Cowboys Hit the Road to Face South Dakota State on Friday

Full Notes (PDF)

The Basics
The No. 7 Oklahoma State wrestling team (11-2 overall; 6-1 Big 12) will look to ride the momentum gained from two top-10 wins into another ranked conference match on the road against No. 16 South Dakota State on Friday. The Cowboys will wrestle at 7 p.m. on Friday in Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D., before returning home to host Stanford on Sunday in the penultimate weekend of the regular season.

On the Air
Oklahoma State's dual with South Dakota State will be streamed on Flowrestling.org Friday night. It can also be heard on Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM with Rex Holt going on air at 6:30 p.m. Live stats for the match can be found on Trackwrestling.com.

The Series - South Dakota State
Oklahoma State and South Dakota State have met only six times previously with OSU winning each of those meetings. The series with SDSU began in 2014, when the Pokes defeated the Jackrabbits at a neutral site, 25-9. In the six dual bouts, the Cowboys have beaten SDSU by an average margin of 24.5 points. The largest victory came for the Pokes in 2018 in Brookings where they claimed all but one bout, which was an injury forfeit, and topped the Jacks, 45-6. In last season's dual, Oklahoma State defeated SDSU, 29-6, in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Pokes are 2-0 in Brookings where they will wrestle on Friday night.

About the Cowboys
No. 7 Oklahoma State is 11-2 on the season coming off of a weekend which saw the Pokes take down two top-10 teams in No. 6 Michigan at Bout at the Ballpark and No. 8 Missouri on criteria on Sunday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Pokes return four All-Americans who have earned All-America honors a total of eight times, headlined by three-time NCAA finalist Daton Fix. Wyatt Sheets and Travis Wittlake are both two-time All-Americans for OSU, while Dustin Plott is coming off of his first appearance on the podium last season. The OSU lineup has seen some movement from a season ago with weight changes from past starters opening opportunities at 165 pounds and heavyweight. Wittlake moved up two weight classes to 184 pounds in the offseason where he has started 13-3, while Luke Surber dropped down a weight to 197 pounds. In their places, Wyatt Sheets has filled the void at 165 pounds, while redshirt sophomore Konner Doucet is off to a 13-6 start at heavyweight and placed third at the Scuffle. Big 12 champion Kaden Gfeller decided to return to Oklahoma State for his final season in August and has put together a 14-5 record so far 157 pounds, while talented freshman Victor Voinovich has started every dual at 149 pounds. With Sheets and Gfeller back for their COVID seasons, the middleweights could see some different looks throughout the course of the season.

An Oklahoma State Win Would...
• Move the Cowboys to 12-2 overall; 7-1 in conference matches
• Make OSU 7-1 in road matches this season
• Give Oklahoma State its sixth win over a top-25 team
• Improve OSU's and John Smith's record against SDSU to 7-0

Cowboys in the Polls
Oklahoma State's roster features 10 wrestlers ranked in various polls this week, with four holding spots inside the top-10. Senior 133-pounder Daton Fix is the consensus No. 2 wrestler at his weight and is the highest ranked Cowboy as the reigning Big 12 champion and a national finalist the last two seasons. Following Fix, Dustin Plott appears as high as No. 6 at 174 pounds after earning All-America honors for the first time last season with a sixth-place finish. Travis Wittlake makes his return to the top-10 at 184 pounds, holding the No. 10 ranking in three of the four polls, while Kaden Gfeller (157) is back in the top-10 in Intermat's poll after upsetting No. 8 Jarrett Jacques against Missouri. Carter Young continues his rise after defeating No. 7 Allan Hart to make it five wins in a row, including three ranked wins. Luke Surber climbed up the rankings as high as No. 15 at 197 pounds after taking down No. 1 Rocky Elam in a vital upset in OSU's win over Missouri. Victor Voinovich (149) and Konner Doucet (HWT) land at No. 21 and No. 23 in Intermat's rankings this week, but are a few spots higher in other polls. Wyatt Sheets is ranked at No. 22 by FloWrestling at 165 pounds as he continues to navigate a gauntlet of a schedule to close out the regular season.

Two Cowboys Chasing the Century Mark
Cowboy seniors Daton Fix and Wyatt Sheets are both nearing 100 wins in their collegiate careers. The active leaders on Oklahoma State's roster with 90 wins for Fix and 83 for Sheets, the century mark could be within reach toward the end of this season. Sheets elected to return to OSU for his COVID season, while Fix is one of the winningest wrestlers in program history based on winning percentage and still has another year of eligibility he could take advantage of. OSU has had 44 wrestlers reach the 100-win mark in their career, most recently accomplished by Nick Piccininni during the 2020 season.

Cowboys Hit the Road to Face South Dakota State on Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Konner Doucet

Daton Fix

Kaden Gfeller

Dustin Plott

Wyatt Sheets

Luke Surber

Victor Voinovich

Travis Wittlake

Carter Young

Oklahoma State University Athletics