Hawkeyes save a horse and ride the Cowboys for the upset

Iowa wrestling upsets No. 3 Oklahoma State to remain perfect in duals this season.

James Geerdes, [email protected]

January 14, 2018

The Daily Iowan; Photo by Ben Allan Smith

Iowa’s Michael Kemerer defeats Oklahoma State’s Jonce Blaylock 9-2 in the 157-pound weight class during the NCAA wrestling meet between Iowa and Oklahoma State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday, Jan. 14. The #7 ranked Hawkeyes beat the #3 ranked Cowboys 20-12. (Ben Allan Smith/The Daily Iowan)

Iowa wrestling made a statement on the afternoon of Jan. 14 with a 20-12 upset win over third-ranked Oklahoma State.

Carver-Hawkeye hosted 15 ranked wrestlers, nine of whom belonged to Oklahoma State, in Iowa’s win.

Ninth-ranked true freshman Spencer Lee put Iowa’s first points on the board with a 10-5 decision over No. 6 Nick Piccininni. Lee’s steady offense drove the tempo of the match, but Piccininni was able to fend off Iowa bonus points.

Phillip Laux got the call for the Hawkeyes at 133-pounds against fourth-ranked Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State. Laux fell behind, 4-1, after the first period, then Brock extended his lead to 9-2 in the second. Then he poured on 3 more takedowns in the third to win, 16-6, with riding time, giving Oklahoma State a 4-3 lead.

Iowa’s Vince Turk squared off with fifth-ranked Dean Heil at 141 pounds. Heil landed a takedown 18 seconds into the first and rode hard through the period. Heil started the second down and earned an escape. Turk fended off Heil but was unable to land shots. Heil won, 4-0, with riding time to give Oklahoma State a 7-3 lead.

Brandon Sorensen gave Iowa its only bonus points with a tech fall over No. 14 Boo Lewallen in a 23-8 win. Sorensen had 5 takedowns in the third period to earn the tech fall with riding time as the period expired to give Iowa an 8-7 lead.

During the 157-pound bout, Oklahoma State was deducted a team point for arguing a call with the official twice. Michael Kemerer secured a 9-2 decision at 157 pounds to expand the Hawkeye lead to 11-6.

No. 11 Alex Marinelli earned an upset win over No. 8 Chandler Rogers to give Iowa the edge following the intermission. Marinelli earned 2 takedowns and an escape to win, 5-2, and make the score 14-6, Iowa.

Joey Gunther fell to No. 14 Jacobe Smith in a 3-1 decision.

Perhaps the biggest bout of the night came from unexpected Iowa face. Hawkeye unranked 184-pounder Mitch Bowman pulled off an upset over No. 19 Keegan Moore to give Iowa a 17-9 cushion.

Cash Wilcke suffered his first loss of the season to No. 3 Preston Weigel. Weigel had 2 takedowns, an escape, and a point from riding time to upend fifth-ranked Wilcke, 6-0.

With the score 17-12 in favor of Iowa, Oklahoma State needed a pin to fend off the Hawkeyes and remain undefeated in duals. In the Cowboys’ way stood junior heavyweight Sam Stoll.

In an overtime thriller that went into the sixth period, Stoll finally secured a takedown to improve to 12-0 on the year and secure a 20-12 Iowa win over the Cowboys.

“We pointed to this [dual],” head coach Tom Brands said. “We had success. We won some tough matches; there were some good things that happened there. But we have to get ready to go to Columbus. You don’t congratulate yourself many times in January, but this is one time we can take a breath.”

Iowa will wrestle No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus on Jan. 21 at 2:30 p.m.