AMES – No. 13 Iowa State took down No. 22 Oklahoma in dominating fashion 25-6 Friday night during the Beauty and the Beast meet. The Cyclones won every match but the first and last, including wins for No. 23 ranked 174-pounder MJ Gaitan and No. 13 ranked 141-pounder Jacob Frost.
Gaitan gets big ranked win
Gaitan faced off against Oklahoma’s No. 8 ranked 174-pounder Gaven Sax in one of the marquee matchups of the night. Gaitan had to wrestle a smart match to take down such an opponent.
“I’m proud of [Gaitan] for sticking to the game plan and not wrestling like a crazy man,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said. “When he wrestles smart, that [Gaitan] guy can go a long way.”
It is Gaitan’s third top-10 win of his career.
“This whole last week I’ve been working on scouting that guy,” Gaitan said. “I really didn’t want to get in that cracked-down position he likes a lot.”
Frost brothers continue their tear
No. 5 ranked 133-pounder Evan Frost continued his dominance by controlling the whole match against Oklahoma’s No. 22 ranked 133-pounder Cleveland Belton. Frost secured a first-period takedown followed by a rideout to not give up any points. Frost had four near-fall points in the third period to secure the only major decision of the night.
“The Frost boys are incredible,” Dresser said. “They’re steady. They are really good wrestlers in all positions. That’s the package right there.”
Following that performance was Evan Frost’s brother, Jacob Frost. He took down Oklahoma’s No. 19 ranked 141-pounder Mosha Schwartz to continue the Cyclones’ dominance.
“My preparations going into matches have kind of changed,” Jacob Frost said. “I used to get caught up watching [Evan Frost’s] match and being too focused on what he’s doing. Now we just go back and watch the matches together.”
Johnson extends his winning streak
No. 11 ranked 149-pounder Paniro Johnson has wrestled at three different weights this year and has wrestled extremely well at all three.
Johnson defeated Oklahoma’s No. 13 149-pounder Willie McDougald 4-2 in a slow-paced match to extend his 149-pound weight class winning streak to seven.
“I felt like he really controlled the pace and really went after him,” Dresser said. “So from that perspective, it was a good night for him, I just wish he would have got one more takedown.
Overall, Johnson has now won a team-best 10 matches in a row.
