Oklahoma State wrestling: No. 8 Cowboys use late surge for 23-9 win at No. 16 Iowa State

AMES, Iowa — Nick Piccininni, Boo Lewallen and Dakota Geer each scored a major decision, and No. 8 Oklahoma State won four of the last nine bouts for a 23-9 win against No. 16 Iowa State on Sunday at Hilton Coliseum.

Piccininni, ranked No. 4 at 125 pounds, defeated No. 12 Alex Mackall, 10-2, on two takedowns and two tilts; No. 3 Lewallen breezed past Ryan Leisure 13-1 with 5:13 of riding time at 149; and No. 11 Geer racked up seven takedowns in a 21-8 win against Francis Duggan at 197.

With the dual victory, OSU (8-2, 4-1 Big 12) extended its winning streak to 13 against ISU (5-4, 2-1) in front of 4,403 and earned a weekend split in its conference road trip after a 19-15 loss Saturday at No. 20 Northern Iowa (5-3, 4-1).

“We did a good job at weights where matches were tight,” OSU head coach John Smith said of the Cowboys’ performance Sunday. “We did a good job at following through and getting stronger with each period. It was a big difference today.”

The Cyclones picked up three victories from No. 6 Ian Parker at 141, No. 3 David Carr at 157 and No. 14 Gannon Gremmel at heavyweight.

Parker defeated Dusty Hone with a 5-2 decision on two takedowns and riding time to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 6-2, Carr racked up five takedowns and three stall calls against Wyatt Sheets for a 14-6 major decision with 1:46 of riding time to make it 10-6 at intermission. Gremmel outlasted Cornelius Putnam 6-2 for the 23-9 final.

Reece Witcraft edged out a 9-8 upset win against No. 15 Todd Small at 133 for a 6 to minus-1 dual lead as both teams were docked one point for mat control. Small countered Witcraft’s throw attempt in the second and was awarded two nearfall points, but after an OSU coach’s challenged it was overturned. Down 7-4 after a late takedown by Small, Witcraft escaped and finally hit his throw successfully and rolled through for two nearfall points for the win.

With a 10-6 lead at the intermission, OSU rattled off three straight victories from No. 9 Travis Wittlake, No. 12 Joe Smith and Anthony Montalvo to lock up the dual before Geer’s win.

Wittlake scored three takedowns in a workman’s like 9-4 decision with nearly two minutes of riding time against Chase Straw at 165. Smith set up an ankle pick takedown and turned it into a double leg and added another late in the third for a 5-2 win against No. 11 Sam Colbray.

“(Joe) just needs to get some matches in, get a little bit more comfortable, make weight more often,” the OSU head coach said. “Those are some things he needs to focus in. He’s healthy right now, so that’s good because it allows him to work on the mat and work on his conditioning.”

At 184, Montalvo forced a stall call in the second then scored a reversal and two nearfall points in the third for a 6-2 win with almost three minutes of riding time against Marcus Coleman.

What’s next

The Cowboys host Big 12 foe South Dakota State and No. 23 Missouri of the Mid-American Conference next weekend in Stillwater. OSU starts the weekend at 7 p.m. Friday against SDSU then faces the Tigers at 2 p.m. Sunday.

No. 8 Oklahoma State 23, No. 16 Iowa State 9

125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (OSU) MD No. 12 Alex Mackall (ISU), 10-2

133: Reece Witcraft (OSU) DEC No. 15 Todd Small (ISU), 9-8

141: No. 6 Ian Parker (ISU) DEC Dusty Hone (OSU), 5-2

149: No. 3 Boo Lewallen (OSU) MD Ryan Leisure (ISU), 13-1

157: No. 3 David Carr (ISU) MD Wyatt Sheets (OSU), 14-6

165: No. 9 Travis Wittlake (OSU) DEC Chase Straw (ISU), 9-4

174: No. 12 Joe Smith (OSU) DEC No. 11 Sam Colbray (ISU), 5-2

184: Anthony Montalvo (OSU) DEC Marcus Coleman (ISU), 6-2

197: No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU) MD Francis Duggan (ISU), 21-8

285: No. 14 Gannon Gremmel (ISU) DEC Cornelius Putnam (OSU) 6-2