STILLWATER, Okla. – When you lead a program that’s won 34 NCAA championships, you aren’t going to be very happy with a tie.

When you’re the leader of a program that’s won 69 consecutive dual meets and 23 national titles, including the last three, you aren’t going to be satisfied with a tie.

But that is what the 4,580 mat fans inside Gallagher-Iba Arena got on Sunday afternoon, a 15-15 draw.

Each squad won five bouts with heavyweight Blake Rasing’s overtime victory over the 208-pound Blake Rosholt in the dual’s final bout providing the final points.

“The streak is important. If you are winning that is what it’s about,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands, whose 10th-ranked Hawkeyes are now 8-0-1. “Bonus points are the difference. None were scored, so it’s a tie. We have opportunities with the firepower we have in that lineup but it is not showing up.

“It’s going to have to start showing up one way or another.”

The Cowboys (7-2-1) entered the 45th meeting between the schools ranked sixth after dropping a pair of duals at last weekend’s NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls. OSU was the last team to beat Iowa in a dual meet, upsetting the Hawks in Carver-Hawkeye in 2008. 

Head coach John Smith, like Brands, certainly isn’t satisfied with a tie.

“Tie doesn’t do a lot for anyone,” said Smith, whose squad travels to Ames to meet Iowa State next Sunday. “I think we had our opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of. But we also had some guys that were in some tough battles who won matches.

“We had some young guys out there wearing their emotions on their sleeves and we have to train through that, we have to make sure we are prepared and mentally ready to push through hard matches.”

Six of the ten bouts included tense third periods. Only 133 pounds nearly reached bonus-point territory.

Top-ranked Jordan Oliver looked as though he was going to bulldoze Iowa junior transfer Tyler Clark, building an 8-2 lead after three powerful first-period takedowns and a two-point near fall. But Clark put on a tough ride in the third period, and used an escape at the end of the second period buzzer, to keep the deficit at 11-4 for Oliver (14-0). It was only the second match this season Oliver has not recorded bonus points.

“It looked like routine fly balls in that first period with those double legs,” Brands said. “(Clark) rode him out in the third period but never really tried to turn (Oliver). It looked like he was trying to lose a 6-4 match. I’m sure some of John’s (Smith) frustration comes with that match too.”

2010 NCAA champion Matt McDonough (13-1) gave the visitors a 3-0 lead with a 7-3 victory over rookie Jon Morrison at 125 pounds.

The see-saw dual saw Iowa pick up a wild 8-3 win by Mark Ballweg (12-3) at 141 pounds. Ballweg and OSU true freshman Josh Kindig rolled, twisted, flipped and turned for almost the entire three minutes of a scoreless first period.

Kindig took a brief 2-0 lead with a near fall in the second, but Ballweg, a sophomore, escaped and scored a key takedown with 25 seconds left in the second for a 3-2 lead. Kindig escaped to start the third but Ballweg finished strong with a takedown and late near fall plus 1:24 of riding time.

OSU again tied the dual with an 8-4 victory by Jamal Parks (16-2) at 149.

Iowa bounced back with another strong third period at 157 pounds. Redshirt-freshman Derek St. John (10-2) led 4-1 after one period only to see Neil Erisman rally to tie it at 4 after five minutes. Erisman put on a good third period ride but St. John escaped late in a match that appeared headed to overtime. However, Erisman’s poor shot attempt was countered by the Hawkeye for a 7-5 win and a 9-6 Iowa lead.

Another of OSU’s rookies, Dallas Bailey, had the highlight move of the day, countering an Aaron Janssen shot with five-point throw in the first period at 165. Bailey (17-2) spent most of the rest of the match fighting off Lofthouse shots in a 6-2 win that tied the dual at 9.

Mike Benefiel and Ethen Lofthouse (11-4) slugged away for seven minutes with the Hawk redshirt-freshman grinding his way to a 4-3 win at 174 pounds.

The hosts took their first lead of the dual with back-to-back wins at 184 and 197.

Redshirt-freshman Chris Perry (14-4) used a second period rideout and third period escape in beating old rival Grant Gambrall at 184. The two met multiple times during the prep careers and even before.

“We’ve kind of been rivals since we were like 12 years old,” Perry said. “He wrestles really hard. You always have to be ready no matter who it is, and knowing (Gambrall) I knew I had to be ready for a tough match.”

Perry’s win tied the dual at 12 with two bouts to wrestle.

At 197, Cowboy All-American Clayton Foster remained unbeaten with a 5-3 win over Luke Lofthouse but it was as tough as any of the previous eight matches. Lofthouse escaped to start the third to cut Foster’s lead to 3-2 before the OSU senior secured a 5-2 lead with another takedown. But Lofthouse escaped and continued to charge, nearly scoring a takedown late to force overtime.

Rosholt and Rasing, who weighed in at 281 pounds, were 1-1 late in third when Rasing (9-3) had Rosholt bouncing on one leg but couldn’t finish. With 20 seconds left in overtime, Rasing was able to out scramble the smaller Rosholt for the winning takedown and send the patrons home with a 15-15 deadlock.

Iowa’s win streak ends at 69, the second longest in NCAA history – OSU also won 69 straight from 1921-32 and 1996-99. The record remains 76 by the Cowboys from 1937-51.

“There were a lot of close matches and you look at it across the board … I’ll hold my tongue on a couple of those matches … we let the No. 3 guy in America off the hook at 197,” said Brands, whose squad faces Ohio State on Saturday.

“We are eternally tied with Oklahoma State for second place in 2011. The streak was important. It demonstrates where your program was in the past and at the end of the streak maybe where your program is in the present to be realistic.”

Added Perry, whose father wrestled at Oklahoma State and older brother, won two national titles while at Iowa, “It is disappointing. We wanted to win. Most of us are pretty upset with the way we performed. We are going to have to wrestle better if we are going to win a national title as a team. Finishing matches is big at the end and we need to work on that.”

The series between Iowa and Oklahoma State now sits at 25-18-2 in OSU’s favor.

Oklahoma State 15, Iowa 15
in Stillwater, Okla., Jan. 16

125-Matt McDonough (I) dec Jon Morrison, 7-3

133-Jordan Oliver (O) dec Tyler Clark, 11-4

141-Mark Ballweg (I) dec Josh Kindig, 8-3

149-Jamal Parks (O) dec Matt Ballweg, 8-4

157-Derek St. John (I) dec Neil Erisman, 7-5

165-Dallas Bailey (O) dec Aaron Janssen, 6-2

174-Ethen Lofthouse (I) dec Mike Benefiel, 4-3

184-Chris Perry (O) dec Grant Gambrall, 2-0

197-Clayton Foster (O) dec Luke Lofthouse, 5-3

285-Blake Rasing (I) dec Blake Rosholt, 3-1 OT