Fix defeats Suriano as Oklahoma State routs Rutgers, 26-5

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – With the rising popularity of social media, collegiate wrestling has plenty of places to hype “must-see” battles between the sport’s top stars. Yes, up until March, the team/dual concept rules the day. But individual match-ups within those dual meets are often what puts fans in the stands.

On Sunday, over 7,000 came to Rutgers Athletic Center to watch No. 3 Oklahoma State square off with No. 24 Rutgers. The majority, however, came for one bout – 133 pounds.

Nick Suriano, with his New Jersey bravado, is not shy about talking about all facets of wrestling; about his opponents, about the grind, about anything and everything. Last March, Suriano dropped an NCAA finals match to Iowa’s Spencer Lee. On the other hand, Daton Fix, a redshirt-freshman, is a quiet, reserved, soft-spoken Midwestern kid from Sand Springs, Okla. But when he steps on the mat, he wrestles an intimidating, physical style not unlike Suriano. Two summers ago, Fix won a Junior World Championship in freestyle. The last time Fix and Suriano hooked up on a wrestling mat, in high school, it lasted almost as long as the Godfather.

On Sunday, with a pair of video reviews trying to figure out locked hands violations, where and when to reset the match clock, and a partridge and a pear tree, the Fix-Suriano match lasted about as long as Godfather II. In the end, a technical violation (hands to the face) on Suriano in the second sudden victory, gave Fix (20-0) a 3-2 victory. Neither man was willing to for fire a shot of any kind, choosing to hand-fight and play it close-to-the-vest. Trying to explain the very bizarre match that lasted near 40 minutes would take until March, perhaps the next time these two 133-pounders will wrestle again.

Unfortunately, officials Jason Wedgebury and Jim Rivello, plus the scorers’ table, were the leading characters.

“You never want to win like that,” Fix said. “Hands to the face call, it’s a bad way to win a match. But I know the next time I wrestle (Suriano) I have to do more in the first seven minutes, not let it get to that point. I have to create more action to win a match like that. We are both competitors and in those big matches someone has to take some chances; next time I’m going to let it fly for sure.

“(During all the delays) I was just trying to stay calm, stay composed and focus on the next situation that was ahead of me. One thing I can take from this match is that I got out from bottom a couple of times. I got my had raised today, but I can’t wrestle another match like that.”

It was Suriano’s first loss of the season and a match that he, like Fix, was not happy with.
“I just thing it turned into a show,” Suriano said. “I respect Daton, it’s all good, we love competing. The whole situation … I don’t know if it was the hype or what, but it turned into a show, a fiasco and that’s cool but it altered the match. That was a normal overtime match, it was an even bout … and I lost. The way it went down, something felt off.”

OSU head coach John Smith and staff spent almost a half hour debating the officials, trying to figure out exactly how to alleviate the situation. RU boss Scott Goodale and staff were on the opposite sideline doing the same.

“In the end the officials wanted to make the right call and that’s why they took the time,” Smith said. “Whether we think they made the right call or you think they made the wrong call I think there was an effort to get the call right. Neither one of them was wrestling their best offensive game and sometimes you will see a match like that from two guys this good. Fix is a young guy, never been to a national tournament before, so I can’t be disappointed in his effort.”

At the end of a bizarre dual, Oklahoma State won 8 of 10 bouts and moved to 7-0 with a 26-5 win over the Scarlet Knights. Nick Piccininni (18-0) opened the festivities with a dominant 16-0 technical fall of Shane Metzler at 125 pounds a day after a tough 9-6 win over Princeton’s Patrick Glory. When Kaid Brock (10-3) held off Nick Lipari at 141 pounds, the visitors led 11-0.

Then things got testy.

All-American Anthony Ashnault (14-0) won a back-and-forth match with rising rookie Kaden Gfeller, 10-7, at 149 pounds. Gfeller dropped his first match of 2018-19 on Saturday, falling to top-ranked Matthew Kolodzik. A third period takedown and riding time was the difference for Ashnault, who, following the win, pointed at the OSU bench with a “pistols firing” gesture; Gfeller took exception and pushed the Scarlet Knight. Cooler heads prevailed, but things were at a tipping point for a bit. Both teams were deducted a team point.

John Van Brill’s 4-3 decision over Jonce Blaylock at 157 pounds brought the hosts back to 10-5 heading into intermission. A third period takedown and ride-out over the final 30 seconds gave Andrew Shomers a big 5-4 victory over Steven Glasgow at 165 pounds and OSU led 13-5.

Joe Smith’s 9-6 win over Joe Grello at 174 pounds gave the Cowboys a 16-5 advantage and Jacobe Smith’s dominant 14-5 major decision at 184 pounds secured the dual win for the visitors.

Dakota Geer (18-3) and Derek White (16-1) fashioned the final score with back-to-back victories, Geer scoring a third-period takedown to beat Matt Correnti, 4-2, at 197 pounds, and White a 4-2 win over Christian Collucci at 285 pounds.

“I didn’t think that was an Oklahoma State team out there (Sunday),” John Smith said. “I was hoping for a lot more, especially with a match under our belt. We weren’t offensive enough, especially a couple of matches where we felt like we could get some loop-sided scores. It’s always nice to win on the road.”

OSU remains on the road next weekend, traveling to West Virginia and Pittsburgh. Big 12 rival Iowa State visits Stillwater, Jan. 27.

No. 3 Oklahoma State 26, No. 24 Rutgers 5

125-Nick Piccininni (OS) technical fall Shane Metzler, 16-0
133-Daton Fix (OS) dec Nick Suriano, 3-2, SV2
141-Kaid Brock (OS) dec Peter Lipart, 9-6
149-Anthony Ashnault (R) dec Kaden Gfeller, 10-7*
157-John Van Brill (R) dec Jonce Blaylock, 4-3
165-Andrew Shomers (OS) dec Steven Glasgow, 5-4
174-Joe Smith (OS) dec Joe Grello, 9-6
184-Jacobe Smith (OS) major dec Willie Scott, 14-5
197-Dakota Geer (OS) dec Matt Correnti, 4-2
285-Derek White (OS) dec Christian Colluci, 4-2

*-both teams deducted a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct