Wrestling: 5 takeaways on Iowa State’s win over Oklahoma State, Northern Iowa’s win over Oklahoma

AMES — The Iowa State wrestling team completed a weekend sweep over the state of Oklahoma with a come-from-behind 18-11 win over Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum.

After beating Oklahoma on Friday, the Cyclones navigated four separate ties by winning the last three matches to turn an 11-8 deficit into their first home win over the Cowboys since 2009. Iowa State, ranked No. 6 in InterMat’s Division I team rankings, is now 12-2 overall this year and 5-0 against Big 12 opponents.

The Cyclones have now beaten Oklahoma State, ranked 16th, in back-to-back years for the first time since 2009-10. That streak, which began with Iowa State’s 20-12 win in Stillwater last year, replaces what had been 14 straight wins for the Cowboys in this series, the longest streak for either team in a rivalry that dates to 1921.

Meanwhile, 90 minutes northeast at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Northern Iowa won six of 10 matches for a 23-12 win over the Oklahoma Sooners, an efficient rebound after a frustrating 19-17 loss to Oklahoma State Saturday night. The Panthers, now 5-3 this year and 3-2 against the Big 12, have now won six in a row over the Sooners.

Sunday’s matchups wrapped up a full weekend of competition between the four Big 12 programs from Iowa and Oklahoma. Here are five takeaways on the Cyclones and Panthers:

Iowa State’s freshmen have hit a rough patch. How they solve it will determine a lot about the Cyclones’ postseason chances.

After impressive starts, both Casey Swiderski, at 141 pounds, and Paniro Johnson, at 149, hit some freshmen bumps this month — which is to be expected, even with their incredible wrestling talents. They went a combined 1-3 this weekend.

Swiderski lost twice, 3-2 to Oklahoma’s Mosha Swartz on Friday, then 3-0 to Oklahoma State’s Carter Young on Sunday. Johnson rebounded from a 6-4 loss to Oklahoma’s John Wiley with an hard-fought 3-1 win over Oklahoma State’s Victor Voinovich, where a tilt in the second period earned him two back points, which held up as the difference.

They’ve both struggled this month. Swiderski started the year 4-1, but since suffering a shoulder injury, he’s gone 4-3, which includes three wins at the North County Open last Sunday. Johnson, after a 7-1 start highlighted by an excellent 9-4 win over Wisconsin’s second-ranked Austin Gomez, went 3-2 in January, alternating wins and losses.

“Those young guys have to get some things figured out,” Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser said this weekend. “I love their effort. This college wrestling thing is really hard. You start out at the beginning of the year, and nobody knows who you are, nobody knows much about you, and you sneak up on a few people because you’re good."

“Then everybody figures you out a little bit, because there’s a lot of video on you out there, and all these great coaches across the nation start coaching,” he continued. “I know those guys are going to be fine, but it’s a tough sport, and sometimes, you have to grind through it a little bit.”

To be fair, the guys Swiderski and Johnson have lost to this month are some of the best in the country, and they’ve competed well against them. Swiderski’s three losses this month have been by a combined six points. Johnson, still 10-3 after Sunday, has lost twice in overtime.

It may not be fair to say Iowa State’s NCAA trophy hopes hinge on these two figuring out whatever funk they might be in, but that’s the reality of the situation. Both Swiderski and Johnson have shown they’re capable of making deep runs in March. The Cyclones need them to come through if they want that lucrative top-four team finish.

“You’ve got two true freshmen trying to figure out Division I wrestling,” Dresser said. “Everybody is really good every week. Everybody is trying to take your head off.”

Iowa State heavyweight Sam Schuyler continues to show promising improvement.

Sam Schuyler improved to 10-2 this season after two wins this weekend, a 2-0 win on Friday over Oklahoma’s Josh Heindselman, then a 10-1 major decision over Oklahoma State’s undersized Kyle Haas on Sunday.

Schuyler’s only losses have come to a couple of world-class heavyweights, in Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz, a returning NCAA finalist, and Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi, a two-time All-American. In his other 10 matches, he’s recorded six bonus-point victories.

There’s clearly a gap between the top-tier heavyweights and the next tier, but Schuyler continues to show he’s very firmly in that second tier, perhaps even near the top of it. He’s consistently showing that he has what it takes to make a series run at the podium come March, a welcomed development for a Cyclone team seeking an NCAA trophy.

On Sunday, Schuyler helped complete Iowa State’s rally to beat Oklahoma State. The Cowboys led 11-8 after Dustin Plott’s 13-7 win over Julien Broderson at 174 pounds, but the Cyclones won the final three matches to prevail:

• Marcus Coleman scored three takedowns in a 7-2 win over Gavin Stika at 184 to tie the dual at 11-11

• Yonger Bastida scored two takedowns in a 7-2 win over Luke Surber at 197 to give Iowa State a 14-11 lead

• then Schuyler slammed the door with three more takedowns in a 10-1 major over Haas, who wrestled at 184 pounds at the Southern Scuffle earlier this month.

"I wasn't expecting to wrestle that guy," said Schuyler, whose win brought the announced crowd of 4,908 to their feet. "Felt really good. The crowd was really into it. It was a fun environment to wrestle in."

Derek Holschlag is becoming Northern Iowa’s next developmental success story.

It may be time to start considering Derek Holschlag as legitimate darkhorse threat nationally at 157 pounds.

Holschlag added two wins this weekend, the highlight being a come-from-behind 6-4 overtime victory over Oklahoma State’s 11th-ranked Kaden Gfeller Saturday night. Holschlag is now 13-3 overall this season after going 5-0 this month.

Doug Schwab has done wonders developing under-the-radar Iowa kids into talented Division I wrestlers throughout his Northern Iowa tenure. Drew Foster will forever be the poster child, from not winning a state title to becoming an NCAA champion.

Holschlag is following a similar path. He never won a state title for nearby Union in LaPorte City, and wasn’t considered a must-have recruit, but after this weekend, he’s about to climb into the top-20 nationally at 157 pounds — or should, at least.

There’s a lot of season left, but Holschlag is wrestling with the kind of confidence that normally leads to a successful March.

Colin Realbuto muscled out two key victories for Northern Iowa.

Northern Iowa may already have a darkhorse All-American threat at 149 pounds in Colin Realbuto. This weekend, Realbuto, who transferred in from Brown, flashed his mettle with a pair of hard-fought victories.

On Saturday, Realbuto rallied from down 3-1 to beat Voinovich 5-4 thanks to a third-period takedown and a riding-time point. On Sunday, he rallied from down 3-0 to beat Oklahoma’s John Wiley 7-6 thanks to a reversal in the final seconds of the third period.

He did all of this after competing in Italy last week, too, while Northern Iowa had the weekend off from competition. Not a bad way to return.

Realbuto is now 14-4 overall and ranked No. 14 nationally at 149 by InterMat. His season highlight thus far has been his stunning 9-7 win over Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso, a two-time All-American and past NCAA finalist. But he’s shown he’s capable of producing more — and Northern Iowa will need that when it counts come March.

A tough weekend for Northern Iowa’s Cael Happel

Cael Happel looks every bit like a top-tier 141-pounder this season, with a 12-2 record and a No. 8 national ranking from InterMat. But this weekend, the sophomore looked … off.

On Saturday, Happel gave up a pair of early takedowns and trailed 12-1 early in what ultimately became a 15-7 loss to Oklahoma State’s Carter Young. On Sunday, he was ridden out in the second period in a 2-1 loss to Oklahoma’s Mosha Schwartz.

Young might very well be Happel’s kryptonite, since he beat him twice last year. Schwartz, a two-time NCAA qualifier and a guy who’s also found Senior-level Greco-Roman success, entered the weekend ranked No. 27, but knocked off both Happel and Swiderski in what’s now become a seven-match winning streak.

It was not the best weekend for Happel, but, similar to Iowa State’s freshmen who are struggling, there’s plenty of time to figure it out — and his body of work thus far this season suggests he’ll fix whatever is necessary to get back on track.

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: Iowa State wrestling beats Oklahoma State; UNI tops Oklahoma