OSU Wrestling Heads North for Top 20 Big 12 Bouts

UNI Notes

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State wrestling (7-1 overall, 3-0 Big 12) is set to make a weekend trip for contests with No. 20 Northern Iowa and 16th-ranked Iowa State. The Cowboys moved one spot to land at No. 8 in the NWCA polls this week after a statement win over No. 10 Pittsburgh. OSU takes on the UNI Panthers at 7 p.m. on Friday in Cedar Falls and turns around to face the Cyclones at 2 p.m. Sunday in Ames.

Dual Details
Dates/Times:
vs. No. 20 Northern Iowa - Jan. 25, 2020/7 p.m. CST
Location: McLeod Center, Cedar Falls, Iowa
vs. No. 16 Iowa State - Jan. 26, 2020/2 p.m. CST
Location: Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa

Watch: FloWrestling.org
Listen: Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM
Live Stats: Trackwrestling.com

The Basics
The eighth-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team (7-1 overall; 3-0 Big 12) makes its first dual road trip of 2020 this weekend when it heads to Iowa for duals with Northern Iowa and Iowa State. The Cowboys are coming off a weekend sweep at home of Big 12 opponent West Virginia and 10th-ranked Pittsburgh. OSU dominated WVU, 37-9, before taking out its first top-10 team this season, 30-10.

The Series - Northern Iowa
Oklahoma State and Northern Iowa have met for 29 dual contests in the programs' histories. OSU has won all but two of those meetings. The series began in 1962, when the Pokes beat the Panthers at home, 19-7. The Panthers' two victories against OSU came in Cedar Falls, with the most recent taking place in February of 1991. In last year's February meeting, the Cowboys took out No. 16 UNI in Stillwater for a second consecutive year, 24-9.

The Series - Iowa State
The Cowboys and Cyclones have met 83 times for dual meets in the history of the two programs. The Pokes have come out ahead in those bouts 60 times. OSU's most recent loss to the Cyclones was in 2010 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The program hasn't lost to ISU in Ames since the 2008-09 season. In the most recent outing, the Cowboys won at home, 22-15.

An Oklahoma State Win against Northern Iowa Would…
• Move the Cowboys to 8-1 on the season
• Push OSU's road dual record to 3-1
• Improve coach Smith's record against UNI to 19-0
• Give the Pokes their fourth win over a Big 12 team this season
• Mark OSU's 19th consecutive win against Northern Iowa
• Give the Cowboys their sixth straight win in Cedar Falls
• Advance John Smith's head coaching record to 434-63-6

Cowboys in the Polls
This week, the Oklahoma State lineup features 10 wrestlers ranked in various polls at nine different weights. Freshman Travis Wittlake held steady at No. 9 in Intermat's 165-pound rankings after picking up a major decision Friday against Nick Kiussis and a convincing 7-2 decision over No. 11 Jake Wentzel the following day. It marked Wittlake's second win against the Panther this season. Senior 125-pounder Piccininni comes in across Intermat, The Open Mat, Flo and Win rankings at No. 4 again this week after notching his 100th career Cowboy victory over the weekend. Returning All-American Boo Lewallen remains at No. 3 position at 149 pounds across Intermat, Win and Flo rankings after collecting bonus point wins against WVU and Pitt to remain undefeated on the year. The Open Mat positioned the Cowboy at No. 2. Reece Witcraft (133) remains at No. 20 in the Win rankings after a technical fall win over Lucas Seibert and a loss via fall to No. 6 Micky Phillippi. Cowboy Wyatt Sheets comes in as Win's No. 15 157-pounder and Flo's No. 20. Senior Joe Smith (174) is positioned as Intermat's 12th-ranked wrestler, and Dakota Geer (197) came in at No. 11 this week after splitting bouts this weekend, 1-1. Redshirt sophomore Kaden Gfeller landed at No. 11 this week at 141 pounds in the Intermat polls. Dusty Hone remains in Win's rankings at No. 12 this week following two decision victories in the Poke's last outings. Flo also ranked the Cowboy for the first time this week at No. 18.

Piccininni Locks up No. 11
Senior Nick Piccininni notched his 100th career victory in the OSU orange singlet on Jan. 18 against the Pittsburgh Panthers inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. 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. He became just the 44th Poke in the history of the program to reach the milestone, joining current Cowboy Kaid Brock. Piccininni is 16-1 on the season with one ranked win and 13 bonus point victories to his credit.

Winning Wittlake
Redshirt Freshman Travis Wittlake has been a force for the Cowboys this season in his first year in the lineup. The 165-pounder leads all Cowboys with 18 victories on the year and only one loss. He sits at No. 9 in the country with wins against four ranked opponents, including No. 8, No. 10 and No. 11, twice. The Coos Bay, Ore., native is one of two Cowboys with a perfect dual record entering the weekend trip to UNI and Iowa State. Wittlake looks to match up this weekend with UNI's Austin Yant and Chase Straw of Iowa State.

Boo is Back
Cowboy Boo Lewallen returned to the OSU starting rotation in the fall and has looked sharp off the first whistle claiming an OCU Open title before rattling off eight consecutive dual wins. Of his dual victories, three have come against ranked opponents, including No. 10 Brayton Lee (MINN). The Cowboy has also collected half his dual wins with bonus points attached. This weekend presents another ranked bout with 12th-ranked Max Thomsen of Northern Iowa and No. 7 Jarrett Degen who his season a year ago ended with.

What to Watch
The Trip to Iowa presents the Cowboys with several tough matchups on Saturday and Sunday. At 174 pounds, Andrew Shomers or Joe Smith look to take on two opponents ranked in Intermat's top 11, starting with fifth-ranked Bryce Steiert (UNI) and No. 11 Sam Colbray (ISU). Smith lands at No. 12 this week and is 2-1 on the season. Shomers is coming off of a three-dual major decision win streak, including a top-20 win against Gregg Harvey (PITT). Cowboy Nick Piccininni looks to surpass the 100 win mark when he wrestles Jacob Schwarm of Northern Iowa and No. 9 Alex Mackall at ISU. Wyatt Sheets has a tough opponent in Ames against No. 3 David Carr. Sheets is ranked in the top-20 across most polls with the exception of Intermat. The Cowboy with perhaps the most challenging bouts of the weekend is Boo Lewallen. The Poke is slated to take on 12th-ranked Max Thomsen in Cedar Falls before facing No. 7 Jarrett Degen on Sunday. Dusty Hone will have the opportunity to pick up win No. 3 against a ranked opponent at Hilton Coliseum when he takes on eighth-ranked Ian Parker. Parker is perfect in dual contests this season with only two tournament losses.

Tune In
Fans can follow the Cowboys' bouts at UNI and Iowa State with @CowboyWrestling on Twitter, watch on FloWrestling.org or follow the live stats at Trackwrestling.com. Both duals will air on Hot 93.7-KSPI FM with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on the call.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kaid Brock

Dakota Geer

Kaden Gfeller

Dusty Hone

Boo Lewallen

Nick Piccininni

Wyatt Sheets

Andrew Shomers

Joe Smith

Reece Witcraft

Travis Wittlake

Oklahoma State University Athletics