AMES – No. 13 Iowa State fell to No. 3 Oklahoma State 27-12 Sunday after the Cowboys’ heavyweights took control of the match. No. 13 ranked 141-pounder Jacob Frost, No. 5 ranked 133-pounder Evan Frost and No. 11 ranked 149-pounder Paniro Johnson continued their winning ways.
Deadlocked at one point apiece and heading to overtime, Jacob Frost was going to need to pull something off to upset No. 4 Tagen Jamison. Frost shot for the leg and secured the takedown and had one of the more impressive victories of the season.
The takedown resulted in a huge crowd roar and a very animated Iowa State head coach, Kevin Dresser.
“Having Cyclone Nation behind me helped me out a ton,” Jacob Frost said.
“That was a heck of a match,” Dresser said. “Those Frost boys are tough. They can get away, they can ride, they can turn and they have great leg attacks. That’s a great formula for being a good college wrestler.
Johnson extended his win streak at 149 to eight in a row and No. 12 ranked 157-pounder Cody Chittum highlighted his return with a 4-2 decision.
“I was excited to win those four matches, but I also knew there was a storm brewing,” Dresser said.
The dual started to turn in Oklahoma State’s favor at the 165-pound weight class when No. 6 ranked Cameron Amine bested Iowa State redshirt sophomore Aidan Riggins after controlling most of the match.
Oklahoma State did not take its foot off the gas pedal for the 174-pound match. In fact, the Cowboys pushed the pedal to the floor. No. 3 Dean Hamiti controlled the entire match against No. 23 sophomore MJ Gaitan and won by technical fall.
One of the best wrestlers in the country, No. 3 ranked 184-pounder Dustin Plott, didn’t see as much success as some of his other teammates Sunday night, but he still bested No. 12 senior Evan Bockman by major decision.
The 197-pound freshman, Sawyer Bartelt, had his hands full against No. 7 Luke Surber and was holding his own until his knee buckled and couldn’t finish the match.
Bartelt attempted to finish the match but had to forfeit by injury default.
Heavyweight freshman Daniel Herrera had to take on experienced heavyweight No. 3 Wyatt Hendrickson to finish the night.
Hendrickson showed why he is one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country against Herrera as he won by technical fall 16-0.
“When this match popped up in November I was pretty excited,” Dresser said. “I felt like it was going to be a heck of a duel, but obviously having a couple of injuries and some key guys out hurt us tonight.”
Iowa State is back in action at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 against Arizona State in Hilton Coliseum. It will be senior night for the Cyclones.
