The Cowboys (7-1, 4-0 Big 12) won nine of 10 matches on Friday, including a couple of ranked wins by Nick Piccininni and Preston Weigel, as well as a pair of major decisions from Boo Lewallen and Jonce Blaylock.
"I want to see more out of this team," head coach John Smith said. "I'm just not seeing the level that I think we're capable of seeing. And we have got to start putting it together and pushing ourselves a little bit harder in these matches. To score points, if somebody's coming out and trying to keep us from scoring, have the will to go in and not let that kind of match take place, I thought we saw that a little bit in a couple matches … I'm looking for a lot more aggression."
Matched up with No. 14 Zeke Moisey, Piccininni came away with the 4-0 decision to give the Pokes an early, 3-0 edge. Tied with no score after one period, Moisey took down to open the second. The Cowboy redshirt sophomore would ride out the entirety of the period, however, and chose down to start the third. Piccininni escaped just a couple of seconds into the final frame and scored on a takedown with 25 seconds to go.
Kaid Brock followed Piccininni's win up with a 6-1 decision at 133 pounds, defeating West Virginia's Matthew Schmitt. Brock was in control for most of the match, scoring takedowns in the first and second periods and allowing no offensive scores from Schmitt to earn his 16th win on the year.
Dean Heil scored another decision for the Pokes at 141 with an 11-5 victory against Christian Monserrat. Heil used four takedowns and a reversal, as well as riding time, to rack up 11 points; however, Monserrat's reversal with just seconds to go in the match wiped away a would-be major decision from the two-time defending champ.
The Cowboys got their bonus points at 149 and 157, as Lewallen and Blaylock controlled their opponents for major decisions.
Lewallen overwhelmed West Virginia's Kyler Rea from the opening whistle, scoring three takedowns in the opening period to take a 6-2 lead into the second. The Cowboy redshirt sophomore finished off the match with takedowns in both of the second and third frames to secure the 12-4 win.
Blaylock overcame an early takedown from Zach Moore to open the match, and rebounded with a takedown of his own before the end of the period to head to the second tied at three. From there, it was all Blaylock, who got in on three more scores over the final two periods and pull away for the 13-5 major.
The Mountaineers got on the board with their only win of the night at 165 pounds. In his first career start, Cowboy Dalton Moran traded takedowns in the first period with Nick Kiussis. With a 3-2 lead, Moran was reversed and eventually pinned in 2:04.
Jacobe Smith got the Cowboys back on track at 174 with a 9-4 decision over Parker VonEgidy. Smith used flurries in the first and third periods to rack up three takedowns and a reversal on his way to the his fifth-straight win.
At 184 pounds, tied at one apiece after regulation, Cowboy Keegan Moore and Brenden McRill headed to sudden victory to decide their match. It was Moore that would come up with the win, tallying a takedown with 11 seconds to go to lock up the 3-1 decision.
In a rematch of last year's 197-pound Big 12 title bout, Preston Weigel went head-to-head with West Virginia's 13th-ranked Jacob Smith. Smith struck first , scoring a takedown on the edge of the mat early in the first period to lead, 2-1, after one. Choosing down, Weigel escaped quickly to open the second frame before scoring on a takedown of his own to take a 4-2 lead. Smith chose the down position to open the third, but couldn't get off bottom, as Weigel rode the Mountaineer for the remainder of the final period on his way to a 5-2 decision.
"(It was about) being tough," Weigel said. "I needed it there. You don't want to give him a chance. He was sitting there stalling, and you just have to go get it when you need it."
Finally, Derek White finished off the dual with a 10-4 win over West Virginia's Brandon Ngati. White had little trouble with the Mountaineer sophomore, scoring four takedowns en route to his 13th win of the season.
The Cowboys will return to Gallagher-Iba Arena on Sunday at 1 p.m. as they host Kent State.
Results:
125: No. 7 Nick Piccininni (OSU) dec. No. 14 Zeke Moisey 4-0
133: No. 3 Kaid Brock (OSU) dec. Matthew Schmitt (WVU) 6-1
141: No. 5 Dean Heil (OSU) dec. Christian Monserrat (WVU) 11-5
149: No. 15 Boo Lewallen (OSU) MD Kyler Rea (WVU) 12-4
157: Jonce Blaylock (OSU) MD Zachary Moore/Hunter Jones (WVU) 13-5
165: Nick Kiussis (WVU) fall Dalton Moran (OSU) 2:04
174: No. 14 Jacobe Smith (OSU) dec. Parker VonEgidy (WVU) 9-4
184: Keegan Moore (OSU) dec. Brenden McRill (WVU) 3-1, SV1
197: No. 3 Preston Weigel (OSU) dec. No. 13 Jake Smith (WVU) 5-2
HWT: No. 10 Derek White (OSU) dec. Brandon Ngati (WVU) 10-4
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