On paper, this weekend’s Big 12 Championship should amount to a toss-up between Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Missouri.

In practice, Cyclone head coach Kevin Dresser knows surprises will abound on Saturday and Sunday in Tulsa.

“Winning the close matches and the bonus points are gonna be the difference,” said Dresser, who seeks to guide ISU to its first conference tournament title since 2009. “The Big 12 has just gotten so much tougher over the years, even since I got here in 2017. From Saturday morning on you’ve got to be ready to go. It used to be Saturday morning if you were a top-three-seeded guy you didn’t need to worry too much, but it’s not like that anymore. It’s got great depth and it’s a great preparer for the NCAA Tournament and what we expect there.”

That would be controlled chaos, which suits Dresser’s Cyclones just fine. Nine of ISU’s 10 starters earned at least a #6 seed at the conference meet. 141-pounder Anthony Echemendia and 149-pounder Casey Swiderski snared top seeds. Evan Frost (133), David Carr (165), MJ Gaitan (174) and Yonger Bastida (heavyweight) all received #2 seeds. The #2-ranked Carr seeks to become a five-time Big 12 champion, but his potential road to a rematch with top-ranked and two-time defending NCAA champion Keegan O’Toole of Missouri could be a rocky one.

“165, on paper, is the toughest weight, so they’re both gonna have really good semifinals,” Dresser said. “So I’m sure they’re thinking the same thing we’re thinking, (which) is we can’t look past those matches. But if we get to that match — and I’ve said it before, it’s a littlest of a broken record, but the last month I’ve really been strong in my feeling that David’s just ready to go. He’s ready to go technically. He’s ready to go physically. His tank is big right now and more than anything, he’s ready to go mentally. They might be the same way and it might be a heck of a match, but I like our guy.”

Dresser knows what type of effort he’ll get from Carr, Bastida and his other highly-ranked wrestlers, but winning the team title will hinge on what his other wrestlers can achieve.

184-pounder Will Feldkamp, for example, has battled injury this season, but earned All-American honors for Clarion in 2023. He’s 10-6 and as healthy as he’s been all season, so he’s a dangerous #5 seed at Big 12s who must deliver if the Cyclones are to return to the top of the team podium for the first time in 15 years.

 “It’s nice to be back in the full routine,” Feldkamp said. “With it being my last year, anyways, they’d have to cut my arm off (to make me) not wrestle, so there’s nothing stopping me right now. I’m just super-excited, grateful and ready to roll this weekend.”

Anthony’s Attitude

Echemendia scored bonus points in eight consecutive wins before falling to #8 Tagen Jamison of Oklahoma State in sudden victory five weeks ago. He rebounded with wins over #10 Cael Happel of Northern Iowa and 18th-ranked Josh Edmond of Missouri, and enters the postseason confident and focused.

“I’m ready to kill,” Echemendia said. “That’s how I’m coming into the postseason. I’m ready. I’m just going to give it my all. The work is done and we’ve just got to throw it out there and show everybody what we can do.”

Team Success Helps Drive Carr 

Carr is a four-time All-American and 2021 NCAA Champion, but he seems to be more excited about his teammates’ matches than his own — and that’s because he often is.

“He’s very much a team guy and in an individual sport, you don’t always get that,” Dresser said.

It comes naturally for Carr, though.

“David is one of a kind,” Echemendia said. “Everything is genuine coming from him. He wants the best for the team. He (talks about) picturing yourself at the top because that’s the mentality he’s got and he wants everybody to have the same mentality."