In his Gallagher-Iba finale, Nick Piccininni sent the crowd into a frenzy one final time with a third-period fall over OU's Christian Moody. With a one-point lead and just over a minute left in the match, Piccininni locked up a cradle and got the pin to move to 23-1 on the season.
"Always expect the unexpected, especially in Bedlam," Piccininni said. "Coach always preaches it to us. Fortunately for me, this was the first time I had to expect the unexpected in a Bedlam match. This was that time, but I got better today. This is going to prepare me for the weeks ahead."
In the heavyweight match, Austin Harris picked up a much-needed 13-5 major decision to put the Pokes back on top following a pair of losses at 174 pounds and 197. Sixth-ranked Boo Lewallen also recorded a major decision for the Cowboys at 149 pounds, defeating Jacob Butler 14-1 for his team-leading ninth major decision of the season.
Anthony Montalvo responded for the Pokes in the next bout, scrapping out a 4-0 decision over Darrien Roberts. Both teams were deducted a team point following that bout.
Another exciting win for freshman Reece Witcraft came at 133 pounds when he topped Sooner Tommy Hoskins. Witcraft and Hoskins exchanged takedowns and four-point nearfalls in the first period before the Cowboy scored an escape and takedown to close out the final frame.
Wyatt Sheets and Travis Wittlake closed out the dual with a pair of wins at 157 and 165 pounds. Unranked Sheets avenged an early-season loss to No. 20 Justin Thomas, 8-3. It marked Sheets' third ranked win on the season. Wittlake collected a 19-4 technical fall over OU's Elijah Joseph in 5:26. It's the redshirt freshman's four such win this season and his 15th dual victory.
"It was a good win," coach John Smith said. "I thought we wrestled tight in some matches, but we found ways to win. In Bedlam you have to expect the unexpected, and hopefully it goes our way and I felt like it did today. It wasn't our best dual, but I like the way things played out and I think it will benefit us."
The Cowboys return to action in a week at 7 p.m. against the top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
Results:
174: No. 17 Anthony Mantanona (OU) dec. No. 10 Joe Smith (OSU) 10-5
184: No. 15 Anthony Montalvo (OSU) dec. Darrien Roberts (OU) 4-0
197: No. 19 Jake Woodley (OU) dec. No. 14 Dakota Geer (OSU) 10-9
HWT: Austin Harris (OSU) MD Collin McCoy (OU) 13-5
125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (OSU) Fall Christian Moody (OU) 5:54
133: Reece Witcraft (OSU) dec. Tommy Hoskins (OU) 11-7
141: Dom Demas (OU) dec. Dusty Hone (OSU) 4-3
149: No. 6 Boo Lewallen (OSU) MD Jacob Butler (OU) 14-1
157: Wyatt Sheets (OSU) dec. Justin Thomas (OU)
165: No. 7 Travis Wittlake (OSU) TF Elijah Joseph (OU) 19-4
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now