NCAA Wrestling: Iowa State's David Carr falls to Missouri's Keegan O'Toole in 165-pound final

TULSA, Okla. — The third time was the charm for Missouri's Keegan O'Toole … which turned out to be bad news for Iowa State's David Carr.

O'Toole toppled Carr 8-2 in the 165-pound finals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday night here at the BOK Center. O'Toole is now a two-time NCAA champion after winning his first title a year ago. Carr, the national runner-up, finishes the 2022-23 season with a 26-1 record.

"Tough night," Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser said afterward. "Just two really good competitors. Talking with David afterward, he didn't feel great about his effort. Kind of felt like he lost focus, but it's hard to say anything negative about David Carr and the effort and everything he's done for this team all year long."

O'Toole struck first, converting on a re-shot for a takedown with 37 seconds left in the first period for a 2-0 lead. After O'Toole pushed his riding-time advantage over a minute to start the second, Carr escaped to make it 2-1 entering the third.

There, O'Toole escaped quickly to begin the final frame for a 3-1 lead, then took a 5-1 lead after turning a Carr shot attempt into his own takedown with a minute left in the match. Carr attempted to scramble his way to escape, but O'Toole caught him and held him for two back points, effectively icing the match.

Carr had previously beaten O'Toole twice this season, 7-2 when the Tigers beat the Cyclones in a February dual meet, then by fall in overtime in the Big 12 finals two weeks ago in this same building. It earned Carr the 1-seed this week at the national tournament, and slotted O'Toole as the 2-seed.

"He's a great opponent," O'Toole said in a post-match interview with ESPN's Quint Kessenich. "I'm so grateful to have someone like that in my weight class. He made me get so much better. It was a pleasure wrestling with him and I'm just so glad I got it done on the big stage."

The loss is just the third of Carr's stellar Iowa State career. He is now 74-3 and is a three-time All-American as well as a four-time Big 12 champion. O'Toole finished the season with a 20-2 record, his only two losses coming to Carr, and is now 64-3 overall for his career.

"He's his own worst critic," Dresser continued on Carr. "I know he'll bounce back from this and make adjustments, but this one is going to sting for a while. I'm really proud of him. He represents Iowa State as well as anybody who's worn the singlet. When you get two ringers out there wrestling, it's back-and-forth.

"David likes tough competition. That's what him and Keegan have in common. This will really give him good focus. It gives him a chance to be more ready to go. At the end of the day, one guy was ready to go and one guy wasn't, and that's usually what happens in these rivalry matches."

Carr was one of two All-Americans for Iowa State this week. Marcus Coleman finished fifth at 184 pounds to become a two-time All-American. They led the Cyclones to 47 team points, good for an 11th-place team finish at the national tournament.

"We made some good steps this weekend," Dresser said. "We were right there, but this isn't what we wanted. When you don't get what you want, 99% of the time, you just have to work harder. So we have to go back to work."

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: NCAA Wrestling: Iowa State's David Carr takes 2nd to Mizzou's O'Toole