Iowa State wrestling took its first conference loss and only its second overall loss of the season after dropping a dual to now No. 3 Oklahoma State 21-12.
Now, the team returns to Hilton Coliseum after a few weeks away from home to face off with No. 17 West Virginia on senior night.
The Mountaineers are coming off of a weekend that saw them lose badly to No. 2 Missouri 30-6, followed by a dominating 40-3 win over Morgan State.
The dual will be an emotional one, with nine seniors scheduled to walk for their senior night, including national champion David Carr, who is wrapping up a storied six-year career at Iowa State.
“I mean wow, what a great career, he’ll go down as an all-time great at Iowa State and that’s a big statement because there’s a lot of greats,” head coach Kevin Dresser said on Carr’s career as a Cyclone.
While it will be a special night for Carr, he will not have a walk in the park for his senior night opponent.
Carr, the second-ranked wrestler in the nation at 165-pounds, will take on West Virginia’s No. 8 Peyton Hall.
Last week, Hall faced off against the only wrestler who has defeated Carr this season in Missouri’s No. 1 Keegan O’Toole. Hall took O’Toole to the wire, ultimately falling 8-7.
“Hall’s really tough and David realizes he’s tough, so we got to be ready to go,” Dresser said.
Carr’s match won’t be the only one with intrigue, as there will be two other top-10 matches Friday night.
At 141-pounds No. 9 Anthony Echemendia will face off with West Virginia’s No. 10 Jordan Titus. Echemendia will be looking to hand Titus his second loss of the season.
Following them at 149-pounds, No. 10 Casey Swiderski is matched with West Virginia’s No. 7 Ty Watters. Swiderski will be looking to secure a statement win, firmly cementing himself as one of the nation’s top wrestlers at 149-pounds.
Other matches to look for Friday night include 174-pounds, where No. 22 MJ Gaitan will look to extend his career-best seven-match winning streak after picking up two ranked wins last week in Oklahoma.
At 285-pounds, No. 3 Yonger Bastida faces off against Michael Wolfgram with hopes of moving to 18-0 to keep his undefeated season alive.
The dual will take place at 7 p.m. Friday at Hilton Coliseum and can be streamed live on Big 12 Now and ESPN+.
