OSU Wrestling: Iowa State Could Push the Cowboys for a Big 12 Title Next Season

Last March Oklahoma State rolled to it’s seventh-straight Big 12 title crowning six individual champions and outpacing second place Iowa State by 158 to 114.5.

That's ??????? in-a-row for the Cowboys and 5️⃣3️⃣ overall team conference titles in #okstate wrestling history. #Big12WR pic.twitter.com/gfda4R74oz

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) March 11, 2019

Next year OSU will go for a program record-tying eighth-straight conference title, this would match their record set from 1921 to 1928. And for the first time in a long time there could be another program that pushes Oklahoma State in the team race. During OSU’s run of seven straight the closest any team has come to unseating them for them for a title was in 2015 when Iowa State stayed within 24 points of the Cowboys.

After a few years under Kevin Dresser, reigning Big 12 coach of the year, the Iowa State Cyclones are firmly “back” as a program, and they may be the team that is able to finally push the Cowboys for the Big 12 title.

Iowa State finished second as a program in the 2018-19 Big 12 tournament and have a lot of talent returning. They bring back eight NCAA tournament qualifiers, all of which made the podium at the Big 12 tournament and also have David Carr, one of the top ranked recruits in the 2018 class coming off his redshirt season. Carr will immediately be a Big 12 title contender at either 157 or 165.

Oklahoma State, on the other hand, graduated a lot of talent from last year’s team. Big 12 champions Jacobe Smith, Preston Weigel, and Derek White, are all gone and though it’s not decided, there is a possibility that Daton Fix takes an Olympic redshirt next season.

If Fix does take the redshirt the Cowboys will only return two Big 12 champions from last season in Nick Piccininni and Kaden Gfeller, along with only two All Americans in Piccininni and Dakota Geer.

OSU will be inserting some pretty high level talent in some of those gaps. Travis Wittlake and Anthony Montalvo will be entering their redshirt freshmen seasons, and everyone is hoping for a full recovery for Boo Lewallen. Those three could be significant factors in this conversation, but all three of those are big question marks at the moment. As is the overall lineup as there is certain to be some bumping around in the upper weights after the loss of Rogers, Smith, Weigel, and White. They’ll also have previous All-Americans Kaid Brock and Joe Smith who will be vying for Big 12 titles in their senior seasons.

Ultimately Iowa State will bring a very deep and talented team to Tulsa next year. OSU has some talent back, but there are definitely some question marks that could open the door for the Cyclones to potentially unseat the perennial favorite Cowboys who will be looking to win their eighth-straight.