The most anticipated individual match of the season will take place on Wednesday night in Columbus, Mo. as No. 1 Keegan O’Toole and No. 2 David Carr will meet for the first time ever.
The credentials between the two are among some of the best. Both wrestlers walk into this matchup undefeated. Both are Big 12 and NCAA Champions plus Junior World Champions.
For Carr, this is exactly the type of match he looks forward to. It gives him the opportunity to be challenged.
“This is what it’s all about. You train hard all year to wrestle matches like this. I’m excited for it,” Carr said. “I went up to 165 (pounds) for a challenge and Keegan O’Toole presents a unique challenge. I’m excited to go in there and wrestle and figure it out.”
Carr has worked closely one-on-one with assistant coach Brent Metcalf since arriving at Iowa State. Metcalf believes the match can go one of two ways.
“It’s going to go one of two ways, there’s going to be a ton of action and a ton of flurries, and if you ask me as David’s coach that favors him because I think he can get into more scrambles, and create more action because he’s really good. The action doesn’t favor you against him,” Metcalf said. “Or, it could be a closer match. But I think that favors David as well because he’s the guy who can go get one if he needs to go get one. I’m biased because I believe in our guy.”
When you compare the two wrestlers their wrestling style is pretty similar. Carr has been taking notes throughout the season on how to elevate himself over O’Toole.
“He’s funky. He wrestles hard in a lot of positions and he’s tough on top. I’ve watched him wrestle a little bit over the year and honestly, I’ve prepared throughout the year of just little things I can get better at to wrestle him,” Carr said. “I’m fast and explosive and I can scramble as well. It’s an interesting matchup.”
Ultimately, for the 165-pounder, it’s important to keep the fans entertained and continue to grow the sport.
“At the end of the day, we’re entertainers. I love to entertain and I like to wrestle. Even with this match (against O’Toole), I want lots of people to tune in and I want people to enjoy it,” Carr said. “A wrestling match doesn’t define me so why not have fun and just enjoy it? That’s what the fans want and that’s what I want.”
