Oklahoma State wrestling: Freshman Jersey Robb's unexpected win caps upset of Iowa State

STILLWATER — As an injury fill-in, Jersey Robb could’ve approached his match cautiously.

Yet when the Oklahoma State freshman wrestler scored two takedowns and a nearfall in the first period, it was quite clear Robb had abandoned all caution.

He had something much bigger in mind.

Robb’s major decision at 197 pounds sealed the fifth-ranked Cowboys’ 21-12 victory over fourth-ranked Iowa State Saturday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Cowboys picked up three major decisions and a couple of upsets on the way to their second dual victory against a top-five squad this season.

With starter Luke Surber in and out of the lineup because of injuries, Robb has been the usual replacement at 197, though he only found out moments before the match that he was coach John Smith’s choice Saturday.

More: Oklahoma State wrestler Dustin Plott back in spotlight in Cowboys' big weekend matchups

Robb attacked quickly, led 10-1 at the end of the first period and finished with a 15-6 win over 30th-ranked Julien Broderson.

“How ‘bout Jersey Robb?” Smith asked rhetorically in his post-match interview. “He’s had enough tough matches. We’ve thrown him to some wolves, you know?

“Jersey, he’s got a spirit to him. He’s a competitor. High school kid last year, a two-sport star. The guy knows how to work, the guy knows how to win.”

Also a talented football player on a Bixby team that has been Oklahoma’s most dominant high school program over the last few years, Robb’s competitive drive never seems to slow down.

He took the mat with the Cowboys leading 17-9, meaning they could lose the final two matches and still win the dual, as long as Iowa State didn’t score any bonus points. But Robb never hesitated in attacking.

“That’s just what you gotta do,” he said. “Can’t think about it, just gotta wrestle.”

The crowd’s volume peaked during Robb’s match, particularly when his first-period attack resulted in a four-point nearfall.

That came just moments after OSU senior Dustin Plott, ranked No. 2 at 184, finished off an unexpected major decision. It was an important rebound for Plott, who lost Friday night to Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen, the top-ranked wrestler at the weight.

More: Oklahoma State basketball beats West Virginia for first win in Big 12 play

A night later, Plott totaled five takedowns on his way to a 17-3 win over 10th-ranked Will Feldkamp.

“That guy was an All-American last year,” Smith said of Feldkamp. “We mismanaged the score a little bit. We didn’t know we were gonna be in position to get a tech fall.

“Plott did a nice job of bouncing back from yesterday’s loss. You like to see that. That’s tough.”

At 133 pounds, Daton Fix improved to 8-0 with his seventh bonus-point win, an 11-3 major decision over Iowa State’s seventh-ranked Evan Frost.

That set the stage for one of the most important early matches, when OSU’s 141-pound redshirt freshman Tagen Jamison, ranked ninth, earned a 4-1 decision in sudden-victory overtime against No. 8 Anthony Echemendia.

The match was deadlocked at 1 heading to extra time, but Jamison went on the attack early.

“I knew if I spent 10 seconds, a burst of energy, that I was gonna get my hands on a takedown,” Jamison said. “Just telling myself mentally to sprint for 10 seconds. It’s a hard thing to do, because it’s physically demanding, but once you break through that wall, I knew I was gonna take him down.”

OSU has struggled to truly match up with top-five programs the last couple of years, and the schedule remains challenging. The Pokes host Arizona State at 7 p.m. Friday, then travel to No. 2 Missouri on Feb. 4. Home duals against No. 10 South Dakota State, No. 18 OU and No. 3 Iowa still lurk in the distance as well.

But Smith senses a different vibe from this team, as compared to the last few.

“It’s different from the standpoint that we don’t have to rely on one guy,” Smith said. “Somebody else is stepping up. That’s the difference. We’ve got good competitors and guys that are wrestling for each other.”

More: Focus is bigger than basketball for Oklahoma State's Mike Boynton in Remember the Ten game

Oklahoma State wrestling results

Saturday

At Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater

Oklahoma State 21, Iowa State 12

• 125: Troy Spratley, OSU, dec. Kysen Terukina, 4-2

• 133: Daton Fix, OSU, major dec. Evan Frost, 11-3

• 141: Tagen Jamison, OSU, dec. Anthony Echemendia, 4-1 SV

• 149: Casey Swiderski, ISU, dec. Sammy Alvarez, 8-2

• 157: Teague Travis, OSU, dec. Jason Kraisser, 8-3

• 165: David Carr, ISU, dec. Izzak Olejnik, 8-1

• 174: MJ Gaitan, ISU, dec. Brayden Thompson, 6-3 SV

• 184: Dustin Plott, OSU, major dec. Will Feldkamp, 17-3

• 197: Jersey Robb, OSU, major dec. Julien Broderson, 15-6

• HWT: Yonder Bastida, ISU, dec. Konner Doucet, 7-2

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State wrestling upsets Iowa State with help from Jersey Robb