Men’s College Notebook: Oklahoma State Earns Top-5 Win Over Iowa State; Minnesota Upsets Iowa

Oklahoma State had a statement weekend in Stillwater, taking out #13 Northern Iowa (34-3) and #3 Iowa State (24-9) over the course of the weekend.

Against Northern Iowa on Friday night, the Cowboys won nine of the 10 matches, with four going for bonus points. They also won all five ranked versus ranked battles. Top wins came at 165 pounds as #2 LaDarion Lockett downs #6 Ryder Downey (6-4), and at 174 pounds as #7 Alex Facundo took out #12 Jared Simma (5-1).

On Sunday afternoon, Oklahoma State was just as dominant in taking out the Cyclones. The Cowboys won the first seven bouts of the day and jumped out to a 24-0 lead before Iowa State got decisions in the final three bouts. In fact, Oklahoma State only gave up two takedowns in the entire dual, the first not coming until the final seconds of the eighth match of the dual.

From 141-157 pounds, the Cowboys defeated three top-10 foes, all with late takedowns in the third period: #2 Sergio Vega over #3 Anthony Echemendia (4-2) at 141 pounds, an upset at 149 pounds as #12 Casey Swiderski posted the same score over #6 Jacob Frost. At 157 pounds, #6 Landon Robideau took out #8 Vince Zerban.

#7 Minnesota won four of the first five matches of the night, including three by bonus points, and knocked off #4 Iowa Friday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 21-16.

The win snapped an 11-match losing streak for the Golden Gophers against Iowa, and the 21 team points scored were their most in the series since 2007.

Iowa was without starters at 125 and 184 pounds, and Minnesota took advantage with a major and a decision in those weights. Bonus points also came into play at 141 pounds for #9 Vance VomBaur over #11 Nasir Bailey (10-1) and at 157 pounds for #21 Charlie Millard over #12 Jordan Williams (13-3).

An incredible stat, of Minnesota’s 13 duals this season, 12 have been against a ranked foe. 

In a top-10 battle in Raleigh, #7 Virginia Tech came out on top against #8 NC State 21-12 and now sits alone atop the ACC standings.

Virginia Tech took six of the 10 matches and had both of the bonus point victories. It was also the Hokies’ sixth top-25 win this year.

#2 Eddie Ventresca claimed his fourth straight win over defending national champion Vincent Robinson to open the dual. At 149 pounds, true freshman Collin Gaj used a second-period ride out, which included a four-point near fall, and scored a 6-0 decision over #5 Koy Buesgens.

The Hokies have now won three in a row in the series and picked up their first win at NC State since 2016.

Columbus Day is celebrated in October, but in the college wrestling world, January 31 was Columbia’s day.

The Lions, from the Ivy League, had a pair of impressive dual victories this weekend. First was an upset at #22 Cornell, followed later in the day with a win over Arizona State.

The 22-21 win over fellow Ivy League foe Cornell was Columbia’s first win over the Big Red since 1986. Columbia won the dual on criteria, as each squad won five matches, but Columbia had more six-point victories (a pin and a medical forfeit).

After an opening Columbia pin, Cornell responded with four wins in a row to take an 18-6 lead at the halfway point. But the Lions closed with a 15-3 edge in the final five bouts, including a sudden victory at heavyweight, which eventually tied the team score.

Columbia is now 3-0 in Ivy League duals this year (the best start since 1981) and has won six in a row dating back to last season. It was Cornell’s first loss in an Ivy League foe since 2020 vs. Princeton.

The Lions then followed with a 24-15 win over the Sun Devils. Columbia posted another come-from-behind win, as Arizona State was up 12-8 at the break. But the Lions closed out the dual winning four in a row before a loss at heavyweight.

We still have to get through another weekend before #1 Penn State hosts #2 Ohio State on February 13 at the Bryce Jordan Center, but both squads continue to roll in preparation for that epic showdown.

Penn State continued to roll in Big Ten action this weekend, taking out #6 Nebraska, 26-12. The Nittany Lions won seven bouts, with four of the five after the break to pull away as the lead was just 10-9 midway through. But Nebraska scored the most dual points against the Nittany Lions in 15 duals (last year, Ohio State had 13 team points).

Ohio State also continued to sit atop the Big Ten standings undefeated with a pair of ranked wins over the weekend. Also at home, the Buckeyes took out #17 Wisconsin 30-10 Friday night before downing heated rival #10 Michigan 26-16 on Sunday. Against the Wolverines, Ohio State dominated the lower weights, going fall, tech fall, tech fall, jumping out to a 16-0 lead.

Ohio State will host Iowa this weekend before its trip to Happy Valley.