Cowboys Back Home for a Pair of Duals with UNC and WVU
The Basics
The No. 12 Oklahoma State wrestling team (6-1 overall; 2-0 Big 12) returns home for a pair of conference duals over the weekend. OSU will take on Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. CT on Friday night before hosting No. 23 West Virginia at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday. This will be the first time the Cowboys wrestle in Gallagher-Iba Arena in 2023, having not had a home dual since Dec. 4.
On the Air
Both of Oklahoma State’s upcoming matches will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with J. Carl Guymon and Hardell Moore on the call. The duals can also be heard on the radio with Rex Holt going on air 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the match on Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM. Live stats for the match can be found on Trackwrestling.com.
The Series - Northern Colorado
Oklahoma State and Northern Colorado have met 17 times for dual competitions in the programs’ histories heading into Friday’s match. OSU has won all but one contest, tying with the Bears in Greeley in 1963. Since John Smith took over the program in Stillwater, the Pokes are 7-0 against UNC. In those seven meetings the Cowboys have collectively outscored the Bears, 294-13, with an average margin of victory of 40.1 points. The teams have not wrestled since the 2019-20 season when the Cowboys won 36-3 in Stillwater behind six bonus-point wins, including a major decision from Wyatt Sheets and technical fall from Travis Wittlake.
The Series - West Virginia
Sunday’s meeting between Oklahoma State and West Virginia will be the 16th dual matchup between the programs and first since 2020. The Cowboys have won every contest in the series and hold a 9-0 record against the Mountaineers inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. John Smith is 11-0 against WVU, while Tim Flynn is winless in his two outings against OSU.
About the Cowboys
No. 12 Oklahoma State is 6-1 on the season and coming off a three-week road stand that saw the team claim a Southern Scuffle team title and then win duals at Oregon State and Columbia. The Pokes return four All-Americans who have earned All-America honors a total of eight times, headlined by three-time NCAA finalist Daton Fix. Wyatt Sheets and Travis Wittlake are both two-time All-Americans for OSU, while Dustin Plott is coming off of his first appearance on the podium last season. The OSU lineup has seen some movement from a season ago with weight changes from past starters opening opportunities at 165 pounds and heavyweight. Wittlake moved up two weight classes to 184 pounds in the offseason where he has started 10-2, while Luke Surber dropped down a weight to 197 pounds. In their places, Wyatt Sheets has filled the void at 165 pounds, while redshirt sophomore Konner Doucet is off to an 11-3 start at heavyweight and placed third at the Scuffle. Trevor Mastrogiovanni is in his third season in the lineup at 125 pounds as he looks to make the jump that Plott did a year ago to All-America status for the first time. Big 12 champion Kaden Gfeller decided to return to Oklahoma State for his final season in August and has put together a 10-3 record so far 157 pounds, while talented freshman Victor Voinovich has started every dual at 149 pounds. With Sheets and Gfeller back for their COVID seasons, the middleweights could see some different looks throughout the course of the season.
A Pair of Oklahoma State Wins Would...
• Move the Cowboys to 8-1 overall; 4-0 in conference duals
• Make Oklahoma State’s record 3-1 in home duals this season
• Give OSU five dual wins in a row heading into the toughest stretch of its season
• Move the all-time series record with Northern Colorado to 17-0-1; West Virginia to 16-0
• Move John Smith’s record against the Bears to 8-0; 12-0 against the Mountaineers
Cowboys in the Polls
Oklahoma State’s roster features 10 wrestlers ranked in various polls this week, with three holding spots inside the top-10. Senior 133-pounder Daton Fix is the consensus No. 2 wrestler at his weight and is the highest ranked Cowboy as the reigning Big 12 champion and a national finalist the last two seasons. Following Fix, Dustin Plott appears as high as No. 5 at 174 pounds after earning All-America honors for the first time last season with a sixth-place finish. Kaden Gfeller makes his return to the top-10 at 157 pounds for the second time in The Open Mat’s poll. Travis Wittlake is ranked No. 12 in each of the four polls at 184 pounds with a 10-2 record, while Trevor Mastrogiovanni is ranked No. 15 in the FloWrestling poll at 125 pounds. The remainder of the Cowboys find themselves ranked in some of the polls and left out of others, although it should be noted that The Open Mat and WIN Magazine only rank the top 20 of each weight class. Victor Voinovich sits at No. 19 in WIN Magazine’s 149-pound rankings, while Wyatt Sheets (165) is at No. 21, according to FloWrestling. Luke Surber (197) and Konner Doucet (HWT) both remain in the twenties at their respective weight classes ahead of a tough conference schedule. Carter Young seems to be the toughest Cowboy to rank as he lands as high as No. 17 and low as No. 32, while being unranked in two polls.
Two Cowboys Chasing the Century Mark
Cowboy seniors Daton Fix and Wyatt Sheets are both nearing 100 wins in their collegiate careers. The active leaders on Oklahoma State’s roster with 84 wins for Fix and 81 for Sheets, the century mark could be within reach toward the end of this season. Sheets elected to return to OSU for his COVID season, while Fix is one of the winningest wrestlers in program history based on winning percentage and still has another year of eligibility he could take advantage of. OSU has had 44 wrestlers reach the 100-win mark in their career, most recently accomplished by Nick Piccininni during the 2020 season.