Smith tallies 400th career win against No. 6 Minnesota

STILLWATER -- Oklahoma State's wrestling team dominated sixth-ranked Minnesota on Saturday, 30-3, at Gallagher-Iba Arena. With the win, head coach John Smith tallied his 400th career victory, becoming one of only seven coaches to accomplish the feat at the Division I level.

"I didn't even know it," Smith said. "It just means I'm old, I think. You look back on 400, and you know a lot of athletes participated in that. I've got a lot of pride in Oklahoma State wrestling. It's tough to put 400 victories up. You've got to give your student athletes a lot of respect because without them, you couldn't have done this."

Two-time defending national champion Dean Heil started the Cowboys off at 141 pounds. Heil extended his win streak to 49 against Minnesota's Tommy Thorn. After a scoreless first period, Heil scored on an escape in the second and picked up a takedown with 15 seconds left in the match to lock up win No. 99 for the Cowboy.

Geo Martinez picked up a 9-1 decision against Hunter Marko. The 149-pounder scored a takedown in the first and collected more than a minute of riding time in the process. Marko scored on an escape in the second, but it was Martinez's match from there, earning a four-point nearfall in the final seconds of the match.

At 157 pounds, Jonce Blaylock picked up a 3-1 decision over No. 10 Jake Short in sudden victory. Blaylock scored a quick escape in the second and eventually allowed Short to score an escape of his own. The match went to sudden victory where Blaylock scored a takedown within 15 seconds for the win, which marked the third ranked victory of his career.

Returning All-American Chandler Rogers outlasted No. 10 Nick Wanzek in a 3-2 decision. No. 6 Rogers scored an escape five seconds into the second and narrowly missed picking up back points toward the end of the period. Wanzek scored a quick escape in the third, but Rogers came back with a takedown. The Golden Gopher escaped again, but Rogers held on for the win.

In his Gallagher-Iba debut, No. 12 Jacobe Smith took a 10-1 major decision against Chris Pfarr. The Cowboy came out hot in the first scoring a takedown and a two-point nearfall, before taking Pfarr to his back for two more, taking a six-point lead to the second. Smith scored on the escape quickly and picked up one more takedown with 20 seconds remaining.

Keegan Moore collected his first win in GIA with a 7-5 decision over Owen Webster. In a back-and-forth contest, Moore scored a takedown with just under two minutes to go in the first and allowed an escape. Webster escaped again in the second to tie the match heading to the third period, but Moore wasn't finished; he scored an early reversal in the third before giving up an escape and a takedown. With less than a minute to go, Moore scored again on the reversal and collected riding time.

"It was important for him," Smith said. "That's his first match suiting up and wrestling in Gallagher-Iba Arena. He's from Minnesota, and he chose to come to school here, so there was a little bit of emotion tied up in that match. I feel good about his last two weeks and what he's done."

In commanding first period against Bobby Stevenson, Andrew Marsden scored a quick takedown to start. After allowing an escape, Marsden scored another takedown and picked up back points with a four-point nearfall to lead, 8-1 heading to the second frame. Following an escape in the second, Marsden entered the third where he scored another escape and finished with one more takedown in the final seconds for a 12-3 major decision.

No. 11 Derek White took the heavyweight match in a 5-2 decision over Rylee Streifel. White scored a takedown within 10 seconds in the first period before scoring on an escape in the second, while holding his opponent scoreless. Streifel escaped in the third, but White would score another takedown with 12 seconds remaining to cap off the match.

The Cowboys dropped their first match of the evening at 125 pounds. No. 3 Nick Piccininni came out firing with two takedowns, a four-point nearfall and more than a minute and a half of riding time in the first period. No. 5 Ethan Lizak came storming back in the second period with four and two-point nearfalls of his own, all but erasing Piccininni's riding time. The pair started from the neutral position in the third where Lizak scored a takedown and allowed an escape. Just over a minute of riding time gave Lizak the 10-9 decision.

In the final bout of the evening, No. 4 Kaid Brock outlasted Mitch McKee in a 9-7 decision. Brock got off to a solid start with three first-period takedowns, while sixth-ranked McKee would score an escape on each of those. Brock scored an escape early in the second but went scoreless the remainder of the period and gave up a takedown. The 133-pounder notched one more takedown in the third to wrap up the dual.

Oklahoma State returns to action against Big 12 foe North Dakota State on Nov. 26, in Fargo, N.D.

Results:
141: #1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) dec. #8 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) 3-1
149: #12 Geo Martinez (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Hunter Marko (Minnesota) 9-1
157: Jonce Blaylock (Oklahoma State) dec. #10 Jake Short (Minnesota) 3-1 sv
165: #6 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) dec. #10 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota) 3-2
174: #12 Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Chris Pfarr (Minnesota) 10-1
184: Keegan Moore (Oklahoma State) dec. Owen Webster (Minnesota) 7-5
197: Andrew Marsden (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Bobby Steveson (Minnesota)
Hwt: #11 Derek White (Oklahoma State) dec. Rylee Streifel (Minnesota) 5-2
125: #5 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) dec. #3 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) 10-9
133: #4 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) dec. #6 Mitch McKee (Minnesota) 9-7