Hilton Coliseum may be hosting the premier match in college wrestling this weekend.

Iowa State’s third-ranked David Zabriskie (20-2) and Oklahoma State’s No. 1 ranked Jared Rosholt (24-0) will battle for the seventh time in their careers when the two teams dual this Sunday.

The junior heavyweights are familiar with each other, but Zabriskie was reluctant to assess what makes his chief rival such a tough wrestler.

“Definitely no compliments today,” said Zabriskie, who won his first four matches against Rosholt, but lost the last two. “I think we bring out the best in each other when we compete against each other…if that’s worth anything. Just because we both go at it when we’re out there…We can both be pretty scrappy.”

The intensity of the conference rivalry quickly intensified during their freshman season. Zabriskie won three one-point matches over Rosholt, including a 3-2 decision for the 2007 Big 12 Championship.

Zabriskie’s win gave Iowa State its first conference title since 1987.

Had Rosholt won, the Cowboys would have won the title and maintained their reign of Big 12 supremacy.

Oklahoma State is college wrestling’s most traditionally successful program, having won 34 national championships and 32 conference titles, but has slipped to 13th in the national team rankings this season.

The top heavyweight ranking may be on the line this Sunday, but Zabriskie is keeping the match’s importance in perspective.

“I think it means a lot, but it is still a match like any other,” he said. “We’ve wrestled six times already? It’s match number seven. It’s not the first one; it’s definitely not going to be the last one we have. But I just have to go out there and compete hard. We’ve been chasing each other back and forth now. Looking for a little revenge for NCAAs, so…”

Rosholt beat Zabriskie in the Big 12 Championships last season, 9-5, and then again two weeks later in the NCAA Tournament consolation bracket, 6-1. Rosholt placed fourth at nationals, while Zabriskie placed sixth. Five of the other six placewinners at the NCAA Tournament exhausted their eligibility.

“I wouldn’t say he has my number but, at the Big 12, he kind of took me out of it,” Zabriskie said. “He hit me in the eye and kind of stunned me, and it took off from there. That was kind of my own fault, not really staying focused from that. [At the] NCAAs, I hit a bunch of good shots just wasn’t able to finish those, so…I’ve been working on my finishes.”

The third-ranked ISU wrestling team will wrestle 11th-ranked Oklahoma on Friday. The Sooners beat Oklahoma State, 18-15, in early December.

Oklahoma’s heavyweight, sophomore Nathan Fernandez , is ranked 19th nationally. Zabriskie’s only two losses this season have come to freshmen conference opponents — Missouri’s Dom Bradley and Nebraska’s Tucker Lane.

Backup’s run over — for now

Iowa State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson is planning on having eighth-ranked Duke Burk (174) in the lineup this weekend.

Burk missed the team’s last five duals with a shoulder injury sustained in the Dec. 29-30 Midlands Championships. Redshirt freshman Andrew Sorenson filled in, wrestling four ranked wrestlers in Burk’s absence.

Sorenson is a true 165-pounder, but beat Indiana’s then-12th ranked Trevor Perry, 2-1, in the first round of the National Duals. He lost, 6-2, to Boise State’s 17th-ranked Nate Lee, but challenged Nebraska’s second-ranked Brandon Browne in a 7-4 loss.

Sorenson lost a 2-1 overtime match to Oregon State’s 12th-ranked Kyle Bressler last week.

“He’s obviously a light 74-pounder because he’s been wrestling at 65,” Sanderson said. “And when you’re wrestling a tough opponent, jumping up a weight class does have a big impact, but he’s been right there with ranked opponents.

“He wrestles hard. He’s just a good kid, you know, and this has been a great opportunity for him. It’s a great opportunity for us as a staff to see him wrestle some quality opponents, even though they are kind of a size bigger than him right now.”

Sorenson’s performance serves as a model for the wrestling team’s reserves, according to Sanderson.

“Opportunities open up, and if you’re not ready for ‘em, then you’re obviously going to miss ‘em,” Sanderson said. “And that just takes discipline, preparing like you’re going to be wrestling for the national tournament even when you aren’t. And that’s not an easy thing to do, but that’s what Sorenson has been doing, that’s what Dalton Jensen has been doing, Nate Carr — a lot of our guys that are backups right now. They’re ready to go.”