No. 17 WVU Wrestling Handled by No. 4 Iowa State 29-11

The No. 17 ranked WVU wrestling team remains unable to find a win while facing fellow members of the NWCA Coaches Poll.

The Mountaineers were dropped by No. 4 Iowa State 29-11 on Friday night in Ames, giving West Virginia its third loss over its last four matches while lowering its mark to 0-4 against ranked opponents this season, all coming from within the Big 12.

Iowa State improved to 11-2 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 competition with the victory, and has now claimed 21 of 23 matchups all-time against West Virginia. The Cyclones took seven of the 10 matchups, as Friday marked the Mountaineers third time this season facing a squad where at least nine of the 10 wrestlers in the starting lineup were ranked.

Jordan Titus, Dennis Robin and Austin Cooley each scored victories for West Virginia (9-4, 2-4). No. 11 ranked Titus continued his dominance in the 141-pound division with an 11-3 major decision victory over Sam Hrabovsky. Titus now sits with a 20-1 record on the season while becoming the second Mountaineer to eclipse 20 wins, joining Peyton Hall.

Robin, ranked No. 28 at 184 pounds, defeated Tate Naaktgeboren by a 15-5 major decision after the Cyclones had already put the match out of reach. Cooley earned a 10-4 decision over No. 29 Julien Broderson at 197.

West Virginia starters Jett Strickenberger, Caleb Dowling and Brody Conley all returned to the lineup on Friday night, but were each met with losses. Strickenberger fell to No. 23 Kysen Terukina 10-7 at 125 pounds. Dowling suffered a 13-5 major decision loss to No. 10 Cody Chittum at 157. Conley was pinned by No. 28 MJ Gaitan at 174, which was Conley’s first dual meet loss of the season.

Mountaineers true freshman Ty Watters, who came in at No. 9 at 149 pounds, was dropped by No. 8 Casey Swiderski by a 7-4 sudden victory decision. Swiderski recorded a takedown in the overtime period that broke a 4-all tie. No. 9 ranked Hall also fell at 165, losing to No. 2 David Carr by a 10-5 decision.

At 133, Mason Mills was defeated by No. 8 Evan Frost via a 17-1 technical fall in what was Mills’ dual meet debut. Mountaineers heavyweight Michael Wolfgram was also defeated by a technical fall to close the match.

West Virginia will close out its road trip with a visit to No. 18 Northern Iowa at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The match will be broadcasted by FloWrestling.