Piccininni seeks first career win over Hawkeye on Sunday in Iowa-Oklahoma State showdown

Every year, the Iowa-Oklahoma State dual is one of the most anticipated match-ups of the season.

This year is no different.

Both teams will enter historic Gallagher-Iba Arena Sunday with 14-0 records and some of the best top-to-bottom lineups in college wrestling. The Cowboys are ranked second in the nation, the Hawkeyes third.

There has been a lot on the line during these dual meets for a very long time.

Oklahoma State redshirt junior from East Setauket, N.Y., Nick Piccininni, is well aware of the rivalry’s history.

“We wrestle them every year and it’s always big,” Piccininni said. “It’s tradition. Big matches like this have been going down for a really long time.”

These big matches have been going down for 65 years, to be exact, with the first meeting coming in 1954. The Cowboys hold a slight 28-22-2 all-time edge in the series against the Hawkeyes, and they are going to do everything they can to keep it that way.

“It’s really important for us,” Piccininni said. “We’re looking to put on a performance. We’re focused and we’re ready.”

This rivalry isn’t easy for any wrestler who competes in it, but it has been exceptionally hard on Piccininni who has yet to get a victory over a Hawkeye in his college career. A fact the New York native is well aware of.

“That’s something I’ve been thinking about, that I haven’t beaten a Hawkeye,” Piccininni said. “It would be huge for me.”

It should be noted that of Piccininni’s five loses to Hawkeyes, three have come at the hands of three-time All-American and 2017 Senior World silver medalist Thomas Gilman and two have been to last year’s NCAA champion, Spencer Lee.

Although Piccininni will be taking on Lee once again Sunday in Stillwater, he claims this year is going to be different.

“This is a new year,” Piccininni said. “I’m not the same person I was last year. I’m more confident and more experienced. I didn’t fulfill something I set out to do last year and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I’ll never forget that feeling and I let it drive me.”

Piccininni has the results to back up that confidence this year. He’s currently ranked No. 4 and has a record of 27-0 with 22 bonus point victories, including 13 tech falls. His showdown with No. 2 Lee is one of the most anticipated matches of the dual.

Piccininni and the Cowboys, however, realize this dual doesn’t make or break their season. They don’t like the Hawkeyes, they want to beat the Hawkeyes, but ultimately, they have bigger goals.

“Take it for what it is,” Piccininni said. “It’s a big thing for us. We’re focused on winning, obviously, but we try to take it one step at a time and know the bigger picture. Beating Iowa would boost our confidence even more. Rolling into the Big 12s and then rolling into the NCAAs it would definitely help, just knowing that we’re that team that’s up there to contend for a title.”

With the NCAA tournament less than a month away and Sunday’s dual being the last regular season competition for both teams, it absolutely could go a long way to building momentum going into the postseason.

Wrestling will begin Sunday at 3 p.m. ET live on FloWrestling.org.