No. 3 Oklahoma State fends off No. 15 Iowa State, 22-15

Joe Smith scored his first career fall at Gallagher-Iba Arena, and Nick Piccininni remained undefeated as No. 3 Oklahoma State defeated No. 15 Iowa State, 22-15, on Sunday afternoon in Stillwater.

Smith, ranked No. 5 at 174 pounds, only needed one takedown before turning Marcus Coleman to his back for the fall at 2:41. The No. 4-ranked 125-pounder Piccininni entered the second period tied 0-0 with Alex Mackall, and poured on the points en route to a 14-2 major decision to improve to 22-0 this season.

With the victory, OSU head coach John Smith is now tied for fifth among NCAA Division 1 dual wins at 421. The next coach on the list for the elder Smith to surpass is former OSU wrestler and Minnesota coach J. Robinson at 440 wins.

Boo Lewallen re-injures left shoulder

Returning All-American Boo Lewallen, who was making his return at 149 after suffering a shoulder injury in the season opener, re-injured his left shoulder in the final match. Lewallen was up 8-4 in the third period when No. 12 Jarrett Degen drove the Cowboy’s heavily-wrapped left shoulder into the mat. Lewallen screamed and stomped his feet on the mat as he clutches his shoulder while writhing in pain.

After receiving attention from OSU’s medical staff, Lewallen injury defaulted the match to Degen. Mark Bader of FloWrestling reported Lewallen was in good spirits after exiting the training room, “smiling and laughing with friends and family.”

Redshirt freshman Kaden Gfeller has gone 21-2 as the primary 149 starter with Lewallen out. Gfeller’s two losses are to the top two ranked wrestlers in the country in Princeton’s Matthew Kolodzik and Rutgers’ Anthony Aushnault.

Match of the dual: No. 3 Daton Fix vs. No. 9 Austin Gomez

Daton Fix trailed 3-1 in the third period against Austin Gomez thanks to a first-period takedown from the Illinois native. In a wild scramble in the final frame, Fix received a point for locked hands by Gomez before turning it into a reversal with a beautiful inside trip.

Gomez escaped to tie it at 4-all, but wasn’t able to score on a last-second takedown attempt on the boundary as Fix did the splits and took a 5-4 decision with riding time.

Fix is 2-0 this season against Gomez, with a 7-3 decision with riding time in the Southern Scuffle tournament final earlier this month. The two redshirt freshman could meet once more this season at the Big 12 Championships in March at BOK Center in Tulsa.

Geer’s strong showing

Dakota Geer, ranked No. 10 at 197, went toe-to-toe with No. 6-ranked Willie Miklus. Down 4-0 after a takedown and a two-point nearfall in the first period, Geer scored a reversal and a takedown of his own to trail 5-4. Milklus escaped to start the third, but Geer took him down again to tie 6-6 with a minute to go. Milklus eventually scored the winning takedown for a 9-6 decision with riding time.

Geer is up a weight class for the injured All-American Preston Weigel. There’s no timetable for Weigel’s return.

Up next

The Cowboys could move up one spot in the national team rankings after No. 2 Ohio State’s 19-17 loss to No. 5 Michigan this past weekend. Undefeated Penn State holds down the top spot. OSU hosts Northern Iowa in a Big 12 conference dual Friday night at GIA.

No. 3 Oklahoma State 22, No. 15 Iowa State 15

157: Chase Straw (ISU) dec. Wyatt Sheets (OSU), 3-2
165: Andrew Shomers (OSU) dec. Logan Schumacher (ISU) 8-2
174: No. 5 Joe Smith (OSU) fall Marcus Coleman (OSU) 2:41
184: No. 11 Jacobe Smith (OSU) dec. No. 19 Sam Colbray (ISU) 9-3
197: No. 6 Willie Miklus (ISU) dec. No. 10 Dakota Geer (OSU) 9-6
285: No. 2 Derek White (OSU) dec. No. Gannon Gremmel (ISU) 7-1
125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (OSU) major dec. Alex Mackall (ISU) 14-2
133: No. 3 Daton Fix (OSU) dec. No. 9 Austin Gomez 5-4
141: No. 14 Ian Parker (ISU) dec. No. 13 Kaid Brock (OSU) 6-3
149: No. 12 Jarrett Degen (ISU) inj. def. Boo Lewallen (OSU)