The ISU wrestling team opens its Big 12 conference action on the road this weekend, going from Norman, Okla., for a battle with No. 10 Oklahoma to Stillwater, Okla., to face No. 3 Oklahoma State, all within a three-day span.

The Oklahoma Sooners (12-1-1) are coming off a first-place showing at the Lonestar Duals in Arlington, Texas. Junior Eric Lapotsky, who is ranked sixth at 197 pounds, has an overall record of 18-3 and a 10-2 record in dual meet action this season, and will look to be the Sooners’ standout this Friday against the Cyclones. However, Lapotsky has yet to beat Iowa State’s Jake Varner. Varner, the reigning national champion and top-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, defeated Lapotsky by a major decision of 16-5 in the Cyclones’ 23-15 victory over the Sooners at Hilton Coliseum last season.

The Sooners’ highest ranked wrestler, however, is Kyle Terry, who is ranked fourth in the nation at 149 pounds. Terry, a senior, has gotten the best of Iowa State’s Mitch Mueller in the past. In their two previous encounters, Terry defeated the Cyclone senior by a decision of 6-0 in last year’s dual meet and pinned him with a fall time of 4:32 at the Big 12 Championships in 2007.

Mueller is coming back after tweaking his knee in the championship dual meet at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals against Iowa in late December.

ISU coach Kevin Jackson decided to start redshirt freshman Max Mayfield in Mueller’s place, at 149 pounds, in the dual meet against Illinois on Jan. 16, giving Mueller time to heal his injury in preparation for this Friday’s meet in Norman, Okla.

The Sooners have only hit a couple snags on the road to the dual meet against the second-ranked Cyclones, losing to Lehigh University in the semifinals of the Virginia Duals and tying a dual meet with intrastate rival, Oklahoma State, 16-16. Iowa State has beaten Oklahoma in seven straight matches, dating back to 2003.

The Cyclones will then hit the road after their dual against the Sooners to face the Oklahoma State on Sunday. The Cowboys (8-1-1) are coming off a slim loss to the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes, 19-16, last Saturday night in Iowa City. Oklahoma State features five wrestlers with two losses or fewer, four of whom are nationally ranked in the top 10. Senior heavyweight Jared Rosholt has gone 21-1 with a perfect dual record of 10-0 so far this season and is currently the top-ranked heavyweight wrestler in the nation.

At last year’s dual meet, however, ISU senior David Zabriskie defeated Rosholt by a sudden victory decision of 3-1 to swing momentum in the Cyclones’ favor in the dual meet. The Cyclones went on to win the dual meet at Hilton Coliseum, 24-12.

“The fact that he’s ranked first doesn’t really change too much,” Zabriskie said. “We’ve wrestled a whole bunch of times, so I’m just going to go out there with the same mentality that I always do.”

Zabriskie and Rosholt are no strangers, as this will be the eighth time the heavyweights have faced each other. Zabriskie is 5-2 all-time against the top-ranked Rosholt.

“If it happens, it happens; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t bother me at all,” said Zabriskie of possibly jumping to No. 1 in the rankings if he beats Rosholt for a sixth time. “I’m not really worried about the rankings at all.”

The Cowboys’ 197-pounder Alan Gelogaev is ranked seventh in the nation at his weight class and has compiled a record of 21-1 this season. The sophomore from Moscow will be the second challenge of the weekend for Iowa State’s Varner, who holds a team record of nine pins this season.

The Cyclones’ dual against the Sooners begins Friday at 7 p.m. Their following dual against Oklahoma State starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday.