Oklahoma State will put its undefeated record on the line against Illinois in one semifinal matchup. Big Ten powers Iowa and Minnesota will battle in the other semifinal matchup. The semifinal round is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. CT, with the final round set for 6 p.m. CT.
InterMat will be providing a live chat on Sunday from Stillwater, Okla., for fans to follow the action and interact. All four dual meets will be broadcast live on LiveSportsVideo.com.
Now let's examine each of the semifinal matchups ...
Oklahoma State vs. Illinois
B.J. Futrell of Illinois battles Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Top-seeded Oklahoma State will put its unbeaten record (15-0) on the line against Illinois (16-2) in the top bracket semifinal matchup. The Cowboys cruised through their regional last weekend, and are coming off a 19-18 victory over in-state rival Oklahoma on Thursday night in a dual meet that came down to criteria. Illinois advanced to the National Duals semifinals by winning its regional over top-seeded Cornell.
Weight-by-Weight Breakdown
125: No. 13 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 6 Jesse Delgado (Illinois)
Expectations were high coming into this season for the freshman Delgado, and he has not disappointed. Delgado owns a 26-4 record and is ranked No. 6. His signature win this season came over No. 1 Matt McDonough of Iowa in December. It was McDonough's first and only dual meet loss of his career. In late December, Delgado placed third at the Midlands Championships. In January, Delgado faced Minnesota's Zach Sanders, and raced out to an 11-4 lead through two periods. But Sanders stormed back in the third period and edged Delgado, 14-13. Delgado is coming off a strong performance at the regional held at Cornell, where he went 2-0 with victories over Oklahoma's Jarrod Patterson and Cornell's Frank Perrelli. Morrison split time as the starter with Ladd Rupp during the first half of the season, but took control of the starting spot after winning the Reno Tournament of Champions over Rupp. Morrison is 17-6 and ranked No. 13, but is coming off a lopsided loss, 9-0, to Patterson on Thursday night.
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 B.J. Futrell (Illinois)
Oliver's wrestling resume speaks for itself. He is the defending NCAA champion and has suffered only one loss in two seasons. This season he 19-1 with 14 pins, two technical falls, and two major decisions. Futrell, ranked fourth, is riding a 12-match winning streak. Two of his three official losses have come to Iowa's Tony Ramos. Not included on his record is a loss to Oliver, 8-7, at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 21. In that match Futrell took Oliver down three times in the third period and nearly pulled out the victory.
141: No. 12 Josh Kindig or Julian Feikert (Oklahoma State) vs. Darryl Thomas (Illinois)
Kindig, a true sophomore, is better than his 12-7 record indicates. Six of his seven losses this season have come to wrestlers ranked in the top 11. Kindig is coming off a 7-6 loss to No. 4 Hunter Stieber of Ohio State. Julian Feikert got the call for the Cowboys against Oklahoma on Thursday night and fell 12-4 to No. 3 Kendric Maple. Thomas is unranked, but is a capable wrestler. He is 13-10, with seven of those losses coming against ranked wrestlers. Thomas has close losses to No. 1 Kellen Russell of Michigan and No. 8 Nick Dardanes of Minnesota, but gave up bonus points in both of his matches last weekend.
149: No. 2 Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 19 Eric Terrazas (Illinois)
Parks, ranked second, has been perfect this season. He is 25-0, which includes wins over No. 3 Cole VonOhlen of Air Force, No. 4 Donnie Vinson of Binghamton, and No. 10 Dylan Ness of Minnesota. On Thursday night, Parks beat Oklahoma's Nick Lester, 6-2. Parks has always been difficult to score on, but has been much more offensive this season. Terrazas is a solid competitor who has shown he can compete with the nation's best. He won 14 of his first 15 matches this season, but has struggled with consistency during the second half of the season. He has gone 6-6 over his last 12 matches. Last Sunday, Terrazas dropped a 1-0 decision to Lester, but bounced back to defeat Cornell's Chris Villalonga, 3-1.
157: No. 12 Albert White (Oklahoma State) vs. Jackson Morse (Illinois)
White came to Oklahoma State with high expectations after winning four Illinois state titles and a junior college national championship. But his career at Oklahoma State has been marred by injuries. First it was a shoulder injury, then a neck injury. White, though, has persevered and is having a strong senior campaign. He is currently 22-6 and ranked No. 12. Morse was one of the nation's top recruits in the Class of 2010. He stepped in the Illini lineup as a true freshman last season and qualified for the NCAAs. Morse has struggled with consistency this season. He is currently 10-10, but has dropped seven of his last 10 matches.
165: Dallas Bailey (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 12 Conrad Polz (Illinois)
Polz, a junior, missed almost two months of the season due to injury, but has made up for lost time. Polz has a 17-2 record, with one of those two losses coming by injury default. Bailey won 26 matches as a freshman last season and earned the No. 6 seed at the NCAAs, but has battled injuries this season and has not been able to hit his stride. He owns a 13-10 season mark, but has lost three of his last four matches.
174: No. 3 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 9 Jordan Blanton (Illinois)
Perry is one of three unbeaten Cowboy wrestlers. He was an NCAA qualifier last season at 184 pounds. Perry spent the first part of this season at 184 pounds, but moved down to 174 pounds shortly after winning the Reno Tournament of Champions in late December. Perry edged Iowa's Ethen Lofthouse, 3-2, in his first match at 174 pounds, but has crushed every opponent he has faced since. Over his last 10 matches he has outscored his opposition 112-26. Blanton was an All-American in 2010, but an injury kept him out of last year's postseason. He has bounced back nicely this season, winning 21 of 24 matches.
184: Chris McNeil (Oklahoma State) vs. Tony Dallago (Illinois)
Both McNeil and Dallago are unranked, but both are capable wrestlers with winning records. McNeil spent the first part of the season at 174 pounds, but made the move up to 184 pounds after Perry moved down a weight class. McNeil is 14-8 this season with some quality wins. He is coming off a 4-3 loss to Oklahoma's Erich Schmidtke on Thursday night. Dallago was an NCAA qualifier last season as a freshman and had some big wins, including one over Penn State's Quentin Wright. This season Dallago is 18-8 and has won five of his last six matches.
197: No. 8 Blake Rosholt or Cayle Byers (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 18 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois)
Oklahoma State has a good problem on its hands with two potential All-American 197-pounders on its roster. Byers, a transfer from George Mason, climbed to No. 2 in the country earlier this season and many expected him to challenge for an NCAA championship. But after Rosholt defeated Byers in the finals of the Reno Tournament of Champions, Rosholt has gotten most of the starts. Rosholt suffered an injury on Feb. 4 against Missouri's Brent Haynes, which kept him out of the opening rounds of the National Duals. Byers stepped in and beat two ranked opponents in Rosholt's absence. Rosholt returned to the Cowboy lineup this week and defeated No. 17 Keldrick Hall of Oklahoma. Gonzalez, a sophomore, has been ranked most of this season. His most notable win this season came against two-time All-American Sonny Yohn of Minnesota. Gonzalez played a key role in Illinois' victory over Cornell in the regional finals last Sunday by bumping up to heavyweight and winning with the dual meet on the line.
285: No. 2 Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) vs. Pat Walker (Illinois)
Gelogaev has been one of the nation's most dominant wrestlers this season. He is 24-0 with 16 bonus point victories. He defeated Oklahoma's Kyle Colling, 11-6, on Thursday night, but suffered an injury in the match. The severity of the injury was not known on Thursday night. Walker has hovered around the .500 mark most of this season. He has some quality wins and some close losses to some of the nation's top heavyweights.
Iowa vs. Minnesota
Minnesota's Nick Dardanes gets in deep on a shot against Iowa's Montell Marion (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)Big Ten rivals Iowa (13-3) and Minnesota (12-3) meet for the second time this season. The Hawkeyes edged the Gophers, 19-17, in their meeting Jan. 29 in front of 9,511 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The two teams split 10 matches in the dual meet, and bonus points proved to be the difference.
Weight-by-Weight Breakdown
125: No. 1 Matt McDonough (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Zach Sanders (Minnesota)
McDonough, a two-time NCAA finalist and 2010 NCAA champion, has owned the series against Sanders, winning all five meetings in college. McDonough's last four victories over Sanders have been by six or more points, with the most recent being a 7-1 victory. Sanders was able to get to McDonough's legs in the last meeting, but couldn't convert against the longer McDonough. Sanders is a three-time All-American and will go down as one of Minnesota's greats, but has not been able to solve the McDonough puzzle to this point.
133: No. 3 Tony Ramos (Iowa) vs. No. 8 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota)
Ramos and Dardanes, both Illinois natives, are very familiar with each others' styles. They have both beaten each other throughout their careers. Dardanes had a win over Ramos at the FILA Junior Nationals (freestyle) in 2010. Ramos, though, won their only collegiate meeting this season, 5-2, by making the most of his scoring opportunities.
141: No. 5 Montell Marion (Iowa) vs. No. 8 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota)
Marion, a two-time All-American, needed just one takedown to edge Dardanes, 3-2, in their last meeting. Dardanes was in deep on a double leg attack in that match, but Marion used great hip action to avoid getting taken down. Look for Dardanes to try to turn this match into a high-scoring affair, unlike the last meeting, while Marion will look to slow Dardanes down and pick and choose his shots carefully. Both have been wrestling well. Dardanes scored 27 points in two matches last weekend, while Marion defeated then-No. 4 Mike Mangrum of Oregon State this past Sunday.
149: Michael Kelly (Iowa) vs. No. 10 Dylan Ness (Minnesota)
Ness, who is currently ranked 10th, registered a major decision over Kelly, 15-7, in their last meeting, which was highlighted by a spectacular leg sweep throw by the Gopher redshirt freshman. Ness can score a lot of different ways, and like older brother Jayson, is dangerous with his high half nelson series. Kelly, a redshirt freshman, had a nice Midlands, placing fifth, but has struggled since then, going 2-7 over his last nine matches. Ness is the prohibitive favorite in this match and will be looking for bonus points again.
157: Nick Moore (Iowa) vs. Danny Zilverberg or Alec Ortiz (Minnesota)
This is the only match in the dual meet featuring a pair of unranked wrestlers. Indications are that Moore will go for Iowa with Derek St. John battling a knee injury that could put him on the shelf. Minnesota will counter with either Zilverberg or Ortiz. Zilverberg, a starter last season at 149 pounds, has seen limited action this season. The Gophers used both Ortiz and Zilverberg at the regional last weekend. Moore already owns a major decision victory over Ortiz this season, so the Gophers may turn to Zilverberg, who is coming off a close loss to Drake Houdashelt of Missouri.
165: No. 6 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs. No. 14 Cody Yohn (Minnesota)
Evans, a redshirt freshman, pinned Yohn in last month's dual meet, which helped propel the Hawkeyes over the Gophers. Evans is wrestling with a lot confidence right now. He was dominant in his last four matches, picking up two pins and two shutout victories. He is strongest in the top position and has improved tremendously on his feet. Yohn, a two-time NCAA qualifier, has battled through ups and down this season. He was a runner-up at the Southern Scuffle, where he picked up some quality wins. But he had a tough stretch in January, where he went 2-5. Yohn had a nice showing last weekend, picking up wins over two NCAA qualifiers.
174: No. 8 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) vs. No. 5 Logan Storley (Minnesota)
Storley came from behind to beat Lofhouse, 5-3, in their meeting last month. The Gopher true freshman has not suffered a defeat since the Southern Scuffle, where he lost to Penn State's Matt Brown. He is currently 21-3 and ranked No. 5. Lofthouse, a redshirt sophomore, has been dominant since losing to Storley, picking up three straight bonus point victories. His only losses in 2012 are to No. 2 Ed Ruth of Penn State, No. 3 Chris Perry of Oklahoma State, and Storley.
184: Grant Gambrall (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota)
Steinhaus, like Storley, has not lost since the Southern Scuffle. He went 8-0 in Big Ten dual meet competition and picked up bonus points in six of those victories. The only non-bonus point victories came over Penn State's Quentin Wright and Nebraska's Josh Ihnen. Last weekend Steinhaus outscored his two opponents 22-1. Gambrall, a returning All-American at 184 pounds, has only competed at 197 pounds this season, so he will be making his season debut at 184 pounds. He comes in with a 7-7 season mark. These two wrestlers met twice last season, with Steinhaus winning both meetings.
197: Tomas Lira or Vinnie Wagner (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota)
Yohn, a two-time All-American, beat Gambrall the last time these two teams met. With Gambrall down at 184 pounds, Yohn will likely face either Tomas Lira or possibly Vinnie Wagner. Yohn has had a few bumps in the road this season, including a 10-0 loss last weekend to Missouri's Brent Haynes, but comes in with a 20-4 record. Lira is coming off four straight losses, including two last weekend. Wagner has gone 9-8 competing at 184 pounds. He was a seventh-place finisher at the Midlands Championships.
285: No. 14 Bobby Telford or Blake Rasing (Iowa) vs. No. 4 Tony Nelson (Minnesota)
Nelson, who earned All-American honors last season as a freshman, has reeled off 15 straight victories since losing to Oklahoma State's Alan Gelogaev on Dec. 4. He has six wins over ranked wrestlers, but has had some close calls lately. Nelson has needed overtime in two of his last three wins, including last weekend against Kent State's Brendan Barlow. Nelson beat Rasing in the dual meet last month, which was his first win over the Hawkeye senior in four career meetings. Rasing and Telford have split time as the starter this season, but lately Telford has been getting the nod. Telford, a Midlands runner-up, comes in with a 20-5 season record.
Predictions
Semifinals
Oklahoma State 22, Illinois 10
Minnesota 17, Iowa 16
Third Place
Iowa 21, Illinois 9
Championship
Minnesota 17, Oklahoma State 15
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