Hawkeyes Hand Oklahoma State Only Loss of 2023-24 Campaign

Just over two weeks ago, the sky appeared to be falling in Iowa City if you were an Iowa wrestling fan. The Hawkeyes were fresh off of a 29-6 drubbing to Penn State and had dropped back-to-back Big Ten duals to Michigan and the Nittany Lions. 

That same weekend Oklahoma State crushed a solid South Dakota State squad to run their record to a perfect 13-0 record. 

With an undefeated Cowboy team looming on the final weekend of the season, it appeared as if Iowa was on the precipice of its first three-loss season since 2017-18. But, if you’ve followed the Iowa/Oklahoma State rivalry for any length of time, you’d know to expect the unexpected. 

In front of a sold-out, partisan Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma, it was Iowa who struck first. In a battle between top-12 ranked competitors, it was Iowa’s #4 Drake Ayala who drew first blood when he locked up a cradle and put #12 Troy Spratley on his back in sudden victory in the first bout of the day at 125 lbs. 

Iowa would take three of the first five matches to hold a 9-6 advantage heading into the break. 141 lbs and 157 lbs featured bouts between top-ten opponents, and in both instances, Iowa prevailed. Second-ranked Real Woods got the bouts only takedown in a 4-1 victory over Tagen Jamison at 141. Jared Franek had three during his 10-4 win over Teague Travis. 

The halftime break did not halt Iowa’s momentum as they picked up wins in the next two bouts with Michael Caliendo (165 lbs) and Patrick Kennedy (174 lbs). Caliendo won a rematch of the 2023 NCAA seventh-place bout when he downed Izzak Olejnik, 7-2. It was nearly identical to his win in that contest (6-2). Kennedy’s 12-3 major decision win over Brayden Thompson. With Oklahoma State capable of winning the final three bouts, Kennedy’s extra point looked as if it could be a deciding factor. The Hawkeyes led 16-6 after his impressive showing. 

In a dual full of potential heroes for the Hawkeyes, none may have been bigger than Zach Glazier at 197 lbs. A fifth-year wrestler who has been a full-time starter for just the first time, Glazier once again clinched the dual for the Hawkeyes. In marquee matchups against Iowa State and Nebraska, Glazier’s victory locked up wins for Iowa. Glazier, who only has one loss on the season, used a takedown in the final stanza to get by #16 Luke Surber, 4-1. 

With the dual in hand, there was no pressure on Iowa’s true freshman Ben Kueter at 285 lbs. The two-sport star cooly put the finishing touches on an impressive team win for the Hawkeyes by downing #11 Konner Doucet, 5-1. 

Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands has some decisions to make during the off week before the Big Ten Championships, as Gabe Arnold (184 lbs) and Kueter both look like they could challenge for the NCAA podium as true freshmen. Also, the on-again-off-again status of the 133 lbers Brody Teske and Cullan Schriever seems far from resolved after today’s dual. 

Teske got the call today and fell to Oklahoma State star Daton Fix, 7-2. While it was a loss, it was one of Teske’s better performances of the season. Speaking of Fix, he got a nice send-off from the home crowd as today’s dual marked his final appearance in Stillwater. 

Overall, the Hawkeys took seven of ten matches from their hated rivals and silenced a sold-out crowd. That should make even the most hardened Hawkeye fan smile for a day. 

Full results

Iowa 22 Oklahoma State 9

125 - Drake Ayala (Iowa) dec Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State)  8-1SV

133 - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) dec Brody Teske (Iowa)  7-2

141 - Real Woods (Iowa) dec Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State)  4-1

149 - Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State) dec Victor Voinovich (Iowa)  7-3

157 - Jared Franek (Iowa) dec Teague Travis (Oklahoma State)   10-4

165 - Michael Caliendo (Iowa) dec Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State)  7-2

174 - Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) maj Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State)  12-3

184 - Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) dec Gabe Arnold (Iowa)  5-1

197 - Zach Glazier (Iowa) dec Luke Surber (Oklahoma State)  4-1

285 - Ben Kueter (Iowa) dec Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State)  5-1