IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa won 8-of-10 bouts to top fifth-ranked Oklahoma State 24-6 on Friday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The 18-point margin of victory was Iowa's largest against the Cowboys since a 29-10 win in 1995.
Third-ranked Iowa (9-1) won all eight bouts by decision, and won matches they were not favored, including a win at 133, where fourth-ranked Tony Ramos used two takedowns and three nearfall points to defeat top-ranked Jon Morrison, 8-2.
"Coming in here I knew it was going to be a big match," said Ramos, who had lost two of his last three matches against ranked opponents. "I just wanted to go out and make a statement because I'm getting tired of hearing people saying I'm off this year. I'm not off. I'm not down. I had a bad match, and I got caught. Those are two things that happened, but you just keep moving forward."
Ramos' win was on the heels of Thomas Gilman's 4-2 at 125 and stretched Iowa's team lead to 6-3.
Oklahoma State's 14th-ranked Anthony Collica cut the lead in half with a 5-3 win over No. 9 Josh Dziewa at 141, but Brody Grothus swung momentum back toward the Hawkeyes with a 9-5 win over No. 3 Josh Kindig at 149.
Grothus scored a takedown in the first, scored a reversal and three nearfall points in the second, and added 3:11 of riding time to earn his third straight win over a top-10 opponent.
"You have to work hard in all aspects of wrestling," said Grothus. "It's like Terry Brands says, score first, score fast and then keep scoring. That was my mentality tonight."
St. John extended Iowa's lead to 12-3 before intermission with a 2-1 win over No. 2 Alex Dieringer. The match was scoreless after one period, and Dieringer had a tight ride on St. John until the defending NCAA champion scored a reversal with 24 seconds left in the second.
"Those are the things you fall into," said St. John, who improved to 30-0 all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. "When you're on the bottom you're always trying to get to your feet. You're safe on your feet. I got to my feet a couple times, got stopped, and you just keep wrestling because those things open up and develop."
Fifth-ranked Nick Moore extended Iowa's lead to 15-3 with a 3-1 overtime win over No. 2 Tyler Caldwell at 165. Moore and Caldwell exchanged escapes in the second and third periods before Moore finished a shot with 15 seconds left in the first sudden-victory period.
"I had a clear mind the whole day," Moore said after avenging a 3-2 loss to Caldwell last season. "I was focused and ready to go. I had good training the whole week. I felt good and was ready to go when I stepped on the mat."
Top-ranked Chris Perry held on for a 5-4 win over No. 6 Mike Evans at 174 to cut Iowa's lead to 15-6, but Sammy Brooks, Nathan Burak, and Bobby Telford closed the dual with three straight wins. Brooks used two takedowns and two back-points to defeat No. 16 Nolan Boyd, 7-1, at 184, and Burak used three takedowns to defeat Jordan Rogers, 8-3, at 197. Telford improved to 5-1 against ranked opponents with a 2-1 win over No. 15 Austin Mardsen at 285.
