No. 3 Oklahoma State outscores No. 7 Iowa wrestling 32-11 in electric final home performance of the year

The 2025-2026 college wrestling dual season will close out with a bang with the No. 7 Iowa Hawkeyes travel to Stillwater to face the No. 3 Oklahoma State Cowboys, a team with all of the momentum right now but a squad that also dropped its first meeting against the Hawkeyes earlier this year 18-16.

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This is a matchup between two traditional powerhouses both led by Olympic champions with unique styles and personalities. It’s a match made for television, and it all starts at 6pm ET on ESPN. Here’s what you need to know about the probable starters for each program: 

125 pounds: No. 6 Dean Peterson vs. No. 7 Troy Spratley 

If the dual starts off at 125 pounds — and don’t assume it will because in a dual with this much intensity, there could value creating storylines and drama with a more unique starting weight — fans will be treated to a battle between veterans. Iowa’s No. 6 Dean Peterson comes in with the higher ranking, and the Hawkeyes will need him to wrestle at his best to keep them in this dual, but Spratley’s a winner, and he’s shown he can win these kinds of close matches on the biggest stages. These two met earlier this year with Peterson earning the 5-4 win, and, with nearly identical 10-3 and 11-3 records, fans should be expect a similarly tight contest between these two.

DEAN! 💪

125 – #10 Dean Peterson (I) dec. #2 Troy Spratley (O), 5-4

Iowa 3, Oklahoma State 0 pic.twitter.com/8njvpncnzO

— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) November 16, 2025

This will be Peterson’s last dual before heading into his final postseason as a college wrestler, and he’s chasing his first podium finish while Sprately is aiming to build momentum for another run to the national finals. This is a coin-flip match, but it’s a coin-flip match that Iowa needs more than Oklahoma State heading into the rest of the lineup. 

133 pounds: No. 9 Drake Ayala  vs. No. 6 Jax Forrest OR Ronnie Ramirez

While 125 pounds features two top-ten athletes who will be pushing hard to create sparks for their team, the match everyone in the wrestling community wants to see in this dual is Iowa’s Drake Ayala vs. Oklahoma State’s Jax Forrest. The story of the second semester so far has been the emergence of Forrest, a 2025 senior world team member who graduated high school from Bishop McCort early to join the Cowboys and is now undefeated on the year with nine wins. He’s quickly become the face of the program and is wrestling with the kind of pace and energy that fans love to see. Forrest’s best win on the year came last weekend against Virginia Tech’s freshman No. 7 Aaron Seidel in a barnburner, but now he could face two-time NCAA finalist Drake Ayala in his last homestead before the Big 12 tournament. Ayala also wrestles a fast style headline by his slide-by and while he might have been the favorite heading into the year, the Hawkeye senior has now taken six losses and comes in, rankings-wise, as the underdog. Forrest will likely come out firing, and if “No Brake Drake” can match his pace for seven minutes, this could be a wild one. 

Oklahoma State also has freshman Ronnie Ramirez listed as an alternate at this weight, and Ayala would likely be favored against Ramirez. Whoever Oklahoma State elects to wrestle in this dual will be the starter for the team, as both Ramirez and Forrest have used their “five free dates” as freshman without burning their redshirt. This match would immediately pull either of them out of redshirt and solidify this year as a year of eligibility. 

141 pounds: Kale Petersen vs. No. 2 Sergio Vega 

Oklahoma State has a lot of opportunities to make statements in this dual, but 141-pounds might be the biggest opening for the Cowboys. True freshman Sergio Vega comes into this dual with an undefeated record and wins over All-Americans Anthony Echemendia, Brock Hardy, Nasir Bailey and Ryan Jack. He’s been perfect. 

COWBOY LEGENDS: The complete history of the Oklahoma State wrestling program 

Iowa’s Kale Peterson is a solid opponent with a very respectable 10-3 record, but he’ll have an uphill battle against the Cowboys. The last time Iowa wrestled Oklahoma State, head coach Tom Brands fielded Bailey and took the 3-0 loss in sudden victory. Peterson’s job will be to fight they way Bailey did and not give up bonus points. 

149 pounds: No. 18 Ryder Block vs. No. 9 Casey Swiderski OR Kolter Burton OR Beau Hickman 

Oklahoma State has options at 149 pounds, listing No. 9 Casey Swiderski, Kolter Burton and Beau Hickman as probables for the dual, but wrestling fans want to see Swiderski take the mat against Iowa’s Ryder Block. In their last meeting, Block earned the biggest win over his career over Swiderski 5-3, a win that set him up for a super solid regular season where he also beat Big 12 champion Paniro Johnson and No. 19 Chance Lamer. Block’s now on a quest to qualify for his first NCAA tournament as a redshirt sophomore and make a run for the podium, and one more test against Swiderski would be a perfect measuring stick to see what needs tweaking ahead of Big Tens. 

Swiderski has been wrestling well lately too, picking up wins over All-American No. 10 Jacob Frost, No. 31 Caleb Rathjen, Seth Mendoza, Hunter Hollinsworth and Lamer in his last five matches. The best version of Swiderski can compete for a title, but first he’ll have to take on one of the five athletes who has a win over him this year in Block. 

157 pounds: No. 14 Jordan Williams OR Victor Voinovich II vs. No. 5 Landon Robideau

There are a number of ‘anybody can win’ kind of matches in this dual, but 157 pounds, on paper, is not one of them. Oklahoma State freshman Landon Robideau comes into this match with a 13-1 record and his lone loss coming against NCAA champion Antrell Taylor while Iowa junior Jordan Williams is 7-6 on the year and Iowa senior Victor Voinovich III is 8-4. Robideau majored Voinovich 16-5 in their last meeting and will look for bonus points against regardless of who the Hawkeyes field in this one. Voinovich is coming off a three-match win streak against Purdue, Michigan State and Ohio State, but Oklahoma State’s Robideau in Gallagher-Iba is a different kind of challenge.

165 pounds: No. 4 Mikey Caliendo vs. No. 2 Ladarion Lockett 

The theme of this entire dual is represented in this one matchup: Iowa can win, but history and records favor the Cowboys. Oklahoma State’s Ladarion Lockett has been exceptional this year and is part of a team of Oklahoma State freshman who have skyrocketed in the rankings and made noise for their style and their success. With an undefeated 13-0 record, Lockett has been nearly impossible to score on, and he’s passed every test that’s been put in front of him. He has wins over three-time All-American Mikey Caliendo, All-American Matt Bianchi and All-American Hunter Garvin, and he’s poised to head into the postseason unblemished. 

Caliendo, though, has the chance to play hero for the Hawkeyes though if he wrestles his match. With a career record of 92-19, Caliendo has shown that he’s on an elite level. His only losses since coming to Iowa have come against Lockett, NCAA champion Mitchell Mesenbrink, NCAA champion David Carr, NCAA champion Dean Hamiti, NCAA champion Keegan O’Toole and NCAA finalist Joey Blaze. He wrestles a fast, aggressive style, and if he stays on the gas and pushes the pace, he can keep this one close enough to go in for the win. This is another weight that Iowa will need, and their senior is the person the team will count on to make that happen. 

174 pounds: No. 3 Patrick Kennedy vs. No. 7 Alex Facundo 

While this match between All-American Patrick Kennedy and NCAA qualifier and Penn State transfer Alex Facundo may not bring the fireworks of 165 pounds, this is one of those sneaky, hard-nosed matches that could end up deciding the dual. Kennedy comes into the dual after a 1-1 weekend last week where he took a loss to Michigan’s Beau Mantanona and then earned an injury default win against Purdue, while Facundo is fresh off a win over Virginia Tech’s No. 31 Sergio Desiante 4-1. All four of Facundo’s losses have come against All-Americans, and his 14-4 record does also include victories against All-Americans Chris Minto and Cam Steed. Kennedy, meanwhile, is 14-2 with wins over Minto and Steed as well. 

Iowa will need its senior leader Kennedy to dig deep and top Facundo, even if it takes tie-breakers or sudden victory, as it has in their last two meetings. The Cowboys, meanwhile, need aggression and force from Facundo. These three middleweights — 165, 174 and 184 pounds — are coin-flip matches, and Facundo has the opportunity to help Oklahoma State pull away if he can withstand the handfighting and brute force of Kennedy. 

184 pounds: Gabe Arnold vs. No. 9 Zack Ryder 

One of the biggest storylines related to the Iowa wrestling program this year has been 184 pounds. The Hawks rolled out redshirt freshman Angelo Ferrari to start the year, and Ferrari quickly claimed the top spot in the country with his win over Missouri’s Aeoden Sinclair at the National Dual Invitational. Ferrari also beat Oklahoma State’s Zack Ryder 4-2 at that same event. If Ferrari was going, he’d be the favorite. But since his TB-1 loss to Ohio State’s Rocco Welsh in mid-January though, Ferrari has been out with an injury, prompting Iowa to Mr. Team Player Gabe Arnold at the weight. Arnold will once again be the probable starter for the Hawks, and while he comes in without a ranking as a technical backup to Ferrari, he’s absolutely a contender in this match. 

Arnold qualified for the national tournament at 184 pounds last year, but tried to earn the starting spot down at 174 pounds this year against teammate Patrick Kennedy. With Kennedy holding down that weight, he’s filled in at 184 pounds when needed and also wrestled as heavy as 197 pounds to fill in after Mo Endene transferred earlier this fall. Teammate Drake Ayala praised Arnold’s “unselfishness” and willingness to do what the team needs. He’ll have another chance to be that ultimate Hawkeye this weekend. Arnold comes into this match against Ryder with a 14-4 record and a win over All-American Silas Allred, while Ryder is 9-6 with a sudden victory loss to Allred. Oklahoma State could also send out Trevor Dopps, but regardless of who the Cowboys field, Iowa will be in this match and could need the bout win to compete for the team victory. 

197 pounds: Brody Sampson vs. No. 7 Cody Merrill 

The 197-pound match is Oklahoma State’s chance to lock up the dual. Back in November, Iowa sealed the win against the Cowboys at this weight when then-Hawkeye transfer Mo Endene beat Oklahoma State’s Cody Merrill 4-3 in his first top-ten DI win of his career. Endene has since left the program, opening up the starting spot for Brody Sampson, a redshirt freshman who is 2-5 on the year. Iowa has also wrestled true freshman Harvey Ludington at this weight this year along with redshirt sophomore Gabe Arnold, but Arnold is slated to compete down at 184 pounds in place of injured No. 2 Angelo Ferrari, and Hudington is out of free dates to preserve his redshirt. 

Sampson’s opponent, redshirt freshman Merrill, has only improved since his last meeting with the Hawks. He’s 12-3 on the year with win a win over All-American Camden McDanel; he also took four-time All-American Rocky Elam to tie-breakers. His three losses have come against Endene, Elam and Virginia Tech’s Sonny Sasso last weekend, so while he comes into this dual off a loss, he’ll be a heavy favorite against Sampson because of his size, strength and poise. 

Merrill can be a finalist contender this year if he catches fire at the national tournament. On Sunday though, his focus will be on beating Iowa by bonus, if possible, and locking up the win for the Cowboys. 

285 pounds: No. 9 Ben Kueter vs. No. 8 Konner Doucet 

The last time these two teams met, Iowa’s anchor Ben Kueter was out with injury, forcing the Hawks to give up six points in a forfeit. Now Kueter is back, but he’s still an underdog against Oklahoma State’s Konner Doucet who is quietly having the best season of his career. With a 13-2 record, Doucet’s only losses have come against NCAA champion AJ Ferrari and NCAA All-American Yonger Bastida by decision. Much like at 133 pounds, Iowa might have been favored at this weight heading into the year, but Oklahoma State head coach David Taylor has his guys firing on all cylinders right now. 

For Kueter to pull off the win, he’ll need to up his offense and start shooting early. The Hawkeye sophomore is 5-5 on the year, but he does have wins over No. 15 Dayton Pitzer, No. 10 Braxton Amos, and No. 11 Koy Hopke. He’s still very much an All-American contender, though a match like this could mimic the kind of kind of nail-bitter match that both of these guys could face in the Blood Round at NCAAs. Expect this one to be high-pressure and low scoring, potentially coming down to a single takedown to decide the match and the dual.