The fourth-placed Oklahoma state wrestling team starts its double season this weekend in Pennsylvania with trips to Drexel and Lehigh No. 10.
The double against Drexel (2-0) on Friday at 6 p.m. in Philadelphia serves as a warm-up before a Top 10 showdown on Saturday lunchtime against the Mountain Hawks in Bethlehem, Penn. Drexel’s only ranked wrestler is Ebed Jarrell No. 12 with 165 pounds, while Lehigh’s lineup includes eight ranked wrestlers.
If OSU win both doubles, Cowboys trainer John Smith will get past Bobby Douglas (Iowa State / Arizona State) to finish fifth on the list of all-time victories with 428 one-two wins.
Here are five things to see this weekend:
Reece Witcraft’s official career debut
Freshman Reece Witcraft will start this season and will not use a red shirt. He went 4-0 last weekend while wrestling unbound at the OCU Open and collecting 26 team points. He’s taking the £ 133 spot for Daton Fix, who wears an Olympic red shirt after finishing runner-up in the NCAA last season. Smith didn’t say whether Witcraft will wrestle both duals or whether Witcraft and Redshirt newbie Conner Wilson will split the action. Lehigh has a ranked wrestler at 133 and senior Nick Farro at 14th.
Witcraft was the No. 24 recruit in 2019 and ended his prep career at Broken Arrow in Tulsa with two state singles titles and won the Ironman tournament.
Nick Piccininni bonus watch
The doubles against Lehigh will be close and OSU will need their bonus machine in Nick Piccininni # 4 to deliver. The two-time All-American at 125 remained undefeated during the regular season, with team highs in bonus point wins, technical falls, double takedowns and near falls. The New Yorker will have additional motivation with his friends and family to take the roughly four-hour trip to see him in person in the competition.
Season debut for Kaden Gfeller, Joe Smith
Redshirt student Kaden Gfeller (141) and Redshirt senior Joe Smith (174) were two starters who did not start at the OCU Open. No. 10 Gfeller is down one weight from last season while No. 6 Smith is up one. Both weights suit them better, especially for Gfeller. Smith will have the weekend’s competitive game against Jordan Kutler No. 2 from Lehigh. Smith lost his last two games against Kutler.
Boo Lewallen’s return
The eighth Boo Lewallen (149) started the season by winning the OCU Open after missing most of last season with shoulder injuries. The 2018 All-American attempted a comeback last January but injured his shoulder again late in the game and was injured. If Lewallen can stay healthy, he can be a candidate to regain All-American status in March.
What happens at 184 and 197?
John Smith said that Redshirt junior Dakota Geer or Redshirt newcomer Anthony Montalvo at 184 and the other at 197 will wrestle 197 with Preston Weigel. Montalvo was 17: 3 as a red shirt in open tournaments last season. Lehigh has rated wrestlers at both weights with Chris Weiler (184) # 25 and Jake Jokobsen (197) # 14. Geer, who moved from Edinboro to OSU last season, beat Weiler 13-5 in last season’s dual.
Constellations
125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni vs. Antonio Mininno (DU), No. 19 Brandon Paetzell (LU)
133: Reece Witcraft versus Chandler Olson (DU), No. 14 Nick Farro (LU)
141: No. 10 Kaden Gfeller versus Tyler Williams (DU), Ryan Pomrinca (LU)
149: No. 8 Boo Lewallen versus Vincent Foggia (DU), No. 25 Jimmy Hoffman (LU)
157: Wyatt Sheets versus Parker Kropman (DU), No. 12 Josh Humphreys (LU)
165: No. 25 Travis Wittlake against No. 10 Ebed Jarell (DU), Brian Meyer (LU)
174: No. 6 Joe Smith versus Michael O’Malley (DU), No. 2 Jordan Kutler (LU)
184: No. 4 Dakota Geer / Anthony Montalvo versus Owen Brooks (DU), No. 25 Chris Weiler (LU)
197: Geer / Montalvo versus Bryan McLaughlin (DU), No. 14 Jake Jokobsen (LU)
285: Austin Harris versus Sean O’Malley (DU), No. 4 Jordan Wood (LU)
How to watch
What: No. 4 Oklahoma State at Drexel, No. 10 Lehigh
When: Friday 6 p.m., Saturday 12 p.m.
Where: Dasklakis Athletic Center (Philadelphia), Stabler Arena (Bethlehem)
Electricity: FloWrestling.org (Drexel Dual), Patriot League Network (Lehigh Dual)
Listen: Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM, Pete 94.3 / KSPI – AM 780
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