Cowboys Host Mountaineers, Jackrabbits in Conference Battles

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STILLWATER – The top-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team looks to keep rolling through its dual schedule when it hosts conference foes West Virginia and No. 19 South Dakota State this weekend at Gallagher-Iba Arena. OSU will host the Mountaineers Friday at 7 p.m., before returning on Sunday to take on the Jackrabbits at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at okstate.com/tickets.

Watch the Cowboys
As with all Oklahoma State home duals, this weekend's matchups will be streamed nationally and around the world on FloWrestling.org for a subscription fee.

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 duals live on 93.7 KSPI-FM or okstate.com with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on the call.

About the Cowboys
Oklahoma State has proven itself one of the deepest lineups in the country thus far into the 2016-17 campaign. This much was to be expected heading into the season, as head coach returned 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 also return valuable experience in 2015 All-American Kyle Crutchmer, who has also been a major contributor in the Cowboy lineup as a senior after returning from an injury that cut short his junior season.

While the Cowboy roster certainly boasts its fair share of proven talent, the emergence of "young guns" Kaid Brock, Chandler Rogers, Preston Weigel and Nick Piccininni has been a welcome development for Smith and his staff. Meanwhile, senior heavyweight Austin Schafer has come on well in his final run, knocking off five ranked opponents on his way to his current 14-1 mark this season.

The Cowboys have started the 2016-17 campaign off strong, opening with a 6-0 record for the first time since 2012-13. OSU enters this weekend looking to build off a 24-11 victory over No. 3 Iowa in Stillwater last weekend that followed up victories over the likes of Oklahoma, Cornell and Minnesota.

Depth has been a major storyline for the Cowboys this season as the team broke tournament records for team points scored and margin of victory at the Southern Scuffle earlier this month. The win followed up a team win at the Reno Tournament of Champions, despite no Cowboy starters making the trip to Reno.

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 tournament ranked No. 1 in both the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll and the Intermat Tournament Rankings.

Individually, Oklahoma State has all 10 starters ranked in each of the four major national polls. Returning NCAA Champion 141-pounder Dean Heil remains slotted at No. 1 in all four major polls. Aside from Heil, eight other Cowboys received top-eight rankings from Intermat, including Kaid Brock (133, No. 2), Anthony Collica (149, No. 2), Joe Smith (157, No. 6), Chandler Rogers (165, No. 6), Kyle Crutchmer (174, No. 5), Nolan Boyd (184, No. 6) and Preston Weigel (197, No. 4) and Austin Schafer (HWT, No. 7). At 125 pounds, Nick Piccininni is ranked No. 11 by Intermat.

Series Notes – West Virginia
• This weekend's match will mark the 12th all-time meeting between West Virginia and Oklahoma State.
• The Cowboys have won all previous 11 duals against the Mountaineers.
• Head Coach John Smith has posted a 7-0 mark against West Virginia in his 25-plus seasons in Stillwater.
• OSU is 6-0 against the Mountaineers in Stillwater.
• The first dual between the two teams was in 1927 in Stillwater, where the Cowboys won, 24-5.
• The Cowboys dominated the last dual in the series, defeating the 24th-ranked Mountaineers, 38-3, in Morgantown last season.

Series Notes – South Dakota State
• The Cowboys are 2-0 all-time against the Jackrabbits.
• Sunday will mark the first time the Cowboys have wrestled South Dakota State in Stillwater.
• The first dual between the two teams was in 2014 in Miami, Okla. OSU was victorious in the contest, 25-9.
• The Cowboys carried the day in the last dual in the series, defeating the Jackrabbits, 21-9, in Brookings, S.D., last season.

Last Time Out
The Oklahoma State wrestling team remained undefeated Sunday afternoon, handing third-ranked Iowa its first loss of the season in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys prevailed, 24-11, in front of a crowd of 7,809, the largest home attendance for OSU since 2007. With the win, the Cowboys moved to 6-0 for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

Redshirt freshman Chandler Rogers electrified the Gallagher-Iba crowd with a first-period fall at 165 pounds, while key upsets from Kaid Brock, Anthony Collica and Austin Schafer pushed the Cowboys over the top.

Jan. 15, 2016 | Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena | Attendance: 7,809
125: No. 1 Thomas Gilman (IOWA) MD No. 11 Nick Piccininni (OSU) 12-4
133: No. 5 Kaid Brock (OSU) dec. No. 1 Cory Clark (IOWA) 7-6
141: No. 1 Dean Heil (OSU) dec. No. 18 Topher Carton (IOWA) 8-5
149: No. 3 Anthony Collica (OSU) dec. No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (IOWA) 4-3, TB2
157: No. 2 Michael Kemerer (IOWA) dec. No. 6 Joe Smith (OSU) 4-3
165: No. 6 Chandler Rogers (OSU) fall Skyler St. John (IOWA) 2:18
174: No. 5 Kyle Crutchmer (OSU) dec. No. 13 Alex Meyer (IOWA) 5-2
184: No. 5 Nolan Boyd (OSU) MD No. 6 Sammy Brooks (IOWA) 13-3
197: No. 4 Preston Weigel (OSU) dec. Cash Wilcke (IOWA) 6-0
HWT: No. 9 Austin Schafer (OSU) dec. No. 6 Sam Stoll (IOWA) 5-4

School of Brock
Oklahoma State redshirt freshman 133-pounder Kaid Brock has made already waves nationally during his short time at OSU. Last season, Brock started 19-0 before suffering a season-ending injury at the Southern Scuffle. Prior to his injury, the Stillwater native picked up three ranked victories and 12 bonus point wins, including a first-period pin of second-ranked Cody Brewer of Oklahoma in his first dual start.

After receiving a medical redshirt, Brock has picked up where he left off this season, starting 15-0 with a perfect 6-0 mark against ranked foes. Brock added another marquee victory to his resume last weekend, defeating top-ranked Cory Clark of Iowa in a thrilling, 7-6 match. Brock also took home his first career Southern Scuffle title earlier this month, going 5-0 at the event to capture the win.

Pin-manship
Redshirt sophomore Chandler Rogers has been a pin machine at 165 pounds for the Cowboys, with five of his 11 wins on the season coming by fall. Four of those five pins have come in the first period.

Rogers has pinned three-straight opponents, including then-No. 4 Daniel Lewis of Missouri in the Southern Scuffle finals. The Stillwater native's most recent victim was Iowa's Skyler St. John, who was pinned in 2:18 by Rogers in last Sunday's Cowboy victory over the Hawkeyes.

Overall, Rogers has 18 pins to his credit for his career.

Creeping up on 100
Oklahoma State seniors Anthony Collica and Nolan Boyd each find themselves within five 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 96 career wins to go against 29 losses, putting him only four wins away. With a 98-33 overall record for his career, Boyd is only two 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.

Cowboys Host Mountaineers, Jackrabbits in Conference Battles

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Players Mentioned

Nolan Boyd

Kaid Brock

Anthony Collica

Kyle Crutchmer

Dean Heil

Nick Piccininni

Chandler Rogers

Austin Schafer

Joe Smith

Preston Weigel

Oklahoma State University Athletics