No. 3 Iowa State was on a mission Friday night in Norman, taking down No. 21 Oklahoma 29-10. The victory pushes Iowa State to 9-1 on the year and 5-0 in Big 12 play, while the Sooners fall to 8-4 overall and 1-3 in conference.
No Evan Frost, no problem
The Cyclones were without key starter junior Evan Frost. The No. 3 133-pounder has been one of the best wrestlers in the country, but his absence didn’t matter.
The man in Frost’s place was redshirt freshman Adrian Meza. Meza, who moved up from 125 pounds this season, was 10-5 so far this season and 0-2 in duals, which changed Friday.
Meza got his first dual win of the season against Oklahoma redshirt sophomore Carter Schmidt. Meza won 6-5 by decision, scoring a crucial swing victory for Iowa State and digging the hole deeper for the Sooners early in the meet.
The Cyclones kept on rolling after Meza’s victory. They won four matches in a row, either by technical fall or major decision, to grow their lead to 24-0.
Sooners string some wins late
With victory in hand for Iowa State, the Sooners didn’t just roll over; they kept fighting. The bout at 174 pounds got the first points on the board for Oklahoma.
Redshirt sophomore Carter Schubert faced off with Iowa State junior MJ Gaitan. The match was between two high-ranked 174-pounders, Schubert at No. 8 and Gaitan at No. 13.
The first period ended scoreless, but things started heating up in the second. Schubert got a takedown on Gaitan to go up 3-0. Gaitan managed an escape to narrow the gap to 3-1, but Schubert kept up the pressure and rode his way to victory through the third period. Schubert won 5-1 by decision.
At 184 pounds, Iowa State senior Isaac Dean and Oklahoma senior Brian Soldano squared off. This match was another ranked showdown, with Dean ranked No. 12 and Soldano No. 10.
The match was entertaining, despite its low score. Both wrestlers tried taking each other down, but nothing could materialize. The only points between them were escape points. Headed into sudden death tied 1-1, who would come out on top? In the end, it was Soldano, scoring a takedown to win 4-1 over Dean.
The final Sooner victory came at 197 pounds. Senior DJ Parker went up against Iowa State junior CJ Carter. Parker was a heavy favorite in this match, as he is ranked No. 11.
The first period saw Parker score early with a takedown. In the second period, no one could get points on the board. By the third, Parker increased the distance; he added an escape point and a takedown, couple those two and his riding time and Parker won 8-0 by major decision.
The inevitable Yonger Bastida
Iowa State senior Yonger Bastida put on another clinic at heavyweight. The No. 1-ranked 285-pounder has been arguably the most dominant wrestler this season. Bastida has posted a perfect 16-0 record and has been a takedown machine.
Bastida added another victory under his belt on Friday. Facing Sooner junior Bradley Hill at heavyweight, Bastida made it look easy.
In the first period, Bastida notched two takedowns. In the second, he added three more takedowns. Only 12 seconds into the third period, Bastida earned his final takedown to win 20-4 by technical fall.
Up next, No. 3 Iowa State heads to Stillwater to take on No. 5 Oklahoma State on Sunday.
