Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith understands the task ahead this weekend for his young team as the Cowboys wrestle Northern Iowa and Iowa State.

Going undefeated this weekend is a daunting task but an achievable one. Of the 20 matches between #28 Northern Iowa and #5 Iowa State, there is potential for a total of 17 ranked matches. That could make for a lot of gritty wrestling in store at Gallagher-Iba Arena. But, even John Smith said, Oklahoma State will have to pull off some upsets if the #7 Cowboys wish to escape this weekend still undefeated in duals. 

(Iowa State) is a team where, we’re gonna have to have upsets,” Smith said. “If we don’t, we can’t win. As of now, where we’re at, I think we got a chance to be a lot better in seven weeks from now. But for now, where we’re at, this will be our toughest test. They got a good team and a balanced team. I think we can wrestle really well, and maybe struggle with a win. But, I will say — don’t count us out. We’ll be in the middle of it.”

While many eyes will be waiting for 6 p.m. Saturday for the Cyclones, the Panthers are no slouch. OSU should emerge on top, but many intriguing matchups could go UNI’s way. Heavyweight #9 Konner Doucet has a great test ahead as he will wrestle #14 Tyrell Gordon, who beat Doucet in the dual last year and in the NCAA tournament. #9 Tagen Jamison will wrestle #6 Cael Happel at 141 pounds, who fell to Carter Young in last year’s dual. And of course…

Keckeisen On The Clock for Plott

#1 Parker Keckeisen and #2 Dustin Plott could be the match of the weekend, across all duals. While the two have never wrestled in college, Plott figures to be extremely familiar with Keckeisen considering he’s seen him wrestle his teammates four times over the last three years. Plott has a chance to do something special. A victory over Keckeisen could propel Plott to the #1 spot at 184 pounds and quite possibly push him into the top-20 in the pound-for-pound rankings. 

Plott defeated #4 Trey Munoz in last weekend’s dual against Oregon State — another mile marker of progress for the Oklahoma State senior. 

“I don’t think he could’ve done that in the past,” Smith said. “His experiences, which have been tough, some of them have been really tough, especially physically. He’s growing to be a much tougher individual, both mentally and physically on the mat. It was good to see. In the past, I don’t think you could have got anything close to that. It’s good to see him get healthy and get over the problem he had last week… and take a crack at #1.”

Another Top-3 Matchup

If Keckeisen versus Plott isn’t the match of the weekend, then it’s #2 David Carr taking on #3 Izzak Olejnik in the 165-pound match on Saturday. Olejnik and Carr have never met and just like the aforementioned match at 184 pounds, it adds an extra level of intrigue in the match. Carr, the 2021 national champion at 157 pounds, has five losses in his entire career, spanning six seasons. 

Smith has mentioned during the year that Olejnik has high expectations of himself and wants to be a national champion. So, what will it take to beat Carr, a 2021 NCAA champ? Some heavy punches. Just not literal punches, Smith said. 

“He’s gotta come out and be punching, and keep punching him,” Smith said. “I don’t mean physically punching him. Carr has done a lot, he’s been somewhere Izzak wants to be and wants to experience. Well, this is an opportunity. He’s gonna have to have his best match. And Carr is gonna have to have his best match. Somebody’s gotta have a good match to win. So it might as well be Izzak. I hope he gets that message.”

For Olejnik, he isn’t worried about who is on the mat with him, he said he is going into this weekend with the same mentality as usual. 

“I’m just focused on how I can continue to wrestle,” Olejnik said. “Not worry too much about someone else is doing and wrestle my match."