Hope the team will peak at tournament time.
Cowboys Upset No. 6 Michigan in Bout at the Ballpark
ARLINGTON, Texas – Three bonus-point wins led the way in No. 11 Oklahoma State's 24-15 victory over No. 6 Michigan at Bout at the Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, which moved the Cowboys to 10-2 overall.
"I think for the most part takedowns made the difference," head coach John Smith said. "It wasn't like we had perfect matches, we had some that we had to grind out when maybe we thought we would be getting bonus points. In the end, the difference was we were the aggressors and we were the ones who were outscoring early in matches and in matches we needed to win."
Wyatt Sheets and Dustin Plott put the Cowboys up before intermission with a major decision and technical fall in consecutive matches. Sheets was dominant in the top position turning Joaquin Consuelos four times en route to an 18-0 technical fall. Plott took down No. 28 Max Maylor five times in a 12-4 decision, which gave Plott his ninth win over a ranked opponent this season. Oklahoma State finished with 16 takedowns to Michigan's two, with the Wolverines' first takedown not coming until the eighth bout of the night.
After Michigan won three of the next four bouts, including a fall at 125 pounds that brought the team score to 18-15, Daton Fix closed out Bout at the Ballpark in style with a statement win pinning No. 12 Dylan Ragusin in the first period. Fix scored first as he took Ragusin down with an inside trip then stuck him on his back at the 2:25 mark to clinch the upset for Oklahoma State.
"The way my team wrestled all night motivated me," Fix said. "We were the aggressors with the 16 to two takedown ratio, that's big time, especially against a top-six team."
Carter Young and Victor Voinovich claimed decisions at 141 and 149 pounds over Michigan backups in the first two bouts of the dual. The Wolverines won their first match at 157 pounds when No. 10 Will Lewan defeated No. 14 Kaden Gfeller in the first tiebreaker period with three seconds of riding time being the difference.
Konner Doucet and Travis Wittlake dropped decisions to top-10 opponents at heavyweight and 184 pounds, respectively. Doucet traded takedowns with Mason Parris in the first period but a third-period ride out gave the top-ranked Wolverine a 5-3 victory, while Wittlake dropped a 2-0 decision to No. 9 Matt Finesilver.
Oklahoma State will have a quick turnaround as it hosts No. 8 Missouri on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
No. 11 Oklahoma State 24, No. 6 Michigan 15
Feb. 3, 2023 I Globe Life Field I Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 2,084
141: No. 22 Carter Young (OSU) dec. Pat Nolan (UM), 9-3
149: No. 20 Victor Voinovich (OSU) dec. Fidel Mayora (UM) 4-0
157: No. 10 Will Lewan (UM) dec. No. 14 Kaden Gfeller (OSU), 3-2 TB-1
165: No. 24 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) TF Joaquin Consuelos (UM), 18-0 4:22
174: No. 6 Dustin Plott (OSU) MD No. 28 Max Maylor (UM), 12-4
184: No. 9 Matt Finesilver (UM) dec. No. 11 Travis Wittlake (OSU), 2-0
197: No. 19 Luke Surber (OSU) dec. Rylan Rogers (UM), 6-2
HWT: No. 1 Mason Parris (UM) dec. No. 24 Konner Doucet (OSU), 5-3
125: No. 20 Jack Medley (UM) fall Reece Witcraft (OSU), SV-1
133: No. 2 Daton Fix (OSU) fall No. 12 Dylan Ragusin (UM), 2:25