Cowboys Head to Norman for Bedlam

Bedlam Notes

STILLWATER – The Cowboy wrestling team (3-1 overall; 0-0 Big 12) travels to Norman for the first time since 2016 to take on Oklahoma in its first conference dual of the season on Sunday afternoon. The Pokes are in action at 2 p.m. and look to pick up their 10th-consecutive win over the Sooners and fourth win this season.

Dual Details
Opponent: Oklahoma (1-1; 0-0 Big 12)
Date/Time: Dec. 15, 2019/2 p.m. CST
Location: McCasland Field House– Norman, Okla.
Series: OSU leads, 141-27-10
Watch: Fox Sports Oklahoma
Listen: Pete 94.3 FM/KSPI AM 780
Live Stats: Trackwrestling.com

The Basics
The ninth-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team (3-1 overall; 0-0 Big 12) travels to Norman on Sunday for the first time in three years to take on the in-state rival Sooners at 2 p.m. inside McCasland Field House. Oklahoma is 1-1 on the season with a win over Kent State to begin the dual season. This weekend's meeting marks the 178th time the programs have faced each other.

The Bedlam Series
Oklahoma State holds a 141-27-10 all-time record against the Sooners. This marks the 178th meeting between the two storied programs. In 2018, the Cowboys claimed all but one bout against OU, topping the Sooners, 41-2. It marked the largest Bedlam wrestling deficit since the teams' 1992 meeting in Norman. Coach Lou Rosselli is 0-4 against the Cowboys since taking over the program in August of 2016. OSU leads Oklahoma 61-15-8 in Norman with the most recent victory coming in 2016 when the Cowboys topped OU, 33-3. John Smith has lost only

What to Watch
This Bedlam dual's marquee matchup comes at 197 pounds where No. 5 Dakota Geer is set to take on OU's ninth-ranked Jake Woodley. The Sooner comes off a top-four finish in a tough Cliff Keen invitational bracket, going 5-2 on the weekend with wins over South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan and Nebraska's Eric Schultz. Reece Witcraft looks at his first match against a ranked opponent in No. 18 Anthony Madrigal, and Wyatt Sheets has a rematch with 15th-ranked Justin Thomas at 157 pounds. Sheets won the first contest between the pair at the OCU Open in 2016, 1-0.

About the Cowboys
This week, the Oklahoma State lineup features seven wrestlers ranked in various polls. Undefeated freshman Travis Wittlake maintained his Intermat ranking coming in again at No. 14 this week. Wittlake picked up win No. 8 in a forfeited match against Princeton last weekend. The Cowboy has one ranked win on the year and looks to maintain his undefeated mark against Oklahoma's Sam Dover. Senior 125-pounder Piccininni comes in across Intermat and The Open Mat rankings at No. 4 this week, coming off his first loss of the year to Princeton's Pat Glory. Flo and Win position the senior at No. 4 as well. This week, returning All-American Lewallen maintains his spot at No. 4 after a second consecutive win over a ranked opponent in Princeton's Mike D'Angelo. The redshirt senior comes in as high as No. 3 and made the move to No. 4 in Flo's rankings this week. All-American Dakota Geer climbed one spot in the Intermat at 197 pounds after dropping his first bout of the year to No. 2 Patrick Brucki. Geer has secured major decisions in both road outings this fall and has another test this weekend when he meets No. 9 Jake Woodley in Norman. Redshirt sophomore Kaden Gfeller holds on to the No. 11 spot at 141 in the Intermat poll this week
with no matches to date. Senior Joe Smith retained the seventh-ranked spot at 174 pounds this week with no matches on the year.

400 and Counting
In 2018, coach John Smith assumed the title of winningest active head coach in NCAA Division I wrestling when the Pokes defeated Minnesota on Nov. 19, inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. Since that time, Smith has added 29 more dual victories to the record books. Smith reached yet another milestone against the Golden Gophers on Nov. 24, when he surpassed former Cowboy Bobby Douglas on the all-time wins list to record No. 429.
Below is a look at the full list.

All-Time Wrestling Coaching Wins*
1. 616 Dale Thomas         Oregon State         1957-90
2. 492 Harold Nichols Iowa St./Arkansas St. 1948-85
3. 442 Gary Taylor                         Rider         1977-2017
4. 440 J Robinson                 Minnesota         1986-2016
5. 429 John Smith           Oklahoma State   1992-Pres.
6. 427 Bobby Douglas Iowa St./Arizona St.   1975-2006
*Includes only DI wins

Cowboy Wrestling Nearing 500th Win in GIA
Since becoming the home of Cowboy Wrestling in 1939, Gallagher-Iba Arena has hosted 544 dual meets. The program has won an impressive 498 of those and tied in six. That means the Cowboys have won 92 percent of their home matches in the building. With seven home duals slated for the 2019-20 season, the Pokes have ample opportunity to reach the 500-win milestone on their home mat.

Chasing 100
Senior Nick Piccininni sits only 10 wins away from notching his 100th victory in the OSU orange singlet. In 2019 the Cowboy earned 34 victories over the course of the season, including a perfect regular season, and a 10-2 mark against ranked opponents. The milestone would add Piccininni to a list of only 43 wrestlers to reach the milestone including current Poke, Kaid Brock, who has exactly 100 wins to his name.

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Players Mentioned

Kaid Brock

Dakota Geer

Kaden Gfeller

Nick Piccininni

Wyatt Sheets

Joe Smith

Reece Witcraft

Travis Wittlake

Oklahoma State University Athletics