Oklahoma State wrestling: Cowboys’ 2010s all-decade lineup

With the 2010s decade coming to a close, Cowboys Ride For Free put together an all-decade lineup for Oklahoma State’s wrestling program.

125: Nick Piccininni

Piccininni is a two-time All-American and entered his senior season after an undefeated regular season that saw him win his third-straight Big 12 title and finish fifth at NCAAs. He provided one of the most memorable OSU dual moments of the decade when he pinned returning NCAA champ Spencer Lee of Iowa in February at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

133: Jordan Oliver

Oliver won two NCAA titles, one at 133 and one at 149. But it was at 133 where Oliver made a name for himself. He was fourth as a freshman with a 32-4 record then dominated as a sophomore with a 29-0 mark with 24 bonus-point wins, including four at the NCAA tournament. Oliver beat No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser three times that season, including an 8-4 decision in the NCAA final.

Oliver went 28-2 as a junior with a single-season record 60 percent of his matches ending with a fall. He finished as the NCAA runner up to Ohio State’s Logan Stieber, who would go on to become a four-time champ at four different weight classes. With 8 seconds remaining in the match, Oliver scored a takedown but the official didn’t award the points because reasons.

141: Dean Heil

Heil took fourth as a freshman with a 27-10 record then went 64-1 overall with back-to-back NCAA titles in 2016 and 2017. His win streak ended during his senior season at 55 matches with a sudden victory loss to Big 12 rival Bryce Meredith of Wyoming. Heil then fell short of his fourth career Big 12 title in a 6-5 last-second decision loss to Meredith. Heil advanced to NCAAs and fell in the blood round to end his OSU career.

149: Josh Kindig

Kindig was a four-time NCAA qualifier and 2014 NCAA runner-up at the weight with a sudden victory loss to Northwestern’s Jason Tsirtsis. Kindig was out most of his senior season with an injury, but earned a wild-card bid to NCAAs where he went 0-2 to finish his senior season 13-6 and 79-35 in his career.

157: Alex Dieringer

Dieringer is the best OSU wrestler this decade. He ended his Cowboy career on an 82-match winning streak, including 33-0 with 27 bonus-point wins as a senior to win the Dan Hodge Trophy as the country’s most outstanding wrestler. He went 133-4 and 19-1 at the NCAAs as the Cowboy earned All-American honors each season. His only loss at NCAAs came in the semifinals to Iowa’s Derek St. John in 2013, when Dieringer claimed third place. A year later, he posted a 13-4 major decision against Minnesota’s Dylan Ness for the title. Dieringer won his next two titles at 165 against Indiana’s Taylor Walsh and Wisconsin’s Isaac Jordan.

Dieringer’s first two seasons at 157 are better than anyone else’s this decade.

165: Tyler Caldwell

Caldwell was a two-time NCAA finalist (lost to Nebraska’s Jordan Burroughs and Penn State’s David Taylor) and four-time All-American, with half of each of those honors during his time at OSU. He went 63-9 at OSU after he transferred from Oklahoma. Caldwell is now OSU’s recruiting coordinator.

174: Chris Perry

Perry was 122-11 with 59 bonus-point wins, a two-time NCAA champ (2013 and ’14), a three-time All-American and a four-time Big 12 champ. He defeated Penn State’s Matt Brown 2-1 in overtime for his first NCAA title then he beat OU’s Andrew Howe.

184: Nolan Boyd

Boyd was a two-time All-American (2016, ’17), four-time NCAA qualifier and three-time Big 12 champ. He took fourth and sixth at NCAAs in his final two seasons. The biggest win of his career was a 14-9 upset of top-ranked Gabe Dean of Cornell in a road dual.

197: Clayton Foster

Foster was a 2011 NCAA runner-up to Kent State’s Dustin Kilgore, two-time All-American (2010, ’11), three-time NCAA qualifier and two-time Big 12 champ. Foster was undefeated entering the final bout against Kilgore and jumped out to a 5-1 lead before Foster was caught in a scramble and pinned with four seconds remaining in the second period.

Foster also had a 10-6 win over eventual NCAA champ Max Askren to help the Cowboys win the 2010 conference crown.

Preston Weigel — a two-time All-American, three-time NCAA qualifier and three-time Big 12 champ — receives an honorable mention nod. If he didn’t get injured in his opening match of the 2018 tournament and was healthy all of last season, the debate between him and Foster would be even more interesting.

285: Alan Gelogaev

Gelogaev (88-14), a two-time All-American (2010, ’13), might be the biggest “what if” stories for OSU this decade as he was sidelined with season-ending injuries in back-to-back seasons. He took seventh at the 2010 NCAAs then the next season he had only five matches before sitting out with an injury and redshirting. In 2011, Gelogaev started 24-0 with 16 bonus-point wins and victories over eventual NCAA champ Tony Nelson of Minnesota and Binghamton’s Nick Gwiazdowski (later won two NCAA titles at North Carolina State). Gelogaev went 29-4 with a Big 12 title before dropping a 5-4 decision to Nelson in the 2013 NCAA semifinals and taking third place.

Honorable mention to Austin Marsden (108-22), who was also a two-time All-American and won three Big 12 titles.