This week in Division I college wrestling
<< Back to Articles
Craig Sesker (USA Wrestling)
12/05/2001
Cael Sanderson has already made more than his share of his history on the wrestling mat for the Iowa State Cyclones. Sanderson, who was an 8-year-old growing up in Utah the last time Iowa State defeated Iowa in wrestling, is hoping to make history again when the Cyclones meet the Hawkeyes at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Sixth-ranked Iowa State has lost a whopping 27 consecutive dual meets to the fifth-ranked Hawkeyes. The Cyclones last win was in 1987 at Iowa City's Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Sanderson has done his part to end the streak, winning all 132 matches in his ISU career. The three-time NCAA champion is 13-0 this year at 197 pounds. "It's been real frustrating against Iowa," Sanderson said. "We just haven't matched up real well with them in the past. They always seem to wrestle really well against us." The Iowa-Iowa State dual is one of two great matchups this weekend involving in-state rivals. Second-ranked Oklahoma State will wrestle No. 3 Oklahoma on Sunday in Stillwater, Okla. Iowa beat Iowa State twice last year, winning 23-17 in Iowa City and 26-21 at the National Duals in State College, Pa. Iowa State is 7-0 this year. Iowa is 3-0. "It would be awesome to beat them, but it's not going to make that big a difference in how we compete at nationals," Sanderson said. "It would be nice for Iowa State wrestling to end this streak, but it won't make or break our season." The Hawkeyes lost four national finalists, including two NCAA champions, from last year's team. Even with Iowa's dominance over Iowa State, the meet annually attracts big crowds. There were 12,000-plus fans last year in Iowa City. "Wrestling in front of a big crowd definitely makes it a lot more fun," Sanderson said. Sanderson will face either Ryan Fulsaas or Trey Clark of Iowa. Neither wrestler is ranked. Adding to ISU's misery against Iowa is Cyclone Coach Bobby Douglas' lack of success against the Hawkeyes. Douglas has an 0-16 record against Iowa. The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series, 49-14-2. Iowa features one of the nation's most talked about newcomers in true freshman Steve Mocco at heavyweight. Mocco, ranked fourth, was the nation's No. 1 recruit last season. Mocco will face Iowa State's Mark Knauer, a two-time national qualifier. Six of the 10 matchups involve wrestlers who are both ranked. One of the best matchups is at 149 where No. 1 Mike Zadick of Iowa is scheduled to face No. 6 Billy Maldonado of Iowa State. At 184, No. 6 Jessman Smith of Iowa will face No. 11 Austen Palmer of Iowa State. ISU's top-ranked Joe Heskett, who has finished second in the nation the past two seasons at 165, is slated to meet No. 12 Ben Shirk of Iowa. At 141, No. 7 Aaron Holker of ISU will face No. 13 Luke Moffitt of Iowa. The 133 bout will feature No. 6 Zach Roberson of Iowa State and No. 12 Marc Juergens of Iowa. At 157, No. 12 Matt Anderson of Iowa will tangle with No. 20 Matt Veach of ISU. Iowa sophomore Luke Eustice, ranked eighth, will face unranked Ty Malia of Iowa State at 125. Malia is a transfer from Nebraska. The 174 bout will match No. 11 Tyler Nixt of Iowa with unranked freshman Nick Passolano of ISU. Oklahoma State wrestles a big home dual for the second straight Sunday. The Cowboys fell 21-12 to No. 1 Minnesota last Sunday at home. There will be no shortage of excellent matchups when the two wrestling powerhouses from Oklahoma meet. At 125, No. 3 Skylar Holman of Oklahoma State meets No. 6 Matt Ridings of Oklahoma. At 133, No. 1 Johnny Thompson of OSU meets No. 2 Witt Durden of Oklahoma. At 149, No. 4 Jared Frayer of OU will meet No. 20 Jerrod Sanders of Oklahoma State. At 157, No. 2 Shane Roller of OSU likely will square off against No. 8 Doug Cieleski of OU. At 165, No. 2 Tyrone Lewis of OSU is slated to face No. 5 Robbie Waller of OU. At 174, No. 5 Ty Wilcox of OSU and No. 15 Michael Barger of OU are expected to meet. At 184, No. 1 Josh Lambrecht of Oklahoma will square off against No. 3 Pat Popolizio of OSU. The heavyweight match also should be a good one. No. 2 Leonce Crump of OU is slated to meet No. 16 James Huml of OSU. Huml upset Minnesota's fifth-ranked Garrett Lowney last week. Oklahoma State won last year's dual with Oklahoma, 22-13 in Norman, Okla. Top-ranked Minnesota wrestles Hofstra on Thursday at home before wrestling at Virginia Tech and James Madison on Saturday. Fourth-ranked Michigan is slated to wrestle at Michigan State on Friday before meeting Central Michigan on Saturday in Ann Arbor. No. 7 Ohio State and No. 8 Lehigh are scheduled to compete in the Sheridan Duals this weekend in Allentown, Pa. No. 9 Illinois is scheduled to play host to Eastern Illinois on Saturday. No. 11 Nebraska wrestles at Air Force on Friday and at Wyoming on Saturday.