IOWA CITY – The storied rivalry between Oklahoma State and Iowa has provided plenty of memorable dual meets.

Saturday night, in front of a standing-room only Carver-Hawkeye crowd of 15,400, added yet another chapter.

Iowa entered the dual ranked No. 1 and unbeaten in its last 84 duals after beating Indiana on Friday night. The Hawkeyes’ last loss came to Oklahoma State, also owner of an 84 match unbeaten streak from 1959-66 and who entered the 46th all-time meeting ranked second.

It was the first time the two rivals met in a dual ranked 1 and 2 since 2003.

How close was it? After 10 bouts, each winning five, officials went to criteria No. 3 to determine the winner. It was the Cowboys this time around, winning 17-16.

“Just tough matches, all the way through,” said Oklahoma State head coach John Smith, whose squad improved to 6-0. “We lost some close ones and won some close ones. In the end it’s about scoring points and we outscored them to get the win.

“It was a wild night.”

That’s an understatement.

Unheralded Vinnie Wagner gave Iowa a 16-13 lead with a down-to-the-wire 4-3 win over Chris McNeil at 184 pounds. Wagner, a senior from Osage, was taken down late but scored a reversal in the final 20 seconds to pick up his fifth win in nine starts this season.

A bout later, OSU’s Blake Rosholt beat All-American Grant Gambrall, 7-4, at 197 pounds to send the dual to the officials after each school claimed five matches, each with a major decision.

“It didn’t see it playing out like that, going down to the last match,” said Rosholt. “We had some ups and some downs tonight but it worked out in the end. Coach (Smith) just told me to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

Rosholt, an undersized heavyweight as a redshirt-freshman, started this season behind senior transfer Cayle Byers. But Rosholt, now 13-1, beat Byers in the Reno TOC finals and continues to make a claim for the starting spot.

“I don’t know what else I can do,” admitted Rosholt.

“There are two things we need to address as a team,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. “One is you have to put unbelievable emphasis on your wrestling. We didn’t do that. In some case we did. The other thing is rolling, falling into positions of the opponent way too much. And it bit us.

“I would say the same thing if we were the winner of the (tiebreak) criteria.”

O-State got out of town with a win despite seeing 2011 NCAA champion Jordan Oliver suffer his first loss in 39 matches. Iowa’s Tony Ramos beat the OSU junior thanks in part to three false starts whistled by the official.

Things got testy between the rivals after Chris Perry’s 3-2 tiebreaker win over Ethen Lofthouse at 174 pounds. Perry, whose older brother won two NCAA titles for Iowa, escaped late in regulation to force overtime, and used a rideout and escape in the first set of tiebreakers to tie the dual at 13 with only two bouts remaining.

Albert White (16-3), a former four-time Illinois state champion and often injury-plagued senior, used a slick third-period takedown to beat Iowa City West rookie Nick Moore, 7-4, at 157 pounds. Moore replaced the injured Derek St. John. After six bouts the dual was tied at 10-10.

Blair Academy product Mike Evans (16-2) gave the hosts a 13-10 lead with a 5-1 victory over Dallas Bailey at 165 pounds.

Many of the OSU-Iowa classics finished with the heavyweight bout. The 46th meeting started with the big boys. 

OSU 285-pounder Alan Gelogaev (16-1) tossed rookie Bobby Telford to his back for five in the first period and cruised to a 10-2 major decision to put the visitors up 4-0.

McDonough, 2010 NCAA champion and 2011 runner-up, quickly tied the dual with a dominating 14-4 decision of Jon Morrison. McDonough’s 17th win in 18 starts this season included six takedowns.

Things simply got crazy in the 133-pound match between Oliver and Ramos. A riding time operator error was corrected in the final seconds to force overtime where a third caution on Oliver in the tiebreakers gave Ramos a point. After a rideout, Ramos had a 5-4 victory to put the Hawks up 7-4. Ramos (17-1) had the only takedown of the match, coming with 20 seconds remaining in regulation for a 4-2 lead. Oliver escaped late, and after a lengthy conversation between all coaches involved, the riding time clock was reset and the two went to overtime tied at 4-4. 

The Hawkeyes built a 10-4 lead after a wild 9-7 win by two-time All-American Montell Marion at 141 pounds. OSU sophomore Josh Kindig led 6-5 until a Marion (15-1) takedown with 30 seconds remaining, then a late two-point near fall, gave the Iowan a win.

O-State All-American Jamal Parks (16-0) remained unbeaten with an 8-3 decision of Mike Kelly at 149 pounds to send the dual to intermission with the Hawks up 10-7.

A year ago the Cowboys protected another record – 76 consecutive dual victories – by forging a 15-15 tie with Iowa in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

For seven O-State starters it was their first experience in front of the hostile Iowa crowd. Only one bout – 125 – featured wrestlers who had met previously in a varsity match.

"It was a good win. Obviously, it is easy to look at and say there were some ugly wins. A lot of times on the road you have to win ugly. We wrestled a little tight. We didn't wrestle at the end of periods. We didn't come off the whistle on top and bottom. Cautions were flying everywhere. A lot of ugly but a good win. You have to find a way to scratch out a win. Winning on the road is not easy," said Smith. 

Oklahoma State 17, Iowa 16*

285-Alan Gelogaev (O) maj dec Bobby Telford, 10-2

125-Matt McDonough (I) maj dec Jon Morrison, 14-4

133-Tony Ramos (I) dec Jordan Oliver, 5-4 tb

141-Montell Marion (I) dec Josh Kindig, 9-7

149-Jamal Parks (O) dec Mike Kelly, 8-3

157-Albert White (O) dec Nick Moore, 7-4

165-Mike Evans (I) dec Dallas Bailey, 5-1

174-Chris Perry (O) dec Ethen Lofthouse, 3-2 tb

184-Vinnie Wagner (I) dec Chris McNeil, 4-3

197-Blake Rosholt (O) dec Grant Gambrall, 7-4

*OSU wins on criteria No. 3 – most points scored in the individual bouts.

Bout Summaries (from Oklahoma State SID Sean Maguire)

285: No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) MD No. 7 Bobby Telford (Iowa); 10-2
Gelogaev started the scoring with a bang two minutes into the bout as he took Telford straight to his back and nearly pinned  him with a three-point nearfall. He made it 9-1 after picking up a quick reversal and a takedown in the second. He gave up an escape to Telford in the third, but held on with his 2:00 riding time advantage to pick up a 10-2 major decision and put the Cowboys on top 4-0. Gelogaev is 16-1 on the year.

125: No. 2 Matt McDonough (Iowa) MD No. 8 Jon Morrison (OSU); 14-4
After a hard fought first period, McDonough held a 2-0 advantage as he registered a last second takedown. Morrison started the second period underneath and brought the score to 2-1, but McDonough answered with a pair of takedowns to take a 6-2 lead into period No. 3. McDonough carried his momentum into the final period as he recorded three takedowns, a Morrison stall point and a 2:10 riding time advantage to earn a 14-4 major decision. Morrison moves to 11-3.

133: No. 4 Tony Ramos (Iowa) dec. No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU); 4-3 OT (1st TB)
In the premier bout of the night, top-ranked Oliver and No. 4 Ramos were scoreless after one period. Oliver made a quick escape to start the second and fought off a late shot from Ramos to take a 1-0 lead into the final period. Oliver rode Ramos for more than a minute before surrendering an escape to tie the bout at 1-1. Ramos then earned a takedown, the first Oliver has given up this season, to take a 3-1 lead. Oliver escaped a second later to maintain his 1:03 riding time advantage and go into sudden victory at 3-3. Oliver fought off another Ramos shot in the first extra time frame to maintain the tie. In the subsequent overtime, neither wrestler was able to escape, but Oliver’s third caution gave Ramos a 4-3 decision. Oliver moves to 10-1 on the year.

141: No. 5 Montell Marion (Iowa) dec. No. 18 Josh Kindig (OSU); 9-7
Kindig scored two minutes into the bout and Marion escaped four second later to make the score, 2-1. Marion escaped and earned a takedown to open the second. After trading takedowns and escapes, the score was 5-5 entering period three. Kindig went up 6-5 with an escape 10 seconds into the period. With just 30 seconds remaining, Marion took down Kindig and earned a two-point nearfall to seal the decision. Kindig escaped before the horn to make it a 9-7 final. He now holds an 8-4 record.

149: No. 2 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Mike Kelly (Iowa); 8-3
Parks held a 4-1 lead with a pair of takedowns after the first. He escaped and earned another takedown in the second to earn a 1:14 riding time advantage before Kelly got free. The final period’s only score was a Kelly escape, but Parks’ 1:20 riding time advantage gave him an 8-3 lead. He maintains his perfect record at 16-0.

157: No. 12 Albert White (OSU) dec. Nick Moore (Iowa); 7-4
White traded a takedown for an escape in the first period and takedown for a pair of escapes in the second to take a 4-3 lead into the final period. In the final period, White added a quick escape and a takedown with 20 seconds remaining to secure his decision. Moore scored a late escape make it a 7-3 final. White improves to 17-3 with the win. 

165: No. 13 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. Dallas Bailey (OSU); 5-1
The first period ended with no points scored. Bailey escaped just under 30 seconds into the second period, but was taken down by Evans with 1:09 remaining and ridden out of the period. Evans scored a reversal in the final period and rode out the bout. His 1:54 riding time advantage made it a 5-1 decision. Bailey moves to 8-7 on the year.

174: Chris Perry (OSU) dec. No. 5 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa); 3-2 OT (1st TB)
Perry’s first career match at 174 pounds was an exciting one. The first period was scoreless, but was action-filled as both wrestlers were locked up fighting for position for more than two minutes. Perry escaped seven seconds into second period to go up 1-0. Lofthouse chose neutral to start the third and scored a takedown with 28 seconds remaining. Perry got loose with just four seconds left to tie the score at 3-3 at the end of regulation. After a scoreless sudden victory, Perry rode out the first half of the tiebreaker and escaped 17 seconds into the second half for a 4-3 decision. Perry stays perfect at 12-0.

184: Vinnie Wagner (Iowa) dec. Chris McNeil (OSU); 4-3
McNeil led 1-0 entering the final period with his escape as the only score and Wagner picked up his own escape to start the third period. McNeil gave up a stalling point, but earned a takedown to take a 3-2 lead. Wagner got the final say, though, scoring a reversal with 21 seconds left to take the win.

197: Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. No. 15 Grant Gambrall (Iowa); 8-4
Rosholt had to win to keep the Cowboys’ hopes alive. He took down Gambrall in the first to take a 2-1 lead into the second. He then scored an escape in the second to go up 3-1. Gambrall escaped to start the third, but Rosholt answered with two takedowns and a 2:01 riding time advantage to win, 8-4.