Cowboys Open Big 12 Schedule at North Dakota State

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STILLWATER – The third-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team hits the road this weekend, opening a nearly two-month roadtrip with a dual against North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D., at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The dual will mark the first meeting ever in the series between the Cowboys and their new Big 12 rivals.

Watch the Cowboys
Sunday's dual against the Bison will be broadcast live on BEK Prime with Jordan Hassler and Jack Maughan on the call. Fans can also access an online stream on GoBison.com.

Listen Live
Fans can listen to Sunday's dual live on Pete 94.3 FM, AM 780 or okstate.com with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on the call.

About the Cowboys
With a pair of NCAA individual titles under his belt, Oklahoma State senior 141-pounder Dean Heil leads a young, but talented Cowboy roster into the 2017-18 season. Facing the losses of Anthony Collica and Nolan Boyd, both multi-year staples in the OSU lineup and All-Americans in their own right, head coach John Smith returns Heil along with All-Americans Nick Piccininni, Kaid Brock, Joe Smith, Chandler Rogers and Preston Weigel from the 2017 NCAA Championships.

The Pokes will look to build on a 2016-17 season that saw them tally a third-place finish at the national tournament. Following up an impressive 14-1 dual record, the Cowboys also claimed the program's 51st conference title, shattering Big 12 Championship records for team points and margin of victory.

Smith also brings a new-look coaching staff into the upcoming season. After elevating Zack Esposito to the associate head coach post prior to the 2017 season, Smith made more moves this past summer. Chris Perry was promoted to assistant coach from his previous volunteer assistant position, while Wisconsin standout Isaac Jordan made the move to Stillwater to assume Perry's former role. Four-time All-American Tyler Caldwell was also added to the staff as a recruiting coordinator.

The Cowboy wrestling program enjoyed a number of firsts and record-breaking performances during the 2016-17 season, and they look to continue that trend into 2018. While Dean Heil sets his sights on title No. 3, a slew of other Cowboys and returning All-Americans look to make their mark on program history as well come March.

In the Polls
The Cowboys enter Sunday's dual with 10 wrestlers ranked at their respective weights. Unsurprisingly, reigning two-time NCAA Champion Dean Heil leads the way for the Pokes, coming in at No. 1 unanimously at 141 pounds.

Four other Cowboys enter this weekend's dual ranked inside the top five after All-American performances a season ago. Nick Piccininni is ranked as high as No. 3 (FloWresting), while 133-pounder Kaid Brock is ranked No. 4 and 165-pounder Chandler Rogers is ranked No. 5 by multiple major publications. At 197 pounds, Preston Weigel is ranked as high as No. 3 (WIN Magazine).

A couple of newcomers to the OSU lineup currently hold rankings as well. Geo Martinez is ranked as high as No. 5 at 149 pounds (WIN Magazine). Meanwhile, Jacobe Smith comes in at No. 12 at 174, according to Intermat. Heavyweight Derek White (No. 11, Intermat and Flowrestling) and 184-pounder Keegan Moore (No. 21, Trackwrestling) both entered the rankings for the first time in their careers last week.

400 and Counting With the retirement of former Rider head coach Gary Taylor during the offseason, Oklahoma State head coach John Smith assumed the title of winningest active head coach in NCAA Division I wrestling.

After last weekend's win over Minnesota, Smith reached dual win No. 400 for his career, becoming the seventh head coach in DI history to reach that benchmark. He is also only the fifth coach to win all 400 of his duals at the same school. Smith is 21 wins away from tying Jack Childs and T.J. Kerr for fifth on the list. Impressively, of his 400 wins, 140 have come over top-10 teams.

A look at the full list:

All-Time Wrestling Coaching Wins* (400+)
1.             616         Dale Thomas        Oregon State                                        1957-90
2.             493         Harold Nichols     Iowa State /Arkansas St.                    1948-85
3.             442         Gary Taylor           Rider                                                      1977-2017
3.             440         J Robinson            Minnesota                                             1986-2016
4.             424         Bobby Douglas     Iowa St./Arizona St.                             1975-2006
5.             421         Jack Childs           Drexel                                                    1975-2010
                                T.J. Kerr                 CSU-Bakersfield/San Jose State      1984-2013
7.             400         John Smith          Oklahoma State                                 1992-Pres.
* Includes only DI wins

An Oklahoma State Win Would…
?Be the Cowboys' first win in the series with the Bison.
?Mark the 15th 3-0 start for the Cowboys in the John Smith era, and second-straight 3-0 start.
?Improve OSU to 17-1 over its last 18 matches.
?Push OSU's all-time dual record to 1,094-126-23.

1-2-3 Punch
While the Cowboys' lineup is littered with elite talent from top to bottom, one would have a hard time finding many more devastating stretches for opponents in any lineup than the one-two-three punch packed by Nick Piccininni (125), Kaid Brock (133) and Dean Heil (141).

The three Cowboys not only combine for two NCAA Championships, five All-America honors and four Big 12 titles, but also a 184-26 career record. This season, the trio has combined to go 18-2 overall thus far.

We're Going Streaking!
Senior Dean Heil enters this weekend's dual with a 49-match win streak dating back to the 2015-16 season. The streak is the second-longest in the nation behind only Penn State's Zain Retherford, who boasts a 71-match streak.

Last season, Heil posted a perfect 32-0 overall record with a 15-0 dual mark on the way to his second-straight national title at 141 pounds and the 142nd individual title in program history. His 32-0 season marked the 15th undefeated season of 29 wins or more in school history.

Going for 100
Dean Heil is looking for his 100th win this weekend in Fargo. With a win Sunday, Heil will become the 42nd Cowboy in school history to reach that mark. Heil would also be one of only 14 Pokes on the 100-win list with less than 15 losses.

Dual Threats
With 1,093 dual wins to its credit, and over 34 wins more than the second-winningest team, the Oklahoma State wrestling program by far has the most dual wins of any DI wrestling program. The Cowboys are one of three programs that have surpassed 1,000 total victories, with the others being Iowa State (1,059) and Oregon State (1,029).

A look at the top five:

All-Time Dual Wins Leaders
1.             Oklahoma State 1,094-126-23
2.             Iowa State             1,059-318-20
3.             Oregon State        1,030-340-28
4.             Iowa                       990-228-31
5.             Minnesota             952-444-24
*As of matches on Nov. 20, 2017

OSU Statistical Leaders
Overall Wins: 9, Wyatt Sheets
Dual Wins: 2, six wrestlers
Ranked Wins: 2, Derek White and Geo Martinez
Bonus Point Wins: 6, Wyatt Sheets
Wins by Fall: 3, Geo Martinez and Wyatt Sheets
Wins by Technical Fall: 3, Kaid Brock
Wins by Major Decision: 3, Derek White
Dual Takedowns: 5, Kaid Brock
Dual Nearfalls: 2, Jacobe Smith and Andrew Marsden
* Does not include redshirt athletes

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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