For the first time in three years, Oklahoma hosted in-state rival Oklahoma State in Norman for the annual Bedlam rivalry dual, inspiring a barn-burner of a wrestling match. These two teams have combined for 41 NCAA titles and brought a total of 10 ranked wrestlers to the mat Sunday afternoon between them for their 179th meeting in history. Oklahoma State picked up the dominant win 23-9 and now holds the advantage 142-27-10 across the previous duals. The Cowboys have won all of the meetings since 2013, and Sunday's win continued this trend.
The Cowboys get it done in Norman for a 10th-straight dual win against the Sooners. #okstate | #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/NBOMcqAaTO
— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) December 15, 2019
Each team had taken a loss already this season heading into the dual, but, after losing seven of the ten weight classes, the Sooners were the team to pick up the second L. Here are the three things we learned from the dual as well as an overview of each weight class.
1. No Gfeller, no Smith, no problem
The Cowboys didn't need two of their strong assets on Sunday, as head coach John Smith held both Kaden Gfeller and Joe Smith out of the lineup again. Dusty Hone came in for Gfeller at 141 pounds and pushed a competitive Dom Demas before dropping a tight 6-4 decision for Oklahoma's first win of the night. Andrew Shomers stepped in for Smith, and suffered an overtime loss to Anthony Mantnona in a high-scoring 10-8 bout. The timeline for the return of these two athletes is still unclear, but Oklahoma State proved that it can keep its Bedlam success rolling with the depth in its lineup.
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One of the biggest powerhouse wrestlers in the Cowboys lineup, Nick Piccininni, continued his dominance with a 14-2 major decision over Christian Moody. The Cowboy senior finished fifth at NCAAs last year to earn his second All-American honor and looks to be on track in his quest for a third trophy. Piccininni is now 6-0 against Moody and undefeated in Bedlam.
Freshman Reece Witcraft also impressed, stopping Anthony Madrigal for his first Bedlam win against a ranked opponent.
Update: Don't mess with Reece Witcraft anywhere. The freshman pulls off an upset win over Anthony Madrigal to put the Cowboys up 7-0. #okstate https://t.co/QNAXAjdeJ8
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) December 15, 2019
165-pounder No. 14 Travis Wittlake and 149-pounder No. 4 Boo Lewallen also both picked up wins in the dual, stayed undefeated and doing what they needed to do to put themselves in the best position to hold their top 25 spots in the rankings. Wittlake took on Sam Dover and earned a solid 3-2 decision. Lewallen wrestled Jacob Butler for a 12-4 major decision win. The bonus points weren't necessary from Lewallen for the team score, but they are sure nice for the All-American to add to his stats this year.
2. The Sooners have some scorers, just not enough
After losing last year's Bedlam dual by the largest margin than they have since 1992, the Sooners welcomed Oklahoma State to Norman ready to keep the score close. Both Demas and Thomas racked up points today, as did Anthony Mantnona, giving Oklahoma more than three times as many team points as last year. Demas' win also keeps him undefeated in his Bedlam career.
3. Dakota Geer is as good as we expected
Of all 10 matchups set for Sunday afternoon, only one contained two top-10 ranked wrestlers: 197 pounds. Oklahoma State All-American Dakota Geer took on Oklahoma's Jacob Woodley and put up a solid 4-2 decision win over the U23 World Team Trials Champion. Geer had the statistical advantage based on season winning percentage, NCAA tournament finishes and bonus rate advantage heading into the dual, and he backed all of that up with a victory.
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Full results from the dual:
125 pounds - No. 4 Nick Piccininni vs. Christian Moody: This match was all Picc. The two-time All-American shot out to an early lead off a quick first-period takedown and worked his opponent the entire seven minutes. He picked up points in the first period and continued running up the scoreboard before ending up with a 14-2 major decision. That's how you rebound from a loss against Princeton.
The first win of the 2019 Bedlam dual belongs to Oklahoma State's Nick Piccininni in major decision fashion. The Cowboys lead the Sooners 4-0 #okstatepic.twitter.com/UYYegZ0vI9
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) December 15, 2019
133 pounds- Reece Witcraft vs. No. 18 Anthony Madrigal: Welcome to the Witcraft Show! The Oklahoma State freshman has been unstoppable in his recent duals, scrambling hard and taking down big-time opponents. The 6-5 win against Madrigal gave Oklahoma State three more team points and expanded their lead to 7-0 after two bouts.
141 pounds - Dusty Hone vs. No. 4 Dom Demas: Dusty Hone fought tough, but he didn't have quite enough to stop Demas, a 2019 Big 12 champion and All-American. The Sooner sophomore picked up a quick takedown in the first and followed that with a counterattack before the end up the second period. Demas held strong and finished with a 6-4 win to give Oklahoma its first team points of the day.
149 pounds - No. 4 Boo Lewallen vs. Jacob Butler: A takedown and a two-point turn gave NCAA All-American Boo Lewallen a 4-0 lead against Butler at the start of the first period and racked up riding time before giving up his first takedown at the start of the second period. The third period, though, was all Boo. Two more takedowns put him up 11-4, and riding put him over the bonus point edge to give the Cowboys an 11-3 lead after four bouts.
157 pounds- Wyatt Sheets vs. No. 17 Justin Thomas: The ranked wrestler picked up the win in this one, but only after a seven-minute battle. Two takedowns for Thomas put him up 4-2 to start the third, and that's when his toughness kicked in. The Sooner held strong to finish with a 5-3 decision and add three more points to the Sooner total.
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165 pounds - No. 14 Travis Wittlake vs. Sam Dover: In a match that seemed destined for overtime, Oklahoma State's Travis Wittlake pulled out a gritty third-period rideout to notch the final point needed to give him the 3-2 decision against Dover. Wittlake avoided the upset and put the Cowboys ahead 13-6 at this point in the dual.
174 pounds- Andrew Shomers vs. Anthony Mantnona: Now this one really did go to overtime, and it was Anthony Mantnona who found his position and scored the winning takedown against Oklahoma State's Andrew Shomers for the 10-8 decision. The win closed Oklahoma State's gap to just four points, setting up the Sooners for a potential comeback.
184 pounds - Anthony Montalvo vs. Darrien Roberts: So much for the Sooner comeback. Anthony Montalvo earned a quick six points after a takedown and back points to give himself a strong lead after the first couple minutes. Another takedown extended his first period lead to 8-1, and the match was all his. Roberts did put up two more takedowns of his own, but he couldn't close the gap and Montalvo took the W 13-5.
A quick six for Taco in the first 💪! #okstate pic.twitter.com/7qbR39fopC
— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) December 15, 2019
197 pounds- Dakota Geer vs. Jake Woodley: Geer picked up the first points, but Woodley's two escapes made the score 4-2 after the second period. The big guys ended the match with zero points in the third to give Geer the 4-2 decision and seal the deal for the Cowboys.
285 pounds- Austin Harris vs. Josiah Jones: Austin Harris put an exclamation mark on the dual for Oklahoma State with a workmanlike 6-2 decision to earn his second dual win. The Cowboys owned this match from start to finish, with the exception of 141, 157 and 174 pounds.
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