‘We’re Excited to Go Compete’: Cowboys Headed to Carver-Hawkeye Arena This Weekend for Top 3 Dual Against Iowa

STILLWATER — The last time the Cowboys wrestled in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, a sellout crowd of about 15,000 was there to greet them. With the excitement around Sunday’s dual, there probably isn’t going to be a drop off in terms of environment.

No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 3 Iowa do battle at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Iowa City. The Cowboys are 13-0 going into this final dual of the season. First-year OSU coach David Taylor met with reporters Thursday to preview the dual with his message being that his Cowboys can’t let the outside excitement surrounding the dual change the fact that it’s just another wrestling match that they have to prepare for.

“I think wrestling Iowa is always a pretty fun opportunity,” Taylor said. “They have a pretty spirited fanbase, and we like looking forward to wrestling good teams and matches that matter. We talked about that this year. On the other side of it, just getting our guys ready to go wrestle a match this weekend. …

“The dual is an exciting match. You’ve got two motivated programs, and you’ve got two great teams who are gonna go wrestle. But really in our preparation, it’s about getting our guys ready to go. I think as a competitor, sometimes you make a mistake when you try to put more emphasis into something. It’s just another match. We gotta get ready to go wrestle another match this weekend.”

Taylor wrestled two duals in Carver in his time as a student-athlete at Penn State, scoring bonus points against Iowa’s Nick Moore both times.

Despite spending four seasons at a Big Ten school, Sunday will actually be Cameron Amine’s first time wrestling in Carver. He said the last time his Michigan squad was there, he was working his way back from an injury.

“Just being there, the atmosphere is awesome,” Amine said. “I think a lot people fear it, but I think if you go in there and you really love wrestling, I think you can enjoy it. I think they’re just passionate fans, and you can turn their energy into your momentum.”

Amine is, though, somewhat familiar with his likely opponent: Michael Caliendo. At 14-4, Amine enters this bout ranked sixth in Intermat’s 165-pound rankings. Caliendo is 17-1 and is ranked second. The pair wrestled twice at the Big Ten Tournament last season, with Caliendo earning a 5-2 win and an 8-5 win in sudden-victory.

This will be Luke Surber’s second time wrestling in Carver. In the 2022-23 season, he dropped a 3-2 decision to Jacob Warner. Surber will likely wrestle Stephen Buchanan on Sunday. Buchanan transferred to Iowa from Oklahoma. He’s undefeated and the nation’s top wrestler at 197 pounds. Surber is 18-1 and ranked sixth. The two wrestled in the Big 12 Tournament last season, though neither guy was 100% (probably far from it). Buchanan won 6-2.

“It’s gonna be awesome,” Surber said. “It’s gonna be a fun experience. I’ve wrestled in Carver before. Really no different than wrestling in Gallagher. It’s gonna be packed. They might cheer against us, but they could be cheering for us, too. Exciting.”

It’s going to be an awesome event. There are a few weights that both teams are keeping close to the vest. At 133, the Cowboys have had a season-long battle between Reece Witcraft and Cael Hughes. Witcraft has wrestled the past three duals at the weight for the Cowboys, but Taylor still hasn’t publicly named him the starter.

At 174, the Hawkeyes could use Patrick Kennedy or Nelson Brands. Dean Hamiti has beaten Kennedy twice but hasn’t locked up with Brands. Then at 184, the Hawkeyes have been using Angelo Ferrari in spots, maintaining his redshirt but using Gabe Arnold outside of that. Dustin Plott Beat Arnold 5-1 last season.

“We’re focused on doing what we do as a team, what we’ve done all year,” Taylor said. “We’re gonna go out, we’re gonna shake hands and we’re gonna try and score as many points as we possibly can. That’s all that we can control — all 10 of our guys. We’re excited. We’re excited for the opportunity, and we’re excited to go compete.”