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Unbeaten Oklahoma State crushes Oklahoma in Bedlam dual in Stillwater, 37-3

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by Roger Moore, Special to TheMat.com

Chandler Rogers of OSU celebrates his pin over Yoanse Mejias at OU at 165 pounds. Photo by Austin Bernard.


STILLWATER, Okla. – Top-ranked Oklahoma State showed a large gap still exists in the Bedlam Series. After a 33-3 victory in Norman back in December, the 175th edition of a series that started in 1920 was equally lopsided as the Cowboys (14-0) whipped Oklahoma, 37-3, on Sunday inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.


The Cowboys beat OU for the seventh straight time and for the 14th time in 15 meetings. Sunday’s mauling included a pin by Chandler Rogers at 165 pounds, technical falls by Kaid Brock (133), Joe Smith (157), and Nolan Boyd (184), and a major decision by Anthony Collica (149). Lou Rosselli’s group lost a trio of close matches – a 5-3 decision by national champion Dean Heil over Mike Longo at 141 pounds, a 4-2 decision by Kyle Crutchmer over Matt Reed at 174 pounds, and a narrow 4-3 decision by Preston Weigel at 197 pounds over Brad Johnson.


Senior 285-pounder Ross Larson’s 8-0 major decision of backup 197-pounder Derek White was the visitor’s only win of the afternoon. A team point was deducted following the 149-pound match for unsportsmanlike conduct.


“Looking at (OU’s) season it looks like they got better, but I thought we had a good match,” said OSU head coach John Smith. “They were going deep into their reserves with some of those weights and that is what the score showed, but I like what I saw from the standpoint of points scored at critical times to separate the match.


“Those are the things I’m looking for … it’s a tough match, things are going back-and-forth, it’s tough to score and then you will yourself to score. I particularly liked watched 125 and 149 today. And it was good to see Joseph (Smith) back in the lineup.”


OU started the season 1-3, but have progressed under a new coach. The Sooners (9-6) host Oregon State next Sunday.


Nick Piccininni (18-6) started the dual with a 10-5 decision of Christian Moody at 125 pounds. A 2-2 match was broke open in the third period with a 4-point turn and takedown. At 149 pounds, Collica (17-1) controlled Davion Jeffries, 12-3, in match that included some testy moments typical of the Bedlam Series.


Joe Smith (8-3) wrestled for just the 11th time this season, cruising to a 17-1 technical fall in 5:58 over backup Jared Schieber at 157 pounds. The Sooners were without 157-pounder Clark Glass, who also did not wrestle Friday against Wyoming. Former 157-pounder LaWaylon Barnes suited up at 184 pounds and usual 133-pounder Trae Blackwell did not wrestle Sunday.


With Yoanse Mejias now the starting 165-pounder, and Glass dropping to 157, Roselli employed Barnes up three weights. Barnes was no match for Boyd, who won his 106th career match with a 16-0 technical fall at the 5:12 mark.


“That was a fun one,” Boyd said. “We had an opportunity and I think we took advantage. All we focused on this week was our training. Coach (Smith) really didn’t give us a minute to really think about these duals.”


Heil (23-0) remained unbeaten with a 5-3 decision over Mike Longo, scoring takedowns in the first and third periods. In the December meeting, Heil had a 12-3 major decision of the Sooner junior. It marked Heil’s 54th victory in 55 matches since falling in the bronze medal bout of the 2015 NCAA Championships.


A failed lateral drop attempt by Mejias turned into a third period edge-of-the-mat pin for Rogers (17-4). Brock (22-1) was his usual explosive self in the opening three minutes, building an 8-1 lead and rolling to an 18-3 technical fall.


The competition level steps up significantly in a week as OSU hosts Penn State in the title bout of this season’s version of the NWCA’s Bowl Dual Series. The unbeaten Nittany Lions beat the Cowboys a year ago in State College.


“I think (Penn State) is something we want. We want those guys. I think it will be awesome. It’s these type of weeks that make you better. To have these God-given opportunities is just awesome. It’s going to be fun dual.”


The OSU-PSU dual has been talked about since November.


“It’s been a couple of weeks that they announced that we are wrestling Penn State and we still had four dual meets left,” said OSU head coach John Smith. “What happens if you get beat? It’s kind of disturbing to me, kind of sends the wrong message to your team. It put some additional pressure our team … announced it way too early.


“Everyone we’ve wrestled up to this point has been solid teams, but the team that’s coming in next week is quite different. There isn’t any question that we’ll have to have our best outing to win.”


#1 Oklahoma State 37, #17 Oklahoma 3


125-Nick Piccininni (OS) dec Christian Moody, 10-5

133-Kaid Brock (OS) tech fall Jacob Rubio, 18-3 (7:00)

141-Dean Heil (OS) dec Mike Longo, 5-3

149-Anthony Collica (OS) maj dec Davion Jeffries, 12-3*

157-Joe Smith (OS) tech fall Jared Schieber, 17-1 (5:58)

165-Chandler Rogers (OS) pin Yoanse Mejias, 5:31

174-Kyle Crutchmer (OS) dec Matt Reed, 4-2

184-Nolan Boyd (OS) tech fall LaWaylon Barnes, 16-0 (5:12)

197-Preston Weigel (OS) dec Brad Johnson, 4-3

285-Ross Larson (O) maj dec Derek White, 8-0


*OU penalized a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct following 149-pound match

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