Oklahoma State wrestling: No. 9 Cowboys ride past West Virginia, 37-9

The No. 9-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team won eight straight matches for a 37-9 win against West Virginia on Friday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Cowboys (6-1, 3-0 Big 12) won seven of the first eight bouts against the Mountaineers (3-7, 0-2) with bonus points, including two falls and two technical falls.

But OSU dropped the final two bouts of the dual with No. 11 Dakota Geer losing by fall in 1:10 to No. 2 Noah Adams, who is undefeated, at 197 pounds and Cornelius Putnam coming up short in his debut, 3-1 in sudden victory to Brandon Ngati. Geer went for a left ankle pick, but Adams rolled through and bullied his way to a fall. Putnam and Ngati each scored an escape in regulation then the Mountaineer grabbed the win with a takedown near the boundary line on the left side of the mat with 28 seconds remaining in the extra session.

Third-ranked Boo Lewallen improved to 11-0 this season at 149 pounds with a single-leg takedown right off the whistle then turned Liam Lusher for a 1:10 fall. Anthony Montalvo scored a takedown on a fireman’s throw 20 seconds into his 184-pound match and turned Jackson Moomau with an arm bar before reseting and turning the Mountaineer again to secure the fall at 2:30.

Fourth-ranked Nick Piccininni and true freshman Reece Witcraft gave the Cowboys a 10-0 lead with back-to-back technical falls. Piccininni scored a single-leg takedown in the opening 20 seconds then scored four four-point nearfalls at the end of the first period against Joey Thomas for an 18-0 win. Witcraft had two first-period takedowns for a 4-1 lead, but it was in the second period where he shined. The Cowboy escaped with a stand up then threw Lucas Seibert to his back and secured four points on a cradle for a 17-1 tech fall.

Dusty Hone, who started at 141 pounds while No. 10 Kaden Gfeller sat in the bleachers after not weighing in, dominated with more than four minutes of riding time in a 7-2 win against Caleb Rea.

Wyatt Sheets gave OSU a 23-0 intermission lead with a 12-0 major decision against Alex Hornfeck at 157 pounds for the first of three straight major decisions for the Cowboys. Ninth-ranked Travis Wittlake defeated Nick Kiussis 12-3 with almost four minutes of riding time at 165 then Andrew Shomers pulled away in the third period for a 11-3 win against Scott Joll.

Shomers was in action for No. 11 Joe Smith, who did weigh in but as yet to make his dual debut. It should be noted Shomers was facing his former Edinboro coach Tim Flynn’s team, so OSU coach John Smith could’ve given Shomers the start and held out Joe for Saturday against No. 10 Pittsburgh.

What’s next

The Cowboys host No. 10 Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. Saturday at GIA. OSU fans can use their ticket from the men’s basketball game against No. 2 Baylor earlier in the day to attend the Cowboys’ wrestling dual.

No. 9 Oklahoma State 37, West Virginia 9

125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (OSU) def. Joey Thomas (WVU), 18-0 TF (3:00)

133: Reece Witcraft (OSU) def. Lucas Seibert (WVU), 17-1 TF (5:31)

141: Dusty Hone (OSU) def. Caleb Rea (WVU), 7-2 DEC

149: No. 3 Boo Lewallen (OSU) def. Liam Lusher (WVU), FALL 1:10

157: Wyatt Sheets (OSU) def. Alex Hornfeck (WVU), 12-0 MD

165: No. 9 Travis Wittlake (OSU) def. Nick Kiussis (WVU), 12-3 MD

174: Andrew Shomers (OSU) def. Scott Joll (WVU), 11-3 MD

184: Anthony Montalvo (OSU) def. Jackson Moomau (WVU), FALL 2:30

197: No. 2 Noah Adams (WVU) def. No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU), FALL 1:07

285: Brandon Ngati (WVU) def. Cornelius Putnam (OSU), 3-1 SV1