Iowa State's David Carr ready for final run in Hilton, fourth match with Keegan O'Toole

Eli McKown, Des Moines Register

AMES — Iowa State senior 165-pounder David Carr remembers the heartbreak following his loss to Missouri's Keegan O'Toole in the NCAA finals last year.

After winning both his matches against O'Toole earlier in the season in a dual and the Big 12 finals, Carr dropped his match when it mattered most, as O'Toole emerged the NCAA champion.

Since then, it's become a learning moment.

"I've become a better wrestler because of the match," Carr said. "You either learn or you lose. You can learn some painful lessons from losing. I think that the person that continues to learn and continues to grow is the person that will end up winning. For me, I've always tried to learn and grow to get better at certain areas of my game. I think that's why I am a different wrestler because of that."

On Sunday, Carr will put that learning to the test against O'Toole for the first time this season, the first of potentially three matches this season if things go according to plan for both wrestlers. Carr is 18-1 with 14 of his 18 wins being bonus-point victories. Carr is 13-0 in duals. O'Toole is 16-0 with bonus-point wins in all but three of his matches.

This is the best individual matchup we will have had this season across college wrestling. The two are ranked No. 1 (O'Toole) and No. 2 (Carr) in the 165-pound class and the No. 2 (O'Toole) and No. 4 (Carr) pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country.

Sunday's 2 p.m. dual will be Carr's final go-around in Hilton Coliseum after five years of wrestling for the Cyclones. Carr is 111-4 with 64 of his wins being bonus-point victories. He is one of 39 wrestlers to win more than 100 matches at Iowa State, ranking fourth among that elite crew in win percentage.

He's got a chance to end his Hilton career in storybook fashion. He and coach Kevin Dresser hope Missouri head coach Brian Smith agrees to make O'Toole vs. Carr the final match of the dual, which would mean starting the action at 174 pounds.

"I'm really, really excited," Carr said. "I wish I could wrestle right now. The sooner the better. Sunday is just going to be really fun for me. I'm gonna try to really just enjoy it and soak everything up."

Projected lineups between Iowa State and Missouri

It should be noted that O'Toole is currently listed as an "or" along with Jeremy Jakowitsch ahead of this dual. Aside from the Carr-O'Toole matchup, there are several other big matches to follow.

Iowa State's Yonger Bastida and Missouri's Zach Elam (heavyweights) are both undefeated entering this dual at a combined 39-0, with a win setting either up for good seeding at the Big 12 and NCAA Tournament. Bastida, as usual, is confident in his abilities ahead of this matchup. His word to describe what an opponent has to do against him? Survive.

He's got a point, considering he's 19-0 with eight wins by technical fall. Despite how easy it has looked, he's been challenged as well. He's got four wins over top-10 opponents and 10 overall against ranked opponents.

Dresser said he expects 184-pound senior Will Feldkamp to get back on the mat for his match with No. 14 Clayton Whiting or Colton Hawks. Feldkamp has been dealing with an injury.

Here's a full look at the lineup ahead of Sunday's consequential dual (Iowa State wrestlers listed first):

  • 125 pounds - No. 27 Kysen Terukina vs. No. 10 Noah Surtin

  • 133 pounds - No. 7 Evan Frost vs. Drew Stanfield

  • 141 pounds - No. 9 Anthony Echemendia vs. No. 24 Josh Edmond OR Zeke Seltzer

  • 149 pounds - No. 6 Casey Swiderski vs. Joel Mylin

  • 157 pounds - No. 14 Cody Chittum vs. No. 11 Brock Mauller OR James Conway

  • 165 pounds - No. 2 David Carr vs. No. 1 Keegan O'Toole OR Jeremy Jakowitsch

  • 174 pounds - No. 19 MJ Gaitan vs. No. 10 Peyton Mocco OR Ellis Pfleger

  • 184 pounds - No. 11 Will Feldkamp OR Tate Naaktgeboren vs. No. 14 Clayton Whiting OR Colton Hawks

  • 197 pounds - Julien Broderson vs. No. 10 Rocky Elam OR Jesse Cassatt

  • 285 pounds - No. 3 Yonger Bastida vs. No. 5 Zach Elam OR Jarrett Stoner

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State's David Carr ready for rematch with Keegan O'Toole

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