Cowboys Get Ready for Battle with Lehigh on Sunday
STILLWATER – No. 4 Oklahoma State wrestling looks to stay unbeaten in dual competition for this season when they host No. 15 Lehigh in the second match of a five match home stand. The Cowboys jumped to 9-0 when they defeated Columbia, 35-6, their last time out on Jan. 16. The Mountain Hawks will be the fourth ranked team Oklahoma State has faced this season.
Led by individual national champion AJ Ferrari and two-time national finalist and Senior world silver medalist Daton Fix, the Cowboy lineup is loaded with a combination of proven veterans and young potential. Three true freshman started nearly every dual for the Cowboys in the 2020-21 season and are back in the OSU lineup. Trevor Mastrogiovanni (125), Dustin Plott (174) and Ferrari (197) combined to go 50-13 overall and 27-2 in duals last season. Each qualified for the NCAA Championships with Mastrogiovanni making it to the Round of 16, while Ferrari became the third true freshman in program history to win an individual national championship.
Redshirt senior Dakota Geer elected to return for one final season in Stillwater after the NCAA granted winter-sport athletes an extra year of eligibility. Geer moved back to 184 pounds in 2021 where he secured All-America honors for the third time, placing fifth at nationals. In the middle of the Cowboy lineup, Travis Wittlake and Wyatt Sheets continue to be a dangerous pair as the duo has combined to go 126-40 in their careers. Both Cowboys are coming o an NCAA tournament where they earned All-America status for the second year in a row.
Sophomore Luke Surber has gotten the nod for the starting spot in every dual so far and has collected five bonus point wins this season. At 141 pounds, true freshman Carter Young has assumed the starting role and gotten off to a 5-2 start on the year.
Lehigh is led by No. 8 Josh Humphreys at 157-pounds and Humphreys is 12-1 on the season. At heavyweight the Mountain Hawks have No. 7 Jordan Wood, who is 13-1 on the season. In all, there are five wrestlers in the Lehigh line-up that are ranked. The Cowboys won the first eight meetings between the programs, but have split the last four meetings. The Mountain Hawks won the last matchup, 21-20, in 2019 in Stabler Arena on the Lehigh campus, but they have never won in Stillwater.
| Wt. | No. 4 Oklahoma State (9-0) | vs. No. 15 Lehigh (8-4) | Series |
| 125 | No. 6 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (9-0) | No. 20 Jaret Lane (10-4) | Never Met |
| 133 | No. 2 Daton Fix (9-0) | No. 18 Malyke Hines (8-3) | Fix leads 1-0 |
| 141 | No. 18 Carter Young (5-2) | Connor McGonagle (4-4) | Never Met |
| 149 | No. 14 Kaden Gfeller (7-1) | Manzona Bryant IV (5-5) -or- Paul Watkins (2-3) | Never Met |
| 157 | No. 13 Wyatt Sheets (8-1) | No. 8 Josh Humphreys (12-1) | Tied 1-1 |
| 165 | No. 5 Travis Wittlake (7-1) | No. 24 Brian Meyer (9-6) | Wittlake leads 1-0 |
| 174 | No. 8 Dustin Plott (8-0) | Jake Logan (7-8) | Never Met |
| 184 | No. 10 Dakota Geer (8-1) | AJ Burkhart (7-8) | Never Met |
| 197 | No. 1 AJ Ferrari (9-0) | JT Davis (5-8) -or- Eli Jones (1-1) | Never Met |
| Hwt. | No. 30 Luke Surber (7-2) -or- Austin Harris (10-3) | No. 7 Jordan Wood (13-1) | Never Met |
Sunday’s match will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with J Carl Guymon and Lee Roy Smith on the call. It can be heard on the radio Sunday afternoon with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on air beginning at 1:30 p.m. CT on Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM. Lehigh Oklahoma State holds a 10-2 advantage in the series over Lehigh ahead of Sunday’s dual.