Cowboys Host Pair of Conference Foes with Sights on 500th Win in GIA

Notes (PDF)

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State wrestling team will welcome Northern Iowa and seventh-ranked Iowa State to Stillwater this weekend. The Cowboys have a chance to collect the 500th dual win in Gallagher-Iba Arena, as the number currently sits at 499 after last Sunday's win over No. 15 Lehigh.

Dual Details
Date/Times: Northern Iowa – Jan. 29, 2022/ 7 p.m. CT
Location: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Okla.
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Listen: Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM
Live Stats: Trackwrestling.com

Date/Times: No. 7 Iowa State – Jan. 30, 2022/ 2 p.m. CT
Location: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Okla.
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Listen: Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM
Live Stats: Trackwrestling.com

The Basics
The third-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team (10-0 overall; 4-0 Big 12) will wrestle conference opponents on back-to-back days inside Gallagher-Iba Arena with the opportunity to reach 500 wins in GIA this weekend. The Cowboys will host Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. on Saturday before a top-10 matchup with No. 7 Iowa State at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The Series – Northern Iowa
Oklahoma State and Northern Iowa have met for 31 dual contests in the programs' histories. OSU has won all but three of those meetings, with one of those losses coming in 2020 by a score of 19-15 in Cedar Falls. John Smith has won 19 of 20 bouts against the Panther in his career. The Pokes have never lost at home to the Panthers and will play host to UNI for the first time since Feb. 1, 2019.

The Series – Iowa State
Oklahoma State's 85 dual contests with Iowa State is the second most wrestled series in program history, only behind the Cowboys' rivalry with Oklahoma. OSU has won 62 of those meetings against the Cyclones, including the last 14 duals between the schools. The series with ISU began in 1921 when the Pokes lost in Ames, 37-9. Iowa State's most recent win against the Cowboys came in 2010 in a 20-18 bout. Last season, OSU topped the Cyclones in Ames, 16-15, with Boo Lewallen's major decision being the difference.

An Oklahoma State Win Would...
• Move the Cowboys to 12-0 overall; 6-0 in the Big 12
• Mark OSU's 500^th and 501^st dual wins in Gallagher-Iba Arena
• Improve John Smith's record against Northern Iowa to 20-1; against Iowa State to 29-7
• Improve OSU's record against UNI to 29-3; 63-20-3 against Iowa State
• Extend Oklahoma State's win streak in duals to 22, dating back to last season

Cowboys in the Polls
Oklahoma State's roster features 10 wrestlers ranked in various polls this week, with six holding spots inside the top-10. Sophomore 197-pounder AJ Ferrari is the consensus No. 1 wrestler at his weight and is the highest ranked Cowboy, after winning his first individual title at the NCAA Championships in March. Following Ferrari, Daton Fix appears at No. 2 at 133 pounds as the reigning Big 12 champion and national finalist. Also making appearances in the top 10 of their respective weight classes are All-Americans Travis Wittlake and Dakota Geer. Geer is as high as No. 6 at 184 pound in the WIN Magazine rankings, while Wittlake is ranked sixth at 165 pounds by all of the polls. 125-pounder Trevor Mastrogiovanni holds down the No. 5 spot, according to FloWrestling. A 9-0 start to the season with four wins over ranked opponents has Dustin Plott (174) into the top-10 of every poll. Wyatt Sheets is ranked No. 11 by WIN Magazine, while Kaden Gfeller lands as high as No. 14 in Intermat's 149-pound rankings. True freshman Carter Young climbed to No. 17 this week in the FloWrestling poll. Heavyweight Luke Surber moved up one spot in the Intermat poll where he is ranked No. 29.

Dustin His Competition
Cowboy 174-pounder Dustin Plott has gotten off to an impressive start in his sophomore season. He defeated a ranked opponent in each of OSU's first three duals on his way to an 8-0 record so far. He beat No. 31 Tyler Eischens of Stanford, 7-6, No. 23 Jared Krattiger (MINN), 5-1, and No. 12 Mickey O'Malley (DREX), 6-3. His upset over O'Malley marked the highest ranked win of his young career. He matched that on December 17 when he took down No. 12 Hayden Hastings of Wyoming, 7-2. Beginning the season ranked No. 16 by Intermat, Plott has moved up to No. 8 thus far.

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 44 unbeaten and untied campaigns at home, the most recent coming in 2021. One of the program's 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, with 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 499-42-6 overall record in the arena. The Cowboys currently hold a 26-match winning streak at home, dating back to Jan. 27, 2018. At 26, the run is the fourth longest streak in program history. If the streak stays alive, then the dual with Northern Iowa on Jan. 29 would mark win No. 500 in Gallagher-Iba arena.

Tune In
Both duals can be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with J Carl Guymon and Lee Roy Smith on the call. They can also be heard on the radio with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on air on Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM, beginning 30 minutes before the start of each match. Live stats can be found on Trackwrestling.com.

Cowboys Host Pair of Conference Foes with Sights on 500th Win in GIA

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Players Mentioned

AJ Ferrari

Daton Fix

Dakota Geer

Kaden Gfeller

Boo Lewallen

Trevor Mastrogiovanni

Dustin Plott

Wyatt Sheets

Luke Surber

Travis Wittlake

Carter Young

Oklahoma State University Athletics