Iowa State (12-3) at
Oklahoma State (12-1)
  Jan. 31, 2004  Gallagher-Iba Arena  Stillwater, Okla.
  1,000. As a child, we would tell our friends to count to that number during a game of hide and seek. Of course, those friends only made it to 10, but that is mainly because 1,000 seemed like such an impossible achievement.    But this weekend, against Iowa State, the Cowboys of Oklahoma State will wrestle the 1,000th dual in school history. Stacked in those 1,000 duals have been 31 NCAA team titles, seven NWCA National Duals titles and a boatload of All-Americans and national champions.    Iowa State comes into this dual meet banged up. The Cyclones suffered numerous injuries over the holiday break, but are starting to get healthy again. The only missing starter is talented freshman Travis Paulson (157 lbs.). Will Paulson's absence be enough let the Cowboys ride into the sunset?    125: Grant Nakamura (Iowa St.) vs. Cody Stites (Oklahoma St.)  Nakamura has continued to get better all season long. Don't be alarmed by his drop-off in productivity over the last couple of weeks. He has been battling an injury that kept him out of the National Duals and affected him in the Northern Iowa dual. His quickness and athleticism are a great asset. Nakamura likes to start strong and keep the match at a fast pace. Against the right opponent, this can work heavily in his favor. Against Stites, it should be a major advantage. Stites can hang with a lot of wrestlers on his feet, but when he gets on the mat, especially bottom, he is in big trouble. He struggles to get escapes and gets caught in bad positions. With these two wrestlers, don't expect a lot of points to be scored on the mat. It is not one of Nakamura's strong points. In order for Stites to win this match, he is going to have to shut down Nakamura from the neutral position and take his chances in the overtime. If this goes to an extra period, Stites may have the advantage, but Iowa State needs Nakamura to be aggressive.  TheMat.com Prediction: Nakamura    133: Zach Roberson (Iowa St.) vs. Johnny Thompson (Oklahoma St.)  Roberson has a new hunger to him this year. He is mean, at least on the mat. In past seasons, Roberson would often back down against tough, physical opponents. Thompson is just that - tough and physical. This year, Roberson appears to like getting a little rough on the mat. He is giving as much as he is receiving, and that is what has made him one of the top wrestlers at this weight class this year. Thompson has struggled mightily this season. He has lost five matches. While most in the Cowboy clubhouse deny it, the weight finally appears to be getting the best of Thompson. He is not sharp in the third period and simply makes freshman mistakes. As amazing as it sounds, these two only have one official match against each other. Thompson beat Roberson 6-4 in overtime last year. This year, these are two wrestlers competing on different levels. Roberson needs a win here not only for his team, but to help his chances of gaining the top seed at the NCAA's.  TheMat.com Prediction: Roberson    141: Nate Gallick (Iowa St.) vs. Ronnie Delk (Oklahoma St.)  Gallick was hot early in the year. He was wrestling as well as anybody in the nation, until the Midlands. Leading 3-1 in the Midlands finals, Gallick sprained his ankle so bad that it touched the ground at the same time the ball of his foot did. He is now getting back into the lineup, and this will be a good match for him. Gallick's best attribute is his confidence. When he thinks he will wrestle well, he does. While that is true for most wrestlers, it is more true for Gallick. Delk is solid, but has not yet been able to drop a top opponent. He struggles to score points. Delk will want to test Gallick's ankle early and see how it holds up. He should use a lot of lateral movement and even take some half shots to make Gallick sprawl. If Gallick is not close to 100%, it will show. If he is, then Delk could be in trouble in this one. This is a match that Iowa State needs to stay alive in this dual. Delk is looking to establish himself on a higher platform in Division I.  TheMat.com Prediction: Gallick    149: Trent Paulson (Iowa St.) vs. Zack Esposito (Oklahoma St.)  This will be one of the more highly-anticipated matchups of this dual meet. Paulson took the wrestling world by storm, starting off the first two months undefeated and looking like a serious title contender. While he has cooled off some, he is still one of the top 149-pounders in the country. The maturity of his body at such a young age makes him the LeBron James of wrestling. Technically, he has no flaws. Plain and simple, this freshman does not make many mistakes. But he also does not take many risks either. That is where this match will get interesting. Last year, Esposito was in the same shoes as Paulson. As a freshman, he was undefeated for three months before going into the NCAA Tournament and not placing. After moving up in weight this year, he seems refreshed. Esposito is a funky scrambler, who at any moment, will get into positions that will make his coach scream "NO, NO.... Good job Zack!" This is a clash of two styles. Paulson can scramble, while Esposito sometimes struggles with matches with a slower pace. If Esposito can push the tempo in this match, he will be the favorite.  TheMat.com Prediction: Esposito    157: Jason Knipp (Iowa St.) vs. Johnny Hendricks (Oklahoma St.)  Knipp is a freshman who lacks big-match experience. He was thrust into the lineup following the injury to Paulson. He has started to improve, but facing Hendricks, also a freshman, will not help his confidence. Hendricks hosted a coming out party at the National Duals, defeating the defending NCAA champion among others. He has finally gained the confidence to break into the starting lineup. He is an explosive wrestler, especially from his feet. Knipp's strategy in this match should be to play as much defense as possible. If he allows Hendricks to get in on his legs early, he is going to have a tough time taking this match seven minutes. The Cyclones need a big performance out of Knipp. A Hendricks major decision win would be somewhat of a consolation for the Cyclones.  TheMat.com Prediction: Hendricks    165: Nick Passolano (Iowa St.) vs. Tyrone Lewis (Oklahoma St.)  Passolano has begun to step into the limelight this year. The only problem is that he has not wrestled many high-caliber wrestlers this year. Passolano is steady from all positions on the mat, but where he gets beat a lot of times is on athleticism. And when that is one's weakness, there is no worse opponent than Lewis, who is one of the most athletic wrestlers in college wrestling. Lewis has dominated opponents this year. Hurricane Tyrone has pinned 10 opponents this year, three of them in less than a minute. But he is still motivated by a conference tournament loss to Passolano last year, when he seemed to do a lot of standing around. Expect Lewis to start shooting right away. Look for his patented inside-trip or ankle-pick, but surely expect him to take at least one shot off the official's whistle. In wrestling, aggressiveness can easily be turned into points.  TheMat.com Prediction: Lewis    174: Grant Turner (Iowa St.) vs. Chris Pendleton (Oklahoma St.)  Turner has been thrust into a starting role this year. Talent-wise, he has had a tough time matching up with his opponents so far this season. This match should be no different. Pendleton is a pure scorer. He loves the excitement of