OSU Wrestling: Cowboys Beat West Virginia 30-12

PHOTOS

STILLWATER — The Cowboys’ 30-point streak needed a hero, and luckily the Pokes have one at heavyweight.

Wyatt Hendrickson trotted to the mat with “Copperhead Road” ringing throughout Gallagher-Iba Arena. He pinned his opponent in less than a minute, did a backflip and secured Oklahoma State’s 30-12 win against West Virginia.

The Cowboys are 9-0 this season and have scored at least 30 points in all of those wins. The last time OSU started a season with at least nine 30-point performances was the 1987-88 season — the season John Smith won his second NCAA title as a wrestler. The Cowboys started with 10 in a row that season, so OSU has the opportunity to match that against a tough Northern Iowa team on Friday.

“A lot of what we just talked about in the locker room was being appreciative of these opportunities that we have,” OSU coach David Taylor said. “Every day I wake up and grateful to be coaching this program. And every day these guys come in the room, and they just gotta appreciate the opportunity to go out and compete in Gallagher, and pushing attendance, and having a product that people are excited to go and watch. …

“We want to represent a product and a style, the way wrestling should be done in its purest way. You got seven minutes to score. You score the entire time. If you’re not turning them, you’re cutting them and your tie ups and you’re getting another takedown. That’s what we do every day, and our guys are representing that when we go out there. And it’s leading to more team points, which is awesome.”

It wasn’t the best of days for the start of OSU’s lineup. The Mountaineers held a 12-11 lead through six matches, but the Pokes proved that in order to take them out in a dual, you’re going to need a massive lead going into those final four weights.

Dean Hamiti Jr. got the ball rolling with a 19-3 technical fall victory against Brody Conley at 174 pounds. Hamiti is super smooth. When the match first started, he momentarily grabbed Conley’s ankle without the two touching anywhere else. It didn’t end in a takedown, but drew a big “Ooooo” from the 8,257 in attendance. Hamiti scored a quintet of takedowns in the win.

Dustin Plott kept the pace, beating Dennis Robin with a 20-4 technical fall in just two periods. That second period alone saw Plott score four takedowns. Combined, Hamiti and Plott recorded 11 takedowns. The Mountaineers scored six takedowns the entire afternoon.

At 197, Luke Surber wrestled a tightly contested match against Ian Bush. Surber was down 3-2 entering the third, a period where he took Bush down and rode him. A riding-time point in the waning seconds earned Surber the victory. So, after trailing 12-11, the Pokes were up 24-12 leading into Hendrickson’s pin.

“In terms of the dual, it was a scrap,” Taylor said. “We found ourselves in some tough matches tonight. It was good for our team to experience that. We’ve got some tough upcoming matches. This is a tough sport. There are no easy days, no off days. I think if you’re gonna wrestle for a program like Oklahoma State, you’re gonna get the best of everybody. You’re gonna get the best of everybody. West Virginia, they were prepared tonight, and they scraped really hard.”

From a rankings standpoint, the match of the night was at 165 pounds, featuring No. 6 Cameron Amine vs. No. 3 Peyton Hall. The two met in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational where Hall got the better of Amine. That happened again Sunday, which the Mountaineer beating the Cowboy 5-1.

To start the dual, Troy Spratley suffered his second consecutive loss when Jett Strickenberger pinned him in the first period. The 125-pound weight class is one that’s tough to be consistent in, but Spratley had climbed up to No. 2 in the national standings before losing to NC State’s Vince Robinson last week. Spratley was at No. 4 entering this match. Despite the back-to-back Ls, Spratley is still 12-3 on the season.

Cael Hughes got the call at 133 pounds, as his battle with Reece Witcraft goes on. Hughes pinned No. 7 Kai Orine in the NC State dual, but he found himself in a scrap with Tommy Maddox, who entered Sunday’s dual at just 1-5 this season. The match went into sudden victory after Maddox scored on a third-period takedown. Hughes looked tired, but he came through in the clutch, scoring a takedown in sudden victory to get the Cowboys on the board.

That led into an eventful first period for Tagen Jamison at 141 pounds. Jamison’s headgear broke early in the match. He went to the corner and tried a few different pairs on before reemerging while someone ran to the locker room to get his backup. He ended up wearing three different pairs of headgear in the first period alone. His opponent, Jordan Titus, was also getting a little handsy. Jamison took a shot to the head before the official blew the whistle to put a stop to things just for Titus to give Jamison a two-hand shove to the chest. That all happened in the first period.

Jamison kept his composure, though, and ended up beating Titus with a 14-4 major decision.

“I’m pretty composed as a person, so it’s not hard,” Jamison said. “But everybody has something in them that they want to shove right back, but you just gotta stay smart and control the match. I feel like that’s what I did.”

Results

Post-Dual News Conference