2020 Southern Scuffle: 2 Oklahoma State wrestlers advance to finals

Oklahoma State wrestlers Nick Piccininni and Kaden Gfeller will look to win another Southern Scuffle title Thursday at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Piccininni punched his ticket to the 125-pound finals with a 9-3 decision against Appalachian State’s Caleb Smith. The redshirt senior Cowboy scored three takedowns to rally from an early 2-0 deficit for the win. He’ll look to repeat as Scuffle champion when he faces No. 6 seed Luke Warner of Lock Haven.

Gfeller, who is making his season debut the tournament, used a Granby roll to set up a cradle for a fall at 3:57 against No. 4 seed Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven at 141. Gfeller will seek his third straight Scuffle title when he meets No. 3 seed Real Woods of Stanford in the tournament finale.

The Cowboys have 108 points in the tournament and enter the final session with a six-point lead against North Carolina State. The Wolfpack also have two finalist, but have one more wrestler in the consolation bracket. North Dakota State and Stanford are tied for third with 91.5 points. Stanford leads the tournament field with four finalists.

Dusty Hone (141), Wyatt Sheets (157) and Travis Wittlake (165) all lost their semifinal bouts, but rebounded in the consolation semifinals with a win to wrestle for third. Hone fell 6-2 to Woods, and Sheets had a tough 12-4 major decision loss to top-seeded Hayden Hidlay of North Carolina State. Wittlake lost for the first time this season with a 4-1 loss to No. 1 seed Shane Griffith of Stanford.

Hone and Sheets each picked up major decisions in the consolation bracket, with Hone scoring a 12-2 win against Cal State Bakersfield’s Angelo Martinoni and Sheets getting an 8-0 win against Oregon State’s Hunter Willits. Wittlake posted a 8-4 decision against Penn State’s Joe Lee.

Hone will face Shoop, while Sheets meets No. 3 Matt Zovistoski of Appalachian State and Wittlake takes on North Carolina State’s Thomas Bullard in the third-place matches.

No. 8 Anthony Montalvo (184) and No. 1 Dakota Geer (197) will wrestle for fifth after going 2-1 in the first session of the day. Montalvo had two straight wins by decision then fell 4-2 to Chattanooga’s Matt Waddell. Montalvo will have a rematch for fifth against Naval Academy Prep’s David Key, who pinned the Cowboy in 38 seconds in the Round of 16.

Geer pinned VMI’s Zach Brown in 2:46 and had a 9-3 decision against Rutgers’ Joe Pagano before a 9-5 loss to Michael Beard, who is wrestling unattached. Geer meets No. 7 Jacob Cardenas of Finger Lakes RTC.

The championship finals and medal matches will be broadcasted on FloWrestling at 6 p.m. The finals start at 149 pounds.

Finals

125: No. 1 Nick Piccininni vs No. 6 Luke Warner (Lock Haven)

141: No. 1 Kaden Gfeller vs No. 3 Real Woods (Stanford)

Third-place matches

141: Dusty Hone vs Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven)

157: Wyatt Sheets vs No. 3 Matt Zovistoski (Appalachian State)

165: No. 5 Travis Wittlake vs Thomas Bullard (North Carolina State)

Fifth-place matches

184: No. 8 Anthony Montalvo vs David Key (NAPS)

197: No. 1 Dakota Geer vs No. 7 Jacob Cardenas (Finger Lakes RTC)

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Semifinals

125: No. 1 Nick Piccininni def. Caleb Smith (Appalachian State), 9-3 DEC

141: No. 1 Kaden Gfeller def. No. 4 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven), Fall 3:57

141: No. 3 Real Woods (Stanford) def. Dusty Hone, 6-2 DEC

157: No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (North Carolina State) def. Wyatt Sheets, 12-4 MD

165: No. 1 Shane Griffith (Stanford) def. No. 5 Travis Wittlake, 4-1 DEC

Consolation semifinals

141: Dusty Hone def. Angelo Martinoni (Cal State Bakersfield), 12-2 MD

157: Wyatt Sheets def. No. 6 Hunter Willits (Oregon State), 8-0 MD

165: No. 5 Travis Wittlake def. Joe Lee (Penn State), 8-4 DEC

184: No. 4 Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) def. No. 8 Anthony Montalvo, 4-2 DEC

197: Michael Beard (Penn State) def. No. 1 Dakota Geer, 10-5 DEC

Consolation quarterfinals

184: No. 8 Anthony Montalvo def. No. 7 Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado), 3-1 DEC

197: No. 1 Dakota Geer def. Jordan Pagano (Rutgers), 9-3 DEC

Consolation Round of 8

133: Casey Cobb (Navy) def. No. 8 Reece Witcraft, 8-4 DEC

165: Ebed Jarrell (Drexel) def. Andrew Shomers, 4-2 DEC

184: No. 8 Anthony Montalvo def. Julien Broderson (Iowa State), 8-4 DEC

197: No. 1 Dakota Geer def. Zach Brown (VMI), Fall 2:46