STILLWATER – The other day Oklahoma State wrestling head coach John Smith had a Zoom conference to talk about the NCAA Wrestling Championships and one of the younger reporters asked Smith how he felt about next year. You know how I know that Smith is mellowing some in his 30th season as head coach at his alma mater? Even a few years ago I think he might have snapped at a question about next season when nationals are just days away. Smith did not. He was disgusted some, but no snap.
“I’m not worried about next season,” Smith said. “I’ve got a week to go, and I’m excited about where we’re at. We’re in pretty good shape for the future, but the only time you’re really in good shape is when you’ve got guys that have done stuff from the year before.”
This year there was no year before. Last year the COVID-19 pandemic hit it’s full stride just after the Big 12 Championships ended and before the meeting of wrestlers from across the country. Oklahoma State was not a threat to win another, their 35th overall. They are not a threat this season either.
With the late addition of 157-pound Wyatt Sheets they will have nine wrestlers in St. Louis, but not enough to be in the thick of the team race. Iowa State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, and Michigan have too much for the Pokes to keep up with.
| Weight | NCAA Seed | Cowboy Wrestler/Record | First Round Opponent/Record |
| 125 | 21 | Trevor Mastrogiovanni (13-4) | Michael DeAugustino, Northwestern (6-3) |
| 133 | 1 | Daton Fix (9-0) | Pigtail winner |
| 149 | 4 | Boo Lewallen (16-1) | Kody Komara, Kent State (12-6) |
| 157 | 33 | Wyatt Sheets (6-6) | Luca Frinzi, Lehigh (4-3) |
| 165 | 10 | Travis Wittlake (16-1) | Joe Lee, Penn State (6-5) |
| 174 | 18 | Dustin Plott (14-4) | Thomas Flitz, Appalachian State (16-3) |
| 184 | 11 | Dakota Geer (15-3) | Devin Kane, North Carolina (8-3) |
| 197 | 4 | A.J. Ferrari (15-1) | Colin McCracken, Kent State (8-5) |
| Hwt. | 29 | Austin Harris (9-6) | Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State (12-0) |
Just take the first match and only five Cowboys are seeded to win. One is seeded a toss up and the other three are seeded to lose. Sheets, who got in late, is wrestling with a torn ACL. That is noble and tough, but an almost impossible task to place.
Still, Smith is looking for “guts and glory” and a positive sign for the answer to how do you look at next season.
“It’s real important, and I’m looking at these rankings. We’re projected to have two guys to place, three guys to place,” Smith said somewhat disgusted. “That’s not, you know, we need more than that as you go into the next season if you really want to challenge for top honors. Where ever you’re ranked we need to realize that you build teams from performances from the year before and this is our opportunity.”
The NCAA Wrestling Championships start on Thursday morning, March 18 with the first round matches and the tournament concludes on Saturday night with the championship finals. Most of the tournament will be televised on ESPN and can be heard, the Oklahoma State matches, from Rex Holt on the Cowboy Network.
