Iowa State senior Nate Gallick grapples with OU senior Teyon Ware during their match Saturday in Ames, Iowa.
Top two 141-pounders will likely face each other in national championships
by Robert Przybylo
Wrestling rivals OU senior Teyon Ware and Iowa State senior Nate Gallick will likely have one more match to settle the score.
That match will occur at the national championships at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City March 16 through 18.
Though not set in stone, Gallick and Ware have a combined 52-2 record this year.
The only two losses belong to Ware against Gallick. The two have been at the top of 141-pound ladder the last two years.
If the Big 12 Championships were any indication of what the two have in store for the rest of the nation, it’ll be a long weekend for the rest of the field.
Of the other top-ranked wrestlers at 141 pounds, Gallick and Ware have defeated 10 of the top 20, registering falls or major decisions in several of the bouts, and have won the last four conference championships.
Entering the Big 12 championships on Saturday, the two were on a collision course.
In the semifinals, Gallick only allowed an escape point to cruise to a 10-1 major decision victory against OSU’s Ethan Kyle, while Ware scored a fall against Nebraska sophomore Dominick Moyer.
Gallick, wrestling in front of his hometown fans in Ames, Iowa, gave the crowd one last thrill, defeating Ware 5-3 in the ninth period in another epic match between the two.
“Gallick gets himself in great position and does a lot of half-shots,” OU head coach Jack Spates said. “What he’s good at, he does extremely well.”
The two exchanged escapes before Gallick scored a takedown at the very edge of the mat to give him his third conference crown.
Gallick becomes the 11th Cyclone wrestler to hold that honor.
“It was just like last year,” Ware said. “I made a stupid mistake and allowed him to take me down at the edge there.”
Gallick has won seven of the eight matches between the two.
However, Ware’s victory gave him his second national title last year.
“He’s the hardest in the nation to wrestle,” Gallick said of Ware. “He’s fast, strong and a great athlete. He has every gift that I have in wrestling and something more.”
Though Gallick is one of the nation’s most accomplished and respected wrestlers, he has never won a national title.
Ware’s “got the titles I want, “he said. “I know I’ll have to go through him to get what I want.”
This time, Ware will have the home-mat advantage in Oklahoma City in his quest for his third national title.
“I don’t care if my record against Nate isn’t that great,” Ware said. “All I care about is that when I win, it’s when it matters.”
Spates echoed Ware’s sentiments, saying his wrestler is always dangerous.
“We’ve suffered some setbacks against Nate,” Spates said. “There’s only one more, and that’s the one that matters the most. I still would never bet against Teyon Ware.”
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