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The No. 11-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team will have its second dual of the weekend when they face No. 24 Missouri on Sunday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.
The Cowboys (9-2, 5-1 Big 12) are coming off a 35-3 dominant home win against conference foe South Dakota State on Friday night. OSU had five bonus-point wins with No. 4 Nick Piccininni (125) scoring a technical fall, and No. 1 Boo Lewallen (149), Wyatt Sheets (157) and No. 8 Travis Wittlake (165) recording major decisions and No. 11 Dakota Geer (197) receiving a victory by injury default.
Missouri (10-5, 7-0 Mid-American Conference) has won four straight — all against conference opponents — and five of its past six to start the new year. The Tigers’ lone setback in that stretch was a 20-13 loss at Northern Iowa of the Big 12. The Tigers have outscored their opponents 108-43 during their recent winning streak.
Series history
OSU is 43-7-1 in the all-time series against Missouri, including wins in three of the past four duals and nine of the past 11. The Cowboys edged out the Tigers 19-15 last year with Derek White’s win in sudden victory against Zach Elam at heavyweight. OSU is 22-3 against Missouri in Stillwater after a 21-19 loss in 2018.
5 things to watch
No. 1 Boo Lewallen vs. No. 5 Brock Mauller
Lewallen will face his second test of the weekend after a 10-0 win against No. 11 Henry Pohlmeyer on Friday. The fifth-ranked Brock Mauller will be the highest ranked opponent Lewallen has faced this season. The two didn’t meet last season with Lewallen out due to a right shoulder injury. Mauller nearly had a major decision against Kaden Gfeller in last year’s dual.
Wyatt Sheets vs. No. 10 Jarrett Jaques rematch
Tied 5-5 after two periods, Jaques escaped to start the third for a 6-5 decision against Sheets in last year’s dual. Jaques has won five straight matches, including a one by technical fall, while Sheets had an 11-3 major decision against SDSU’s Peyton Smith following an 0-2 performance in Iowa.
Anthony Montalvo’s rise
Montalvo has won five of his past six matches since the Southern Scuffle, including two ranked wins against No. 7 Nino Bonaccorsi of Pittsburgh, 6-4, and No. 14 Zach Carlson of SDSU, 3-1. Montalvo’s lone loss in that stretch a 4-0 setback to No. 4 Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa. The redshirt freshman Cowboy has improved from the top position and his confidence continues to build throughout the match thanks in large part to his conditioning level.
“I feel like the later in goes in a match the more it goes into my favor because I’m going to bring relentless pressure regardless if I’m tired [or not],” Montalvo said after the dual Friday. “People always joke that I don’t get tired, but I do get tired. I just know damn well if I’m tired this kid is hurting so you know, go finish him.”
No. 11 Dakota Geer gets a test
Geer was set to have two tests this weekend at 197 with No. 15 Tanner Sloan of SDSU and Missouri’s Wyatt Koelling, but Sloan had to injury default after the first period. Geer and Koelling have identical 17-4 records this season and did not face each other in last year’s dual when the Tiger wrestler dropped a 4-1 decision to Preston Weigel.
Who goes at heavyweight for OSU?
Smith has alternated the heavyweight duties between Austin Harris and Cornelius Putnam each of the past four duals with the duals being on consecutive days. Prior to that stretch Harris held down the heavyweight spot. OSU also has football players Malcolm Rodriguez and Brock Martin available after they joined the team at the start of the spring semester. Martin is the heavier of the two at 245 pounds, but both guys were not listed on the team’s roster Friday and are unlikely to be in match shape at this point.
Lineups: No. 11 Oklahoma State vs. No. 24 Missouri
125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (19-1) vs. Cameron Valdiviez (15-7)
133: Reece Witcraft (13-6) vs. Allan Hart (13-8)
141: Dusty Hone (15-6) vs. Alex Butler (9-6)
149: No. 1 Boo Lewallen (15-0) vs. No. 5 Brock Mauller (20-1)
157: Wyatt Sheets (13-6) vs. No. 10 Jarrett Jacques (21-3)
165: No. 8 Travis Wittlake (21-1) vs. Peyton Mocco (19-9)
174: No. 11 Joe Smith (4-2) - OR - Andrew Shomers (11-7) vs. Connor Flynn (15-5)
184: Anthony Montalvo (15-5) vs. Dylan Wisman (14-5)
197: No. 11 Dakota Geer (17-4) vs. Wyatt Koelling (17-4)
285: Austin Harris (4-8) - OR - Cornelius Putnam (0-2) vs. Jake Bohlken (10-9)
How to watch
What: No. 11 Oklahoma State (9-2, 5-1 Big 12) vs. No. 23 Missouri (10-5, 7-0 MAC)
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena; Stillwater, Oklahoma
Live stream: ESPN+
Live stats: TrackWrestling.com
Radio: Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM