No. 2 Oklahoma State wrestling to host rival No. 3 Iowa

The No. 2-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team will close out their regular season against No. 3 Iowa on Sunday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.

The Cowboys and Hawkeyes both enter the dual with 14-0 records this season, with OSU coming off its biggest test in a 19-15 win at No. 5 Missouri. OSU and Iowa have five common opponents this season: Lehigh, Iowa, Minnesota, Princeton and Rutgers. Both teams’ closest margin of victory came against the Cyclones, who fell by seven points to OSU and by one to Iowa.

Minnesota: OSU 23-9; Iowa 24-10

Princeton: OSU 27-12; Iowa 31-10

Rutgers: OSU 26-5; Iowa 30-6

Iowa State: OSU 22-15; Iowa 19-18

Lehigh: OSU 27-6; Iowa 28-14

Despite Iowa being in a tougher conference in the Big 10, the Hawkeyes did not face some of the top programs in the conference in No. 1 Penn State, No. 4 Michigan and No. 6 Ohio State.

Sunday’s showdown will have the mat on a raised platform to hype up the big time dual between two programs with 57 combined NCAA titles (34 by OSU). A dual win by the Cowboys would cap the 46th undefeated season in program history and the first since 2005.

Representing Oklahoma State

The Cowboys will have eight Oklahomans in the starting lineup, including three from Stillwater in No. 14 Kaid Brock (141 pounds), No. 11 Chandler Rogers (165) and No. 7 Joe Smith (174). The two out of state wrestlers in the lineup will be No. 4 Nick Piccininni of New York and No. 6 Preston Weigel of Kansas.

The Hawkeyes, however, are only expected to have two Iowans in the lineup with Mitch Bowman (174) and No. 14 Cash Wilcke (184). OSU is favored at 174 and 184.

Most anticipated match

133: No. 2 Daton Fix (OSU) vs. No. 3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa)

The 125-pound matchup has two undefeated wrestlers squaring off, but it’s the 133 bout that’s generating the most buzz. Both Fix and DeSanto embody the styles of each program. OSU’s slick and technical way vs. Iowa’s hard-nose and brute way. DeSanto is known for his post-match antics that saw Iowa head coach Tom Brands suspended him for the Indiana dual. DeSanto is 16-1 with his only loss coming against No. 9 Austin Gomez of Iowa State, while Fix is 25-1 with a loss to No. 5 Micky Phillippi of Pittsburgh. Fix is 2-0 against Gomez this season.

The rematches

The dual will have three rematches from last year’s dual at 125 pounds, 165 pounds and heavyweight.

125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (OSU) vs. No. 2 Spencer Lee (Iowa)

Piccininni went 0-2 against Lee last season, including being pinned at the NCAA tournament. Piccininni is undefeated this season, while the reigning national champion Lee — who has battled injuries this season — has one loss to top-ranked Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern at Midlands. Brands opted to have Lee sit out the potential rematch in the dual.

165: No. 11 Chandler Rogers (OSU) vs. No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa)

Marinelli took down Rogers in the final 10 seconds of their match last year for a 5-2 win. Rogers has won both of his matches since returning from an ankle injury in early January at the Southern Scuffle. With Joe Smith making the weight cut down from 174 for the postseason, this could potentially be Rogers last match. Marinelli rolls into the matchup undefeated after a win over No. 3 Evan Wick of Wisconsin.

285: No. 2 Derek White (OSU) vs. No. 7 Sam Stoll (Iowa)

Stoll beat White 6-4 in sudden victory 2 last year. White has been on a roll with 22 consecutive wins, including seven falls, since he fell 8-2 to top-ranked Gable Stevenson of Minnesota earlier this season. White has four victories over ranked opponents. Stoll is 8-2 with losses to Nebraska’s David Jensen and Wisconsin’s Trent Hillger.

Lineups

125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (OSU) vs. No. 2 Spencer Lee (Iowa)
133: No. 2 Daton Fix (OSU) vs. No. 3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
141: No. 14 Kaid Brock (OSU) vs. Max Murin (Iowa)
149: No. 6 Kaden Gfeller (OSU) vs. No. 11 Pat Lugo (Iowa)
157: Wyatt Sheets (OSU) vs. No. 7 Kaleb Young (Iowa)
165: No. 11 Chandler Rogers (OSU) vs. No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
174: No. 7 Joe Smith (OSU) vs. Mitch Bowman (Iowa)
184: No. 11 Jacobe Smith (OSU) vs. No. 14 Cash Wilcke (Iowa)
197: No. 6 Preston Weigel (OSU) vs. No. 4 Jacob Warner (Iowa)
285: No. 2 Derek White (OSU) vs. No. 7 Sam Stoll (Iowa)

How to watch

When: 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater

Live stream: FloWrestling