Key Matches
125
One thing I wrote about a few weeks ago was about how the lack of open tournaments means we don’t get the usual opportunities for backups looking to break in to the lineup the chance to prove that they can outperform the starter in competition even if they struggle head to head. Well, it also means that when a starter gets knocked out of the lineup he can’t prove the same. Terukina certainly appears to have solidified the spot at 125. But if you knock a top twelve guy out of the lineup that means you’ve gotta perform like a top twelve guy yourself. So if Terukina wants to keep in the lineup he needs to be beating guys like Mastrogiovanni without it being a third period nail biter like most of his other matches so far. This is clearly a year where Dresser is fine with letting young guys develop and take their lumps, but we still need all the postseason points we can get and I’d like to see some more evidence that we can get some from this weight.
174
Broderson picked up a huge upset last week when he took out highly ranked Anthony Mantanona against Oklahoma. This week he has an opportunity to show that win wasn’t a fluke and to push himself solidly in to the rankings with another top 20 win.
197
Both of these guys are age level world freestyle medalists looking to make a mark in Folkstyle. Ferrari has a lot more experience with the college style and is a clear favorite, but I think at some point this season a light is going to click on for Bastida and he’ll start scoring points against quality opponents under this ruleset just like he has already shown he can in Freestyle. With luck, it’ll happen on Saturday.
Prediction
Going through the lineups I think Oklahoma State is favored at 133, 149, 165, 184, and 197. And Iowa State is favored at 141, 157, and HWT. With 125 and 174 being tossups. I think Oklahoma State has a lot more bonus point potential so even though there’s a decent shot at the matches being split 5-5 I have this one as a 15-19 win for the Pokes.
Next Up
The wrestlers will hit the road for a pair of duals in Fargo on the afternoon of February 7th, taking on NDSU at 1:00 PM and SDSU at 3:00. UNI is not invited.