Freshmen Fix, Steveson impressive as No. 4 Oklahoma State stops No. 13 Minnesota, 23-9
Share:
by Roger Moore, Special to TheMat.com
OSU vs. Minnesota graphic courtesy of @GopherWrestling Twitter
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A pair of highly-touted freshman announced their arrivals on Sunday during fourth-ranked Oklahoma State’s 23-9 victory over No. 13 Minnesota.
The Cowboys (2-0) won seven of 10 bouts, getting three straight major decisions from 165 through 184 pounds and redshirt-freshman Daton Fix’s dominant 6-1 win over 2017 NCAA finalist Ethan Lizak at 133 pounds. The Gophers (1-1) helped the home fans leave on a positive note when true freshman Gable Steveson (7-0) controlled Derek White, 8-2, at 285 pounds.
Fix and Steveson have already proven themselves with freestyle rules, winning Junior World titles. On Sunday, both showed they will be a force in folkstyle as well.
Steveson announced his intentions last weekend with a victory over Arizona State All-American Tanner Hall at the Bison Open. Sunday, the Apple Valley, Minn., product scored an early takedown and took White, ranked among the top five, directly to his back for a quick 6-0 lead. He cruised from there and frustrated White for most of the seven minutes.
“We knew (Gable) was ready,” said UM head coach Brandon Eggum, who, along with his rookie heavyweight, decided the true freshman was ready to go. “Tanner Hall is one of the top heavyweights in the country, but we already knew Gable was special. He’s a competitor, and we’ve all seen it since he was a young kid. This is barely an 18-year-old kid wrestling at heavyweight, so he’s going to have a lot of challenges.”
“Wrestle my style, that’s what I did (Sunday),” Steveson said. “One year ago today I was sitting on the bench and thought I was ready to go right then. This opportunity I could not pass; I had to come out today.
“I felt like I opened up more (Sunday) and I’m really looking forward to the season.”
Lizak, a senior, is among the best mat wrestlers in the country. His top game rivals anyone in Division I. But Fix was only in trouble, briefly, late in the night’s second bout. The two scrambled for a minute-plus in the first period with neither man able to score after Fix (5-0) scored an early takedown.
In the third, trailing 4-1, Lizak, as expected, chose top. A near turn, however, turned into a late reversal and a 6-1 victory.
“Just a great match,” OSU head coach John Smith said afterwards. “What you’ve got in Daton Fix is a smart wrestler staying out of dangerous positions. He did get to go down and did get to feel (Lizak) on top and what (Lizak) now knows is that Daton Fix reversed him.
“It’s something, you just don’t know what it will be like. He almost got turned, but he battled into that reversal. Just a big win.”
Fix missed a chance to wrestle 2018 NCAA champion Seth Gross on Saturday. He was chomping at the bit for Sunday’s match.
“I didn’t have a specific game-plan on bottom, just use my feet and get out,” said Fix, an undefeated four-time Oklahoma state champion for Charles Page High in Sand Springs. “I found a way to get a reversal and win the match. I feel good at 133. I’m wrestling well and I can focus on getting better.
“I was excited for this trip. My first college trip. I was looking forward to wrestling both, but I got to see one of them. I’ve been looking forward to this year my whole life, to represent Oklahoma State.”
After outscoring the Gophers, 64-6, in the last two meetings, OSU’s fourth-straight win in the series was much more competitive.
The visitors opened the early evening dual with a tough 3-0 decision by Nick Piccininni (4-0) over former Edinboro Fighting Scot Sean Russell at 125 pounds. The two All-Americans have met five times, Piccininni winning four straight.
Fix’s win gave OSU a 5-0 margin – OSU was deducted a team point during the 133-pound match – but the Gophers picked up a wild win by Mitch McKee over All-American Kaid Brock at 141 pounds. Brock beat McKee (5-0) four straight times at 133 pounds, but McKee, this time around secured a late takedown to win 6-3. It was, most would agree, a wild McKee-type match.
An injury to All-American Boo Lewallen during Saturday night’s 45-6 victory at South Dakota State forced redshirt-freshman Kaden Gfeller into action on Sunday. Gfeller, Southern Scuffle champion last year, was never in trouble against All-American Tommy Thorn, scoring a big takedown and 4-point near fall in the third period to win, 9-3, at 149 pounds.
Minnesota tried to make it a dual when senior Steve Bleise (6-0) rallied to beat Andrew Shomers, 8-5, at 157 pounds. Shomers led throughout, but the Gopher turned a single leg into a 6-point move in the final period. At the break, OSU led 8-6.
Things quickly went south for the hosts as All-American Chandler Rogers (5-0) secured a 10-2 major decision at 165; All-American Jacobe Smith (2-0) dominated Devin Skatzka, 11-2, at 174; and Dakota Geer (5-0) hammered Owen Webster, 10-0, at 184. Geer, like Shomers, transferred to OSU from Edinboro.
The Cowboys’ seventh victory came from Andrew Marsden, filling in for the injured Preston Weigel, at 197 pounds, who beat Brandon Krone, 2-0.
“I was really proud of our two guys who filled in (Sunday) for us at two weights. Kaden (Gfeller) wrestled hard, wrestled tough. Going in, with two starters out, I was worried because we are facing a team that has a proud history and have struggled some of late. They have a chance to make a statement against Oklahoma State; don’t think they weren’t ready to go. But in the end, we were able to get it done, win a tough match. I was excited about our attitude, especially for Kaden, who beat a good kid," said Smith.
“We’ve got some things to figure out with the injuries we have right now. The next few weeks, months, will be a test for us. But I liked the way we wrestled this weekend.”
OSU tied for 13th at the 2018 NCAA Championships. Minnesota, also a former NCAA team champion, struggled to a 17th place showing.
“To have won at heavyweight, against the No. 3-ranked guy, to have Steve Bleise come out and win with a broken hand; to have Mitchell McKee win a match against a guy he’s never beaten in folkstyle and to lose the dual, regardless of rank, I would say never would happen. You win a couple of those close matches and we can almost turn this dual around,” said Eggum.
No. 4 Oklahoma State 23, No. 13 Minnesota 9
125-Nick Piccininni (O) dec Sean Russell, 3-0
133-Daton Fix (O) dec Ethan Lizak, 6-1
141-Mitch McKee (M) dec Kaid Brock, 6-3
149-Kaden Gfeller (O) dec Tommy Thorn, 9-3
157-Steve Bleise (M) dec Andrew Shomers, 8-5
165-Chandler Rogers (O) maj dec Carson Brolsma, 10-2
174-Jacobe Smith (O) maj dec Devin Skatzka, 11-2
184-Dakota Geer (O) maj dec Owen Webster, 10-0
197-Andrew Marsden (O) dec Brandon Krone, 2-0
285-Gable Steveson (M) dec Derek White, 8-2
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A pair of highly-touted freshman announced their arrivals on Sunday during fourth-ranked Oklahoma State’s 23-9 victory over No. 13 Minnesota.
The Cowboys (2-0) won seven of 10 bouts, getting three straight major decisions from 165 through 184 pounds and redshirt-freshman Daton Fix’s dominant 6-1 win over 2017 NCAA finalist Ethan Lizak at 133 pounds. The Gophers (1-1) helped the home fans leave on a positive note when true freshman Gable Steveson (7-0) controlled Derek White, 8-2, at 285 pounds.
Fix and Steveson have already proven themselves with freestyle rules, winning Junior World titles. On Sunday, both showed they will be a force in folkstyle as well.
Steveson announced his intentions last weekend with a victory over Arizona State All-American Tanner Hall at the Bison Open. Sunday, the Apple Valley, Minn., product scored an early takedown and took White, ranked among the top five, directly to his back for a quick 6-0 lead. He cruised from there and frustrated White for most of the seven minutes.
“We knew (Gable) was ready,” said UM head coach Brandon Eggum, who, along with his rookie heavyweight, decided the true freshman was ready to go. “Tanner Hall is one of the top heavyweights in the country, but we already knew Gable was special. He’s a competitor, and we’ve all seen it since he was a young kid. This is barely an 18-year-old kid wrestling at heavyweight, so he’s going to have a lot of challenges.”
“Wrestle my style, that’s what I did (Sunday),” Steveson said. “One year ago today I was sitting on the bench and thought I was ready to go right then. This opportunity I could not pass; I had to come out today.
“I felt like I opened up more (Sunday) and I’m really looking forward to the season.”
Lizak, a senior, is among the best mat wrestlers in the country. His top game rivals anyone in Division I. But Fix was only in trouble, briefly, late in the night’s second bout. The two scrambled for a minute-plus in the first period with neither man able to score after Fix (5-0) scored an early takedown.
In the third, trailing 4-1, Lizak, as expected, chose top. A near turn, however, turned into a late reversal and a 6-1 victory.
“Just a great match,” OSU head coach John Smith said afterwards. “What you’ve got in Daton Fix is a smart wrestler staying out of dangerous positions. He did get to go down and did get to feel (Lizak) on top and what (Lizak) now knows is that Daton Fix reversed him.
“It’s something, you just don’t know what it will be like. He almost got turned, but he battled into that reversal. Just a big win.”
Fix missed a chance to wrestle 2018 NCAA champion Seth Gross on Saturday. He was chomping at the bit for Sunday’s match.
“I didn’t have a specific game-plan on bottom, just use my feet and get out,” said Fix, an undefeated four-time Oklahoma state champion for Charles Page High in Sand Springs. “I found a way to get a reversal and win the match. I feel good at 133. I’m wrestling well and I can focus on getting better.
“I was excited for this trip. My first college trip. I was looking forward to wrestling both, but I got to see one of them. I’ve been looking forward to this year my whole life, to represent Oklahoma State.”
After outscoring the Gophers, 64-6, in the last two meetings, OSU’s fourth-straight win in the series was much more competitive.
The visitors opened the early evening dual with a tough 3-0 decision by Nick Piccininni (4-0) over former Edinboro Fighting Scot Sean Russell at 125 pounds. The two All-Americans have met five times, Piccininni winning four straight.
Fix’s win gave OSU a 5-0 margin – OSU was deducted a team point during the 133-pound match – but the Gophers picked up a wild win by Mitch McKee over All-American Kaid Brock at 141 pounds. Brock beat McKee (5-0) four straight times at 133 pounds, but McKee, this time around secured a late takedown to win 6-3. It was, most would agree, a wild McKee-type match.
An injury to All-American Boo Lewallen during Saturday night’s 45-6 victory at South Dakota State forced redshirt-freshman Kaden Gfeller into action on Sunday. Gfeller, Southern Scuffle champion last year, was never in trouble against All-American Tommy Thorn, scoring a big takedown and 4-point near fall in the third period to win, 9-3, at 149 pounds.
Minnesota tried to make it a dual when senior Steve Bleise (6-0) rallied to beat Andrew Shomers, 8-5, at 157 pounds. Shomers led throughout, but the Gopher turned a single leg into a 6-point move in the final period. At the break, OSU led 8-6.
Things quickly went south for the hosts as All-American Chandler Rogers (5-0) secured a 10-2 major decision at 165; All-American Jacobe Smith (2-0) dominated Devin Skatzka, 11-2, at 174; and Dakota Geer (5-0) hammered Owen Webster, 10-0, at 184. Geer, like Shomers, transferred to OSU from Edinboro.
The Cowboys’ seventh victory came from Andrew Marsden, filling in for the injured Preston Weigel, at 197 pounds, who beat Brandon Krone, 2-0.
“I was really proud of our two guys who filled in (Sunday) for us at two weights. Kaden (Gfeller) wrestled hard, wrestled tough. Going in, with two starters out, I was worried because we are facing a team that has a proud history and have struggled some of late. They have a chance to make a statement against Oklahoma State; don’t think they weren’t ready to go. But in the end, we were able to get it done, win a tough match. I was excited about our attitude, especially for Kaden, who beat a good kid," said Smith.
“We’ve got some things to figure out with the injuries we have right now. The next few weeks, months, will be a test for us. But I liked the way we wrestled this weekend.”
OSU tied for 13th at the 2018 NCAA Championships. Minnesota, also a former NCAA team champion, struggled to a 17th place showing.
“To have won at heavyweight, against the No. 3-ranked guy, to have Steve Bleise come out and win with a broken hand; to have Mitchell McKee win a match against a guy he’s never beaten in folkstyle and to lose the dual, regardless of rank, I would say never would happen. You win a couple of those close matches and we can almost turn this dual around,” said Eggum.
No. 4 Oklahoma State 23, No. 13 Minnesota 9
125-Nick Piccininni (O) dec Sean Russell, 3-0
133-Daton Fix (O) dec Ethan Lizak, 6-1
141-Mitch McKee (M) dec Kaid Brock, 6-3
149-Kaden Gfeller (O) dec Tommy Thorn, 9-3
157-Steve Bleise (M) dec Andrew Shomers, 8-5
165-Chandler Rogers (O) maj dec Carson Brolsma, 10-2
174-Jacobe Smith (O) maj dec Devin Skatzka, 11-2
184-Dakota Geer (O) maj dec Owen Webster, 10-0
197-Andrew Marsden (O) dec Brandon Krone, 2-0
285-Gable Steveson (M) dec Derek White, 8-2
Read More#
Senior National Team members Russell, Perez III, Scott and Lautt to lead U.S. U23 World Greco-Roman team in Finland
Beat the Streets New York raises $1.3 million with Annual Benefit, Final X
World medalists Coon and Kikiniou among 10 to advance to Final X with World Team Trials Challenge Tournament Greco-Roman titles
Five Olympians reach finals of World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Greco-Roman
