There was emotion, back and forth wrestling, and it all came down to the final match in the dual between No. 4 Iowa State and No. 10 Oklahoma State. Through it all, the Cyclones were able to come away with an 18-11 win on Sunday.

The first two matches were split by the two teams. Caleb Fuessley of Iowa State defeated Zach Blankenship of Oklahoma State by decision 10-4. Then Zach Redding lost to No. 2 ranked Daton Fix of Oklahoma State by decision 8-3. The dual was tied 3-3 and that is when things got interesting. 

The third match of the day between the Cyclones and Cowboys saw a controversial conclusion as Cyclone freshman Casey Swiderski attempted multiple kick outs to earn an escape point.  

Swiderski’s foot struck Carter Young around the ribs three times and Oklahoma State head coach John Smith did not take kindly to Swiderski’s kick out attempt. Swiderski lost the match by decision 3-0.

Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser went onto the mat and both teams were deducted one team point each. Once cooler heads prevailed, the Cyclones were down 5-2 headed into the fourth match of the day.  

The fourth match of the afternoon was one of the better stories of the dual. Down three team points early, the Cyclones needed a boost. Freshman Paniro Johnson provided it and bounced back from his surprising upset Friday against the Sooners.  

After losing to an unranked wrestler Friday night, No. 6 Johnson defeated No. 20 Victor Voinovich of Oklahoma State by decision 3-1 and tied the meet at five a piece. The match was a big moment in the dual but also for Johnson. Beating a top 20 wrestler is one way to rebound after a defeat against an unranked opponent.  

The dual continued to go back and forth. No. 11 Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State won by decision 3-1 against No. 27 Jason Kraisser. No. 2 David Carr followed Kraisser’s defeat with a 5-3 win by decision against No. 26 Wyatt Sheets, tying the dual at eight. Carr’s victory was his 21st straight win.  

No. 6 ranked Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State defeated No. 23 Julien Broderson by decision 13-7 in a high scoring match that gave the Cowboys an 11-8 lead. The Cyclones came right back and tied the dual after No. 4 Marcus Coleman defeated unranked Gavin Stika 7-2. The meet was tied at 11 going into the final two matches of the afternoon.  

No. 5 ranked Yonger Bastida gave the Cyclones the late 14-11 lead after defeating No. 18 ranked Luke Surber 7-2 in a highly anticipated top-20 match. After that, it was up to No. 10 ranked Sam Schuyler to secure the meet victory for Iowa State against the Cowboys.  

Schuyler got the Hilton Coliseum crowd on their feet after his takedown of unranked Kyle Haas in the second period. A near fall gave Schuyler a 6-1 lead heading into the final two minutes.  

The third period was dominated by the Cyclone senior as he secured a 10-1 major decision and gave the Cyclones their fifth conference win of the season, moving them to 5-0 in the Big 12 and 12-2 on the season. No. 10 Oklahoma State suffered their first conference loss of the season at the hands of the Cyclones. 

After their top10 victory, the Cyclones will hit the road to face West Virginia at 6 p.m. Friday in Morgantown, West Virginia.