Bedlam, Pittsburgh on Tap for Cowboy Wrestling

- PDF Notes
- Tickets vs. Pittsburgh
- Bedlam Tickets

STILLWATER –    The top-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team wraps up its season-opening road trip this Friday when it heads to Norman, Okla., for a Bedlam matchup with No. 16 Oklahoma at 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House. The Cowboys will then open a quick two-match homestand with No. 21 Pittsburgh visiting Gallagher-Iba Arena on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Watch the Cowboys
Friday's Bedlam match is set to be televised live by Fox Sports Southwest and Fox College Sports Central with Chad McKee and Jack Spates on the call. As with all Cowboy home duals, Sunday's match will be streamed live on FloWrestling.com.

Live Stats and Play-By-Play
Fans can follow the action online through live results and play-by-play on www.trackwrestling.com. Simply go to the site and the link to live results and play-by-play will be prominently displayed.

Listen to the Dual Live
Fans can listen to the dual live on 93.7 KSPI-FM or okstate.com with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on the call.

Bedlam Parking
Fan parking for Friday's dual in Norman will be available in the Duckpond Lot (directly east of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium), Sarkey's Energy Center Lot (northeast of McCasland Field House) and the student union parking garage (northwest of McCasland Field House). All lots must be empty by 11 p.m.

About the Cowboys
Facing the challenge of replacing three starters from last season's squad, including three-time NCAA Champion Alex Dieringer and two-time All-American Austin Marsden, the 2016-17 Oklahoma State wrestling team is up to the task of chasing the program's 35th team championship.

There is reason for optimism, as the Pokes' roster boasts plenty of wrestlers that can make an impact this season. Head coach John Smith returns 2016 NCAA Champion at 141 pounds Dean Heil, along with All-Americans Nolan Boyd, Anthony Collica and Joe Smith from an NCAA Runner-Up finish at the NCAA Championships in Madison Square Garden last spring.

The Cowboys are coming off a couple of dominant performances in their first two duals, dropping Bucknell in a 36-3 match to open the season before traveling to Minneapolis to hand then-No. 16 Minnesota a 34-3 loss on its home mat.

Along with Smith, who enters his 26th season at the helm of the Oklahoma State wrestling program, the Cowboys are led by associate head coaches Eric Guerrero and Zack Esposito, along with volunteer assistant coach Chris Perry.

In the Polls
The Cowboys enter this weekend's matchups ranked No. 1 in both the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll and the Intermat Tournament Rankings. Oklahoma is ranked No. 16 in the Coaches Poll, while unranked in the Intermat Tournament Rankings

Individually, Oklahoma State has nine potential starters ranked in all four major national polls and 10 ranked in at least one. Returning NCAA Champion 141-pounder Dean Heil remains slotted at No. 1 in all four major polls. Aside from Heil, seven other Cowboys received top-eight rankings from Intermat, including Kaid Brock (133, No. 6), Anthony Collica (149, No. 3), Joe Smith (157, No. 3), Chandler Rogers (165, No. 4), Kyle Crutchmer (174, No. 4), Nolan Boyd (184, No. 5) and Preston Weigel (197, No. 5). At 125 pounds, Nick Piccininni is ranked No. 10 by Intermat, while heavyweight Austin Schafer makes his debut in the poll at No. 12.

Oklahoma's lineup boasts five ranked wrestlers in No. 14 Davion Jeffries (149), No. 13 DaWaylon Barnes (157), No. 11 Clark Glass (165), No. 18 Brad Johnson (197) and No. 13 Ross Larson (285). Pittsburgh's lineup features No. 8 Dom Forys (133), No. 13 TeShan Campbell (165) and No. 15 Ryan Solomon (285).

The Series
With the series dating all the way back to 1920, Friday's contest will mark the 175th edition of Bedlam wrestling. The series has been a lopsided one in the Cowboys' favor, with Oklahoma State leading, 137-27-10. Under John Smith, the Pokes are an impressive 46-6-3 against the Sooners. OSU leads, 59-15-8, in matches contested in Norman. Overall, the Cowboys have won five straight and 12 of their last 13 against the Sooners. Oklahoma State has swept the season series the last two years.

Sunday will mark the fifth meeting between Oklahoma State and Pittsburgh, and the third meeting in Stillwater. The Cowboys lead the series, 3-1, over the Panthers, and are a perfect 2-0 at home. OSU won the last meeting between the two teams in a 36-0 shutout in Pittsburgh. Coming off a pair of consecutive wins in the last two seasons, the Cowboys will look to make it three-straight victories over the Panthers this week.

Last Time Out
The top-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team handled its first ranked opponent of the season in dominating fashion Sunday afternoon, dropping No. 16 Minnesota, 34-3, at the Minnesota Sports Pavilion to move to 2-0 on the dual season.

Heavyweight Austin Schafer had the biggest highlight of the day, upsetting No. 5 Michael Kroells for the first ranked win of his career with a thrilling 3-2 decision that was decided in the final 30 seconds. Adding to Schafer's big win, four Cowboys recorded bonus point victories to put the Gophers away, including a first-period fall by Chandler Rogers at 165 pounds.

After Schafer's match put the win well in hand, redshirt freshmen Nick Piccininni and Kaid Brock, along with top-ranked Dean Heil buried the Gophers with bonus-point wins in their matches.

Creeping Up on 100
Oklahoma State seniors Anthony Collica and Nolan Boyd each find themselves within 15 wins of joining the program's 100-win club. The exclusive club currently features 39 former Cowboy greats, led by John Smith, who wrapped up his career with 152 wins.

Collica currently owns 87 career wins to go against 29 losses, putting him only 13 wins away. With a 93-30 overall record for his career, Boyd is only seven wins away from breaking onto the list.

No current Cowboy wrestlers are on the list as it stands now; however, all four members of the OSU coaching staff are part of the club.

Know the Foes
A familiar opponent for the Cowboys, the Sooners come into Friday's dual at 1-1 after posting a 25-14 win over North Dakota State and a 27-15 loss to Michigan in their opening weekend of the season. The Sooners return four NCAA qualifiers from a 2015-16 team that went 10-5 overall in duals and finished 13th at the NCAA Championships with a pair of All-Americans.

For the second-straight match, the Cowboys will face a program breaking in a new head coach in Lou Rosselli, who took the helm of the program in August after spending 10 years on the Ohio State coaching staff. Rosselli is assisted by Keith Gavin, Michael Lightner and Hunter Stieber.

Pittsburgh will enter Gallagher-Iba Arena on Sunday with a 3-1 overall record so far this season, boasting wins over Ohio, Campbell and Edinboro, with its lone loss of the season coming to No. 11 Lehigh. The Panthers return four qualifiers from a squad that finished 39th at the NCAA Championships and sixth at the ACC conference tournament last season.

Pittsburgh is led by fourth-year head coach Jason Peters, who has racked up a 33-18 mark in his time at the reins of the program. Peters is assisted by Matt Kocher, Drew Headlee and Tyler Nauman.

Home, Sweet 'Homa
The 2016-17 Cowboy wrestling roster features more of a local taste than usual with 22 of its 39 total wrestlers hailing from Oklahoma. Aside from the five Stillwater Cowboys (Kaid Brock, Tristan Moran, Andrew Nieman, Chandler Rogers and Joe Smith), the OSU roster features wrestlers from Blackwell, Tulsa, Edmond, McAlester, Guthrie, Berryhill, Miami, Collinsville, Tahlequah, Yukon, Welling, Stilwell and Muskogee.

Back in the Saddle
The Cowboys will get a couple of wrestlers back in the lineup whose 2015-16 campaigns were cut short due to injury, including 2015 All-American Kyle Crutchmer, a 174-pound senior, and 133-pound redshirt freshman Kaid Brock, who made noise in his first dual match when he pinned defending national champion Cody Brewer of Oklahoma shortly before his season-ending injury.

Back-to-Back Big 12 Wrestlers of the Week
Oklahoma State senior heavyweight Austin Schafer has been named Big 12 Co-Wrestler of the Week, the conference announced Monday afternoon. The honor is the first such accolade of Schafer's career and marks the second-straight week that a Cowboy grappler has earned the honor after junior Jacobe Smith was recognized last week.

Schafer made noise in the top-ranked Cowboys' 34-3 rout of No. 16 Minnesota Sunday in Minneapolis, upsetting the nation's fifth-ranked heavyweight in two-time All-American Michael Kroells. The win was the first ranked victory of his career.

Tied at one with under a minute to go in the final period, the senior made his move. Schafer's decisive takedown came with 30 seconds on the clock, and while Kroells would escape for a final effort, the Cowboy heavyweight held on for the 3-2 decision.

Oklahoma State is "Wrestling U"
Earlier this month, Dan Lobdell and Andrew Spey of FloWrestling have highlighted the best schools at each weight class over the last 15 years. The 10-part series goes weight class by weight class, using an algorithm that factors in a school's NCAA qualifiers, All-Americans and national champions over that time span to name one school the best at each class.

Oklahoma State took top honors in four weight classes (133, 149, 165 and 174), while finishing second at heavyweight. Not only were the Cowboys one of two schools to take multiple weight classes, but OSU was the only program to take more than two.

All in the Family
This season's squad features two sets of brothers and a father-son combo, along with a handful of Cowboys whose family members formerly wrestled at Oklahoma State.

Dalton and Tristan Moran are originally from Arizona. Dalton transferred to OSU two seasons ago from South Dakota State, Tristan is a sophomore this year. The Rogers brothers, Chandler and Jordan, round out the group of brothers.

Coach John Smith and son Joe, who is a sophomore and returning All-American for the Pokes, make up an exciting father-son duo.

The 2016-17 roster also features freshman Wyatt Sheets, whose father is two-time national champion 167-pounder Mike Sheets. Senior Kyle Crutchmer and redshirt freshman Andrew Marsden's brothers Brian and Austin both wrestled for OSU last season.

Champs in the Classroom
Oklahoma State landed five wrestlers onto the 2016 Academic All-Big 12 first team last year. OSU's first-team honorees included Nolan Boyd, Anthony Collica, Gary Wayne Harding, Dean Heil and Preston Weigel. The selections marks the second-straight first-team selection for Collica and Heil.

Collica Victorious at NWCA All-Star Classic
Oklahoma State wrestling senior Anthony Collica recorded a 7-5 decision over No. 3 Lavion Mayes of Missouri in the 149-pound match at the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic Saturday night at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center.

Mayes attacked early, scoring a takedown in the opening 10 seconds of the match to take an early 2-0 lead. After a Collica escape, the Cowboy trailed 2-1 after the first period. Collica would answer in the second, however, and a late takedown inside of 25 seconds gave the senior a 5-4 lead after two frames.

Collica opened the third period on top, but Mayes recorded an escape early on to tie the match at five apiece. With under a minute left, Collica made his move, scoring a takedown with 45 seconds left to take a 7-5 advantage that he would retain for the decision.

John Smith Wraps 25th Year as OSU Head Coach
Not only did John Smith leave his legacy on Oklahoma State wrestling as a competitor, Smith continues to do so as he wrapped up his 25th year as the head coach of the Cowboy wrestling team last season. In 1992, John Smith, along with Kenny Monday, took over as co-head coaches for the squad, and Smith took over on his own in 1993. Since taking over, Smith has led his squad to fiv ne NCAA team championships and 18 conference championships. He leads all active coaches in NCAA champions coached (31), and has also seen his wrestlers earn All-American honors 117 times. After the Cowboys' win over Bucknell earlier this month, he is the Cowboys' winningest coach with a 385-59-6 record as he begins his 26th season.

Live from Rio
After bringing home two Olympic gold medals as a wrestler and coaching Team USA at the Olympics three times, Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith took on a different role this year at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, serving as an analyst for NBC Sports' coverage of Olympic wrestling.

Smith Signs Four Oklahomans to NLI's
The Oklahoma State wrestling team has signed four Oklahomans to National Letters of Intent, head coach John Smith announced. Daton Fix, Christian Bahl, Jet Taylor and Kaden Gfeller will join the Cowboys in the fall of 2017.

Sand Springs native Daton Fix enters his senior season looking for his fourth state championship at Sand Springs High School. Coming off a 46-0 junior season, his overall high school record stands at a perfect 119-0. Fix was a 2015 Fargo National Freestyle Champion at 120 pounds and earned the bronze medal at the 2016 Junior World Championships earlier this year.

Jet Taylor of Sallisaw High School signs with the Cowboys after winning his second-straight Oklahoma 4A State Championship at 120 pounds. With the win, Taylor was named the Outstanding Wrestler for the state tournament and became Sallisaw's 11th multiple-time state champion. This summer he also earned Fargo All-American status, finishing third in Greco-Roman and sixth in freestyle at the FargoDome.

Hailing from Oklahoma City where he attends Heritage Hall, Kaden Gfeller is a three-time Oklahoma state champion, coming off a 132-pound 3A state title in February. Gfeller is a multiple-time Fargo All-American, most recently placing third at the 2015 Junior Men's Freestyle Nationals.

Stillwater High School product Christian Bahl is coming off an Oklahoma 6A State Championship at 160 pounds last February. He's racked up a 163-24 career record in high school, and is a three-time state placer while earning five all-conference honors. Bahl, who is a three-time national team member for both Oklahoma and Minnesota, has also excelled in football where he was a varsity starter all four years of his high school career.

2015-16 Wrap-Up
Oklahoma State celebrated 100 years of wrestling history as well as 25 years of John Smith at the helm of the program, ending the season with a second-place finish at NCAAs, a 50th team conference championship, six All-Americans, two NCAA individual champions, a Hodge Trophy recipient and a 13-3 dual record.

Held at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri the Big 12 Championships were hosted at a neutral site for the first time. It also featured six new teams as Big 12 affiliates for a 10-man bracket at each weight. OSU sent nine wrestlers to the finals and clinched the team title before day one had concluded. Seven Cowboys claimed Big 12 titles and just weeks later, all 10 Pokes stepped onto the mat in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, in New York City.

Aside from All-Americans Nolan Boyd, Joe Smith, Austin Marsen and Anthony Collica, the Pokes brought home two national champions, increasing Oklahoma State wrestling's total to 141 NCAA champions.

Dean Heil, a sophomore for the Cowboys, put up a 32-1 record on the season, dominating the 141-pound weight class. He entered the season ranked No. 1 and maintained the ranking despite suffering a sudden-victory loss to Joey Ward of UNC at home in February. He avenged the loss in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, controlling No. 8 Ward, 8-3. Another 8-3 win in the semifinals sent him to the championship bout, where he faced new Big 12 rival Bryce Meredith of Wyoming. The Cowboy edged out Meredith with a 4-3 effort. He finished the season an NCAA champ, a two-time All-American and a two-time Big 12 champion.

Alex Dieringer lived up to the country's expectations, winning his third NCAA championship. The Cowboy senior served up a 33-0 record last season, recording bonus points in all but six matches. His 27 bonus-point wins included 12 falls—10 of which came in the first period—eight major decisions and seven technical falls. He proved his dominance even more as he allowed only one takedown last season and just three takedowns the past two seasons.

Cowboy Wrestling Tradition
Oklahoma State wrestling celebrated 100 years of history last season. The Cowboys, then known as the Oklahoma A&M Tigers and led by A.M. Colville, wrestled their first match in 1915 against the University of Texas. It was a rough start for OSU as it fell to the Longhorns in its lone dual of the season. But the Cowboys pulled through and went on to win 34 NCAA team championships (the most by any school in any sport), 141 individual champions and 450 All-Americans. Overall, the Cowboys hold an incredibly impressive 1,079-125-23 overall record.

Wrestling's House of Horrors
No venue in America has a richer wrestling tradition than Gallagher-Iba Arena, home of Oklahoma State wrestling since 1939. In its beginning as Gallagher Hall, the gymnasium was named for Edward Clark Gallagher, the Oklahoma A&M wrestling mentor who never wrestled competitively but became the greatest coach of his time.

Since wrestling began in Gallagher-Iba Arena, the Cowboys have won 25 NCAA titles and have had 40 unbeaten and untied campaigns at home. One of their longest winning streaks ran with the arena's opening in 1939 and lasted until Feb. 16, 1951. During that period, Oklahoma State won 37 straight home duals, including no ties.

Gallagher-Iba Arena has proved to be one of the most difficult venues for opponents to win in across all of college sports, as the Cowboy wrestling program boasts an impressive 475-39-6 overall record in the arena.

From the final dual of 1959 through the first five home duals of the 1967 season, Oklahoma State wrestled 67 duals without a loss, finishing with an impressive 60-0-1 record before the streak was broken by Oklahoma, 19-13.

OSU's latest home winning streak of 50 consecutive duals was the second-longest such streak without a loss or tie, as it began near the end of the 1986 season and lasted until Jan. 30, 1993.

ASICS All-Americans Live Here
There are three different wrestlers on this year's Oklahoma State roster who were ASICS first-team All-Americans during their prep days:

Jordan Rogers      2012
Nick Piccininni       2014 and 2015

Fargo Champs, Too
There are three different wrestlers on this year's Oklahoma State wrestling roster who won titles at the ASICS Junior Freestyle National Championships in Fargo, N.D., during their prep days:

Jordan Rogers      2011
Anthony Collica     2012 and 2013
Joe Smith              2015

Coached by the Best
When you come to wrestle at Oklahoma State, you are coached by the best. Members of the Oklahoma State wrestling staff combine for six world championships and two Olympic gold medals. They also combine for eight NCAA championships and 14 All-America honors. The breakdown:

Olympic Medalists
John Smith            1988 and 1992 Gold

Senior World Championships Medalists
John Smith            1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991 Gold

NCAA Individual Championships
John Smith            1987, 1988
Eric Guerrero        1997, 1998, 1999
Zack Esposito        2005
Chris Perry            2013, 2014

Follow Cowboy Wrestling
Stay up to date with the Oklahoma State wrestling team on the following social media:
               Twitter: @CowboyWrestling
               Facebook: facebook.com/cowboywrestling
               Instagram: @CowboyWrestling
               Snapchat: OSUathletics
               YouTube: youtube.com/osuathletics

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nolan Boyd

Kaid Brock

Anthony Collica

Kyle Crutchmer

Alex Dieringer

Gary Wayne Harding

Dean Heil

Andrew Marsden

Austin Marsden

Tristan Moran

Andrew Nieman

Nick Piccininni

Chandler Rogers

Jordan Rogers

Austin Schafer

Jacobe Smith

Joe Smith

Preston Weigel

Oklahoma State University Athletics