OSU has won 15 of its past 16 meetings with OU. The Cowboys (12-2, 7-0 Big 12) won all but two matches on the afternoon. Six of the Cowboy victories came with riding time and five wins included bonus points. Keegan Moore picked up his sixth fall of the season and Dean Heil concluded his career at GIA with a bonus-point win as well.
"On Friday it hadn't hit me that (these were) my last two matches in Gallagher," Heil said. "After the match Friday, it started to sink in a little bit. It really sank in before today's dual. There was a lot of emotion. I'm done. That's it … I was just saying 'goodbye' and 'thank you for supporting me.' I won't ever get the chance to do that again, unless they host the U.S. Trials here."
To kick things off, Nick Piccininni took out No. 16 Christian Moody with an 8-2 decision for the Cowboys. In his seventh consecutive win, the seventh-ranked Cowboy scored a late takedown in the first, a four-point nearfall in the second and collected nearly two minutes of riding time en route to victory.
No. 3 Kaid Brock notched OSU's first bonus-point win of the day in a 15-5 major decision over OU's Jake Rubio. Brock scored three takedowns in the first period with one coming at the buzzer. Brock went to the third with an eight-point lead and scored two more takedowns in the final frame. The Cowboy prevented Rubio from scoring any offensive points, only allowing five escapes.
In his GIA finale, senior Dean Heil took the 141-pound match in a 15-6 major decision over Mike Longo. Heil came out firing with two first-period takedowns and a four-point nearfall before finishing the match out with two more takedowns and a reversal in the final four minutes. The match marked Heil's 8th career major and 111th win as a Cowboy.
"I would've gotten emotional if he didn't wrestle well," head coach John Smith said. "I like to see the guys wrestle their last match in Gallagher and wrestle it well … great memories and no regrets. We've had some good fortune with our seniors as they've exited Gallagher. I just respect that."
Boo Lewallen pushed the Cowboys further ahead with a 13-4 major decision against Davion Jeffries. Lewallen also recorded two takedowns in the first period and a third in the second. He dominated the top position from there and amassed more than three minutes of riding time with a takedown at the buzzer to finish off the bout.
In a 7-2 decision, Jonce Blaylock dropped the Cowboys' first match of the day to Justin Thomas before Chandler Rogers took an 8-2 win over Dawaylon Barnes. No. 10 Rogers had two takedowns in the first and a quick escape in the second. He was the fifth Cowboy of the day to collect riding time with more than three minutes.
The Cowboys' second loss of the day came at 174 when Hestin Lamons dropped a 9-3 decision to No. 10 Yoanse Mejias. Teammate Keegan Moore quickly got things back on track for the Cowboys. After finishing one shot in the first, he took Matt Waddell to his back for a 40-second fall.
"When you're excited and you're ready to wrestle, things come back to you and that cradle came back to him," Smith said.
Filling in for Preston Weigel at 197, Andrew Marsden won a hard-fought 9-6 decision against Andrew Dixon. Marsden was down three heading to the final frame before he scored an escape and was awarded a penalty point and takedown.
Heavyweight Derek White finished off the day for OSU with a 21-6 technical fall coming early in the second period. No. 11 White collected four takedowns and a four-point nearfall in the first. He proceeded with a barrage of shots in the second and four more takedowns. The win was White's fourth technical fall of the year and 14th bonus-point win.
The Cowboys will be back in action against new Big 12 foe Fresno State in Fresno, Calif., this Sunday, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. CT.
Results:
125: No. 7 Nick Piccininni (OSU) dec. No. 16 Christian Moody (OU) 8-2
133: No. 3 Kaid Brock (OSU) MD Jake Rubio (OU) 15-5
141: No. 6 Dean Heil (OSU) MD Mike Longo (OU) 15-6
149: No. 14 Boo Lewallen (OSU) MD Davion Jeffries (OU) 13-4
157: Justin Thomas (OU) dec. Jonce Blaylock (OSU) 7-2
165: No. 10 Chandler Rogers (OSU) dec. Dawaylon Barnes (OU) 8-2
174: No. 10 Yoanse Mejias dec. Hestin Lamons (OSU) 9-3
184: Keegan Moore (OSU) fall Matthew Waddell (OU) 0:40
197: Andrew Marsden (OSU) dec. Andrew Dixon (OU) 9-6
HWT: No. 11 Derek White (OSU) TF Connor Webb (OU) 21-6
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