USA, Iowa dominate wrestling event at Texas Rangers' stadium

It didn't go exactly as planned, but those involved in setting up the Bout at the Ballpark wrestling event at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas — home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers — deemed the event a success and a step forward for the sport.

USA Wrestling’s men’s and women dominated international competition and Iowa defeated Oklahoma State 23-9 in a college dual on Saturday night.

The event combined international and collegiate competition for the first time. REV Entertainment collaborated with USA Wrestling, FloWrestling and the Iowa and Oklahoma State programs with the intent of helping to raise the sport’s profile. Though the men's team from Iran and the women's team from Mongolia pulled out because of visa issues, REV Entertainment said the event drew 12,028.

“I think it was a great effort by a lot of people to make it happen," Oklahoma State coach John Smith said. "It’s too bad we didn’t get to see all of the best wrestlers, but that’s what it is. I think it was a great experience. I think in the end, these guys will remember it. ... Considering all the situations, it was a successful event for wrestling.”

REV president Sean Decker said planning took a little more than a year.

“Globe Life Field was transformed for this one-of-a-kind event,” he said. “It is one of our goals as a company to combine state-of-the-art events with world-class talent, and seeing that play out in the form of a wrestling dual was just as we imagined.”

Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix became the first wrestler to represent his school and country in the same day. As part of Team USA, the 2021 world silver medalist defeated Ecuador's Guesseppe Rea 10-0 at 61 kilograms. In the dual with Iowa, he defeated Austin DeSanto 5-3 in a hard-fought match at 133 pounds.

“It was awesome,"...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/USA-Iowa-dominate-wrestling-event-at-Texas-16914339.php