Both head coaches frustrated, as No. 5 Oklahoma State beats No. 13 UNI, 24-10 in Stillwater
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by Roger Moore, Special to TheMat.com
Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State controls UNI's Jack Wagner at 133 pounds. Photo by Bruce Waterfield, Oklahoma State
STILLWATER, Okla. – Neither head coach was thrilled with his team’s performance after Saturday afternoon’s 24-10 dual victory by No. 5 Oklahoma State over No. 13 Northern Iowa. The Cowboys won 7 of 10 bouts and improved to 10-2, but what got under head coach John Smith’s skin was four matches that saw scoreless first periods.
“A little frustrated,” Smith said. “Four, almost five matches, going scoreless through the first period. I’d rather my guys get taken down. I want to see the action start, things happening. It seemed like we kind of moseyed our way to seven wins and it wasn’t much more than that.
“The first period is three minutes, the longest period, so you need to go score.”
UNI head coach Doug Schwab was of like mind.
“We had some matches that went back and forth; we had some momentum, have a guy wavering a bit, but we did not take advantage where we needed to,” said Schwab, whose squad fell to 5-4. “Once you have things going your way you really need to find a way to ride a guy, get a takedown, keep things going your way.
“I believe in our guys. We aren’t in this for moral victories. I’m proud of how we competed, but they have to believe that they can compete with the best guys, beat them and not just lose close matches.”
The afternoon started with one of those momentum swings. UNI 125-pounder Jay Schwarm won a scramble, took down All-American Nick Piccininni, and rode for 1:50 of the first period. But Piccininni (15-3) turned up his top game over the next four minutes and won going away, 12-2.
A bout later, OSU All-American Kaid Brock (20-2) was in control when a Jack Wagner takedown made it a 3-point match. Again, however, the home-standing Cowboy took the momentum back and earned a 14-6 major decision.
Two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil (18-4), struggling of late with four losses in seven matches after a 55-match win streak, gutted out a 4-1 win over Josh Alber at 141 pounds and the Cowboys led 11-0.
“It was good to see (Dean) hit a nice counter, put on a good ride,” Smith said. “He has won a lot of close matches like that, a lot of tough matches. There isn’t a lot of time to feel sorry for yourself, because if you do, you can lose another match. It was a good win for Dean.”
UNI’s Max Thomsen (22-5) and OSU’s Boo Lewallen won seven combined high school state titles – Thomsen four in Iowa for La Porte City. The Panther sophomore, an All-American in 2017, needed sudden victory to determine things. Thomsen scored the bout’s lone takedown with 32 seconds left in the first extra session for a 3-1 victory that took the goose egg off the Panther side of the scoreboard. Taylor Lujan improved to 23-4 with a 7-4 win over OSU fill-in Heston Lamons at 174 pounds. It drew the visitors to 17-6 with three bouts to wrestle.
All-American Drew Foster (20-4) made things interesting, scoring a pair of third period takedowns and adding 3:10 of riding time to earn a 12-2 major decision of OSU rookie Keegan Moore at 184 pounds. It cut the Cowboy lead to 17-10.
“I liked what I saw from Drew Foster,” Schwab said of his junior 184-pounder. “He got that late takedown, went after it to get a major decision when he was already in a position to win comfortably. He pushed the pace, a pace we need everyone on the team to have.”
But a riding time point was the difference in a 4-3 win by All-American Preston Weigel (8-1) over Jacob Holschlag at 197 pounds to wrap up the dual. The UNI sophomore reversed Weigel in the second period to trail 3-2 and his escape late in the third tied the bout, but Weigel, always proficient on top, avoided any late damage and secured the dual victory for the hosts with the 2:03 time advantage.
The Cowboys also got wins by Jonce Blaylock (14-7), who scored two third period takedowns to beat Logan Ryan, 5-2, at 157 pounds; Chandler Rogers (14-3), who won a wild 7-5 sudden victory match with Dan Kelly at 165 pounds; and heavyweight Derek White (17-2), who dominated in an 8-0 major decision of Carter Isley.
Kelly mounted a third period comeback, scoring a reversal and working for two warnings during a tough final minute-plus leg ride to tie it and force overtime. But Rogers found a quick takedown 10 seconds into sudden victory to earn the win.
White, a 119-pounder way back when at Edmond North (Okla.) High School who started his career at Nebraska and filled in at 197 and 285 pounds for the Cowboys a year ago, has suffered two close losses during the 2017-18 campaign – a 1-0 decision to Hofstra’s Mike Hughes and the 25-minute long video-review frenzy with Iowa’s Sam Stoll. On Saturday, White scored a first period takedown and avoided being that “fifth scoreless first period” Smith talked about.
“We all could have done a lot better,” White said. “There were four matches that didn’t score in the first period and we will work on that.
“I expected to do pretty well (this year), enjoying it right now and taking advantage of the opportunity. The weight room helped me out and the experience of last year gave me a good feel for what it is like. I feel a lot quicker than my competition (at 285) and I’ve taken advantage in a lot of matches.”
“I was encouraged by (White) picking up a major decision, and that was after the first period was almost 0-0,” Smith said. “There needs to be a sense of urgency when you are wrestling against guys you are supposed to beat. When that first minute is gone and you are looking at the scoreboard and see 0-0 you need to get going.
“It’s been a fantastic year for (White) and it’s going to be fun for him at the end.”
UNI joined the Big 12 Conference this season after a five-year stint in the Mid-American Conference. Schwab’s squad was 18th at the 2017 NCAA Championships and is shooting for a return into the top 10, a place the Panther program is familiar with. Ten times UNI has been among the top 10 at a national tournament. During a five-year stretch from 1949 to 1953 under legendary head coach David McCuskey, Northern Iowa finished second, won the 1950 NCAA title, were fourth in ’51, second in ’52, and fifth in ’53. The 11 NCAA individual titles won by UNI wrestlers rank 11th in NCAA history.
“That’s what we are shooting for,” said Schwab in his eighth year. “Why not this year? We will continue to work hard every day and are looking forward to coming back for the Big 12 tournament next month.”
The Cowboys finish a seven-dual homestead next weekend, facing Edinboro and Bedlam rival Oklahoma. UNI finishes its regular season at home against Iowa State next Saturday and old MAC rival Missouri (Feb. 17).
No. 5 Oklahoma State 24, No. 13 Northern Iowa 10
125-Nick Piccininni (O) maj dec Jay Schwarm, 12-2
133-Kaid Brock (O) maj dec Jack Wagner, 14-6
141-Dean Heil (O) dec Josh Alber, 4-1
149-Max Thomsen (UNI) dec Boo Lewallen, 3-1 SV
157-Jonce Blaylock (O) dec Logan Ryan, 5-2
165-Chandler Rogers (O) dec Dan Kelly, 7-5 SV
174-Taylor Lujan (UNI) dec Hestin Lamons, 7-4
184-Drew Foster (UNI) maj dec Keegan Moore, 12-2
197-Preston Weigel (O) dec Jacob Holschlag, 4-3
285-Derek White (O) maj dec Carter Isley, 8-0
STILLWATER, Okla. – Neither head coach was thrilled with his team’s performance after Saturday afternoon’s 24-10 dual victory by No. 5 Oklahoma State over No. 13 Northern Iowa. The Cowboys won 7 of 10 bouts and improved to 10-2, but what got under head coach John Smith’s skin was four matches that saw scoreless first periods.
“A little frustrated,” Smith said. “Four, almost five matches, going scoreless through the first period. I’d rather my guys get taken down. I want to see the action start, things happening. It seemed like we kind of moseyed our way to seven wins and it wasn’t much more than that.
“The first period is three minutes, the longest period, so you need to go score.”
UNI head coach Doug Schwab was of like mind.
“We had some matches that went back and forth; we had some momentum, have a guy wavering a bit, but we did not take advantage where we needed to,” said Schwab, whose squad fell to 5-4. “Once you have things going your way you really need to find a way to ride a guy, get a takedown, keep things going your way.
“I believe in our guys. We aren’t in this for moral victories. I’m proud of how we competed, but they have to believe that they can compete with the best guys, beat them and not just lose close matches.”
The afternoon started with one of those momentum swings. UNI 125-pounder Jay Schwarm won a scramble, took down All-American Nick Piccininni, and rode for 1:50 of the first period. But Piccininni (15-3) turned up his top game over the next four minutes and won going away, 12-2.
A bout later, OSU All-American Kaid Brock (20-2) was in control when a Jack Wagner takedown made it a 3-point match. Again, however, the home-standing Cowboy took the momentum back and earned a 14-6 major decision.
Two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil (18-4), struggling of late with four losses in seven matches after a 55-match win streak, gutted out a 4-1 win over Josh Alber at 141 pounds and the Cowboys led 11-0.
“It was good to see (Dean) hit a nice counter, put on a good ride,” Smith said. “He has won a lot of close matches like that, a lot of tough matches. There isn’t a lot of time to feel sorry for yourself, because if you do, you can lose another match. It was a good win for Dean.”
UNI’s Max Thomsen (22-5) and OSU’s Boo Lewallen won seven combined high school state titles – Thomsen four in Iowa for La Porte City. The Panther sophomore, an All-American in 2017, needed sudden victory to determine things. Thomsen scored the bout’s lone takedown with 32 seconds left in the first extra session for a 3-1 victory that took the goose egg off the Panther side of the scoreboard. Taylor Lujan improved to 23-4 with a 7-4 win over OSU fill-in Heston Lamons at 174 pounds. It drew the visitors to 17-6 with three bouts to wrestle.
All-American Drew Foster (20-4) made things interesting, scoring a pair of third period takedowns and adding 3:10 of riding time to earn a 12-2 major decision of OSU rookie Keegan Moore at 184 pounds. It cut the Cowboy lead to 17-10.
“I liked what I saw from Drew Foster,” Schwab said of his junior 184-pounder. “He got that late takedown, went after it to get a major decision when he was already in a position to win comfortably. He pushed the pace, a pace we need everyone on the team to have.”
But a riding time point was the difference in a 4-3 win by All-American Preston Weigel (8-1) over Jacob Holschlag at 197 pounds to wrap up the dual. The UNI sophomore reversed Weigel in the second period to trail 3-2 and his escape late in the third tied the bout, but Weigel, always proficient on top, avoided any late damage and secured the dual victory for the hosts with the 2:03 time advantage.
The Cowboys also got wins by Jonce Blaylock (14-7), who scored two third period takedowns to beat Logan Ryan, 5-2, at 157 pounds; Chandler Rogers (14-3), who won a wild 7-5 sudden victory match with Dan Kelly at 165 pounds; and heavyweight Derek White (17-2), who dominated in an 8-0 major decision of Carter Isley.
Kelly mounted a third period comeback, scoring a reversal and working for two warnings during a tough final minute-plus leg ride to tie it and force overtime. But Rogers found a quick takedown 10 seconds into sudden victory to earn the win.
White, a 119-pounder way back when at Edmond North (Okla.) High School who started his career at Nebraska and filled in at 197 and 285 pounds for the Cowboys a year ago, has suffered two close losses during the 2017-18 campaign – a 1-0 decision to Hofstra’s Mike Hughes and the 25-minute long video-review frenzy with Iowa’s Sam Stoll. On Saturday, White scored a first period takedown and avoided being that “fifth scoreless first period” Smith talked about.
“We all could have done a lot better,” White said. “There were four matches that didn’t score in the first period and we will work on that.
“I expected to do pretty well (this year), enjoying it right now and taking advantage of the opportunity. The weight room helped me out and the experience of last year gave me a good feel for what it is like. I feel a lot quicker than my competition (at 285) and I’ve taken advantage in a lot of matches.”
“I was encouraged by (White) picking up a major decision, and that was after the first period was almost 0-0,” Smith said. “There needs to be a sense of urgency when you are wrestling against guys you are supposed to beat. When that first minute is gone and you are looking at the scoreboard and see 0-0 you need to get going.
“It’s been a fantastic year for (White) and it’s going to be fun for him at the end.”
UNI joined the Big 12 Conference this season after a five-year stint in the Mid-American Conference. Schwab’s squad was 18th at the 2017 NCAA Championships and is shooting for a return into the top 10, a place the Panther program is familiar with. Ten times UNI has been among the top 10 at a national tournament. During a five-year stretch from 1949 to 1953 under legendary head coach David McCuskey, Northern Iowa finished second, won the 1950 NCAA title, were fourth in ’51, second in ’52, and fifth in ’53. The 11 NCAA individual titles won by UNI wrestlers rank 11th in NCAA history.
“That’s what we are shooting for,” said Schwab in his eighth year. “Why not this year? We will continue to work hard every day and are looking forward to coming back for the Big 12 tournament next month.”
The Cowboys finish a seven-dual homestead next weekend, facing Edinboro and Bedlam rival Oklahoma. UNI finishes its regular season at home against Iowa State next Saturday and old MAC rival Missouri (Feb. 17).
No. 5 Oklahoma State 24, No. 13 Northern Iowa 10
125-Nick Piccininni (O) maj dec Jay Schwarm, 12-2
133-Kaid Brock (O) maj dec Jack Wagner, 14-6
141-Dean Heil (O) dec Josh Alber, 4-1
149-Max Thomsen (UNI) dec Boo Lewallen, 3-1 SV
157-Jonce Blaylock (O) dec Logan Ryan, 5-2
165-Chandler Rogers (O) dec Dan Kelly, 7-5 SV
174-Taylor Lujan (UNI) dec Hestin Lamons, 7-4
184-Drew Foster (UNI) maj dec Keegan Moore, 12-2
197-Preston Weigel (O) dec Jacob Holschlag, 4-3
285-Derek White (O) maj dec Carter Isley, 8-0
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