Oklahoma State was forced to wrestle for third after falling to top-seeded Missouri, 27-15, in the semifinals of the NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals on Sunday morning.
OSU dropped to 9-3 in duals on the season. It is the first three loss season for the Cowboys since they went 20-3 during the 2001-02 season.
The Cyclones put OSU in a hole early by pulling off upsets at 133 and 141. Coleman Scott was forced to release Nick Gallick and try to score a takedown. Gallick fought off Scott and won, 3-2.
At 141, Nathan Morgan was called for his second stall warning with eight seconds to go, which gave Mitch Mueller a point and sent the match into sudden victory. It was Mueller who got in on a shot to score the winning takedown.
That started a string of victories for Iowa State, which took a 12-3 lead in the dual after decisions at 149 and 157.
Johny Hendricks defeated second-ranked Travis Paulson, and Brandon Mason recorded a decision to cut the deficit to 12-9.
However, Jake Varner all but won the dual for the Cyclones with a fall over Jack Jensen to put ISU up 18-9. The Cowboys needed an upset from Jared Shelton over No. 10 Kurt Backes, to have a chance in the dual. Backes took away any doubt building a 6-1 lead in the first period en route to a major decision.
To cap the dual, Iowa State heavyweight David Zabriskie recorded yet another upset for the Cyclones. Zabriskie scored a takedown with three seconds left to score the third upset of the dual for the Cyclones.
The critical match for OSU was at 125. The Cowboys needed a victory over 20th-ranked John Olanowski with Scott and Morgan, both ranked third nationally, to follow. The match went into sudden victory and OSU's Tyler Shinn took a shot and scored the winning takedown.
The match quickly turned in favor of the Tigers as No. 11 Tyler McCormick reversed Scott with time running out and scored an upset at 133. MU all but iced the dual at 149. B.J. Jackson, trailing by a takedown, took a shot late in the match, Josh Wagner flipped him over straight to his back and pinned him with one second remaining.
Wagner's fall gave the Tigers a 9-6 lead, but with top-ranked Ben and Max Askren left to take the mat, it became a daunting task for the Cowboys. Hendricks got a win over seventh-ranked Matt Pell at 165.
Ben Askren recorded yet another fall for Missouri over Mason, and then Max Askren pinned Shelton to seal it for the Tigers.
The Cowboys return to action on Friday against Iowa in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The match will be aired live on ESPNU beginning at 8 p.m.
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