Spratley's Pair of Wins Earns Honor and Oklahoma State Ranking Rises to No. 2

(This story originated with Oklahoma State University Athletic Media Relations and was written by Jake LeForce and Pokes Report publisher Robert Allen contributed to the story.)

STILLWATER – It was a big day for news with Oklahoma State wrestling capping a continuation of the season in January and now February that has been impressive. The Big 12 Conference honored the Cowboys 125-pound wrestler Troy Spratley with Wrestler of the Week honors after he swept a pair of matches with ranked opponents last weekend. The other big news encompasses the entire program as Oklahoma State with their wins over No. 24 Arizona State and No. 5 Missouri coupled with No. 2 Iowa losing to Michigan 24-11 has pushed the Cowboys up to No. 2 now in the NWCA poll. 

It marked Oklahoma State’s first time reaching the top-two since its No. 2 placement in the final regular season poll of the 2018-19 season. The Cowboys victory over the Tigers was its third against a top-five team on the year, its most in a single season since 2011-12. The Cowboys lead the nation with 10 ranked wins this season and have defeated a ranked opponent in their past eight duals.

Oklahoma State Athletics

John Smith coaching Sunday in the 24-10 win over Missouri.

Now sitting at 12-0 for the first time since 2018-19, Oklahoma State is joined by Penn State as the only two undefeated teams remaining in the country.

Iowa State sits close behind the Cowboys at No. 4, while Missouri landed at No. 7 to give the Big 12 three teams in the top-10. South Dakota State (No. 12), Northern Iowa (No. 17), West Virginia (No. 20) and Oklahoma (No. 23) were also included in the poll. The complete NWCA weekly poll can be found here.

On Friday, Spratley faced No. 11 Richard Figueroa of Arizona State in one of the dual’s marquee matchups. Spratley trailed early in the second period, but executed a six-point move and tacked on another takedown in the third to earn the 13-5 major decision.

Oklahoma State Athletics

Troy Spratley has has had his arm raised a lot this season.

On Sunday, Spratley matched up against seventh-ranked Noah Surtin, who entered the bout with a 12-1 record and has qualified for the NCAA Championships in three straight seasons. The match went into sudden victory after the two wrestlers traded escapes, but Spratley managed the key takedown to claim the 4-1 decision and set the tone for the afternoon. The win marked Spratley’s first over a top-10 wrestler in his career.

The redshirt freshman is now 17-4 on the year, winning seven of his past eight matches. He also boasts eight victories over ranked opponents and has been vital to Oklahoma State’s 12-0 start with 10 dual wins. Three Cowboys have now claimed weekly conference honors, as Izzak Olejnik and Dustin Plott each earned Big 12 Wrestler of the Week earlier this season. Tuesday was Spratley’s first time being named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week in his career.

Oklahoma State is set to finish the regular season with three straight duals against ranked opponents at Gallagher-Iba Arena, first hosting South Dakota State on Saturday night. The dual is slated for 6 p.m. on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.