Piccininni's late pin leads No. 10 Oklahoma State to 11th straight Bedlam win over OU, 27-8
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by Roger Moore, Special to TheMat.com
Nick Piccininni celebrates a big pin in his final home dual meet as an Oklahoma State Cowboy. Photo courtesy of @CowboyWrestling Twitter.
STILLWATER, Okla. – In wrestling, week-to-week, things are not always 100 percent mentally and physically. Mid-February means battling through cuts and bruises, finding a way to grind it out on days when your body just doesn’t feel right.
In Nick Piccininni’s final home dual for Oklahoma State, the two-time All-American appeared to be on the ropes against fellow senior Christian Moody. But the New York product found a way, got to a leg, locked up a cradle, and pinned Moody at 5:54 of the 125-pound bout.
Moody had drawn two stalling points and added a pair of takedowns and trailed the senior 9-8 heading to the final period.
It came at just the right time for No. 10 Oklahoma State, who lost two of the first four bouts – the dual started at 174 pounds – but rebounded for a 27-8 victory over their Bedlam rivals. It was OSU’s (13-2) 11th straight victory in a series that was wrestled for the 180th time on Sunday in front of 7,070 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
“Sometimes you just have to find a way, especially when you don’t feel 100 percent,” said Piccininni (23-1). “That’s how it is in this sport, you have to battle through.”
The Sooners (4-7) ended a four-match losing streak on Friday night, beating Air Force. Lou Rosselli’s squad came out aggressive on Sunday, getting a big 6-point “high flyer” from Anthony Mantanona (16-6) in the final period to beat senior Joe Smith at 174 pounds.
Two bouts later, after OSU’s Anthony Montalvo (19-5) worked through Darrien Roberts at 184 pounds, OU’s Jake Woodley (16-7) won a wild 10-9 match with fellow Pennsylvanian Dakota Geer to give the visitors a 5-2 lead – both teams were deducted a team point following a brief verbal exchange between Montalvo and Roberts at 184.
But the Cowboys, who wrestle at No. 1 Iowa next Sunday, reeled off victories in six of the last seven to secure the dual win, starting with Piccininni’s pin at 125.
“A pretty good win. I thought we did a pretty good job when things got tight, finding ways to win,” said OSU head coach John Smith. “We wrestled tight in a few matches when things didn’t go like we wanted.
“In Bedlam you always have to expect that unexpected. It wasn’t our best dual but it was a good match for us separating the score in the third.”
Heavyweight Austin Harris (5-9) started the run with a 13-5 major decision of Collin McCoy; it ended with redshirt-freshman Travis Wittlake’s (25-1) dominant 19-4 technical fall at 165 pounds.
“There’s some weight classes I’m happy about and some weights where I’m not so happy,” Rosselli said. “I go by the level of fight; you can lose a wrestling match, but if you give effort I am not going to be upset. Of course, 174 is a good win, good fight until the end. That was an exciting way for us to start. And even though (Moody) got pinned, the effort he showed throughout that match was good. He came ready to wrestle. (Woodley and Geer) go back, so that is a tough win.
“Are we better than when we started? Yes. At some weights. Where we want to be? Still work to do.”
Following Piccininni’s drama at 125, Sooner back-up Tommy Hoskins tried to put the visitors right back in it when he tossed Reece Witcraft to his back for six to start the 133-pound festivities. But Witcraft (16-7) quickly returned the favor and it was 7-7 after three minutes. A two-minute ride-out, third-period takedown, an 11-7 win and OSU went up 15-5.
Dom Demas (21-3) beat Dusty Hone for the second time this season, scoring takedowns in the first and third periods of a 4-3 win and the Sooners had a brief heartbeat with three bouts left. But Boo Lewallen (18-1) turned it on late and rolled to a 14-1 major decision at 149; Wyatt Sheets (17-6) broke a 2-2 tie with a big third period to beat Justin Thomas at 157; and Wittlake fashioned the final score.
“This was really the first time I had to expect that unexpected,” Piccininni said. “I got better today; wasn’t what I expected, but I found a way to get the win. And to get that pin was big for the team at the time.
“Next week is going to be fun, that Iowa crowd, another match (with Spencer Lee) … really looking forward to it.”
No. 10 Oklahoma State 27, Oklahoma 8
174 – Anthony Mantanona (O) dec Joe Smith, 10-5
184 – Anthony Montalvo (OS) dec Darrien Roberts, 4-0
197 – Jake Woodley (O) dec Dakota Geer, 10-9
285 – Austin Harris (OS) maj dec Collin McCoy, 13-5
125 – Nick Piccininni (OS) pin Christian Moody, 5:54
133 – Reece Witcraft (OS) dec Tommy Hoskins, 11-7
141 – Dom Demas (O) dec Dusty Hone, 4-3
149 – Boo Lewallen (OS) maj dec Jacob Butler, 14-1
157 – Wyatt Sheets (OS) dec Justin Thomas, 8-3
165 – Travis Wittlake (OS) tech fall Elijah Joseph, 19-4
STILLWATER, Okla. – In wrestling, week-to-week, things are not always 100 percent mentally and physically. Mid-February means battling through cuts and bruises, finding a way to grind it out on days when your body just doesn’t feel right.
In Nick Piccininni’s final home dual for Oklahoma State, the two-time All-American appeared to be on the ropes against fellow senior Christian Moody. But the New York product found a way, got to a leg, locked up a cradle, and pinned Moody at 5:54 of the 125-pound bout.
Moody had drawn two stalling points and added a pair of takedowns and trailed the senior 9-8 heading to the final period.
It came at just the right time for No. 10 Oklahoma State, who lost two of the first four bouts – the dual started at 174 pounds – but rebounded for a 27-8 victory over their Bedlam rivals. It was OSU’s (13-2) 11th straight victory in a series that was wrestled for the 180th time on Sunday in front of 7,070 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
“Sometimes you just have to find a way, especially when you don’t feel 100 percent,” said Piccininni (23-1). “That’s how it is in this sport, you have to battle through.”
The Sooners (4-7) ended a four-match losing streak on Friday night, beating Air Force. Lou Rosselli’s squad came out aggressive on Sunday, getting a big 6-point “high flyer” from Anthony Mantanona (16-6) in the final period to beat senior Joe Smith at 174 pounds.
Two bouts later, after OSU’s Anthony Montalvo (19-5) worked through Darrien Roberts at 184 pounds, OU’s Jake Woodley (16-7) won a wild 10-9 match with fellow Pennsylvanian Dakota Geer to give the visitors a 5-2 lead – both teams were deducted a team point following a brief verbal exchange between Montalvo and Roberts at 184.
But the Cowboys, who wrestle at No. 1 Iowa next Sunday, reeled off victories in six of the last seven to secure the dual win, starting with Piccininni’s pin at 125.
“A pretty good win. I thought we did a pretty good job when things got tight, finding ways to win,” said OSU head coach John Smith. “We wrestled tight in a few matches when things didn’t go like we wanted.
“In Bedlam you always have to expect that unexpected. It wasn’t our best dual but it was a good match for us separating the score in the third.”
Heavyweight Austin Harris (5-9) started the run with a 13-5 major decision of Collin McCoy; it ended with redshirt-freshman Travis Wittlake’s (25-1) dominant 19-4 technical fall at 165 pounds.
“There’s some weight classes I’m happy about and some weights where I’m not so happy,” Rosselli said. “I go by the level of fight; you can lose a wrestling match, but if you give effort I am not going to be upset. Of course, 174 is a good win, good fight until the end. That was an exciting way for us to start. And even though (Moody) got pinned, the effort he showed throughout that match was good. He came ready to wrestle. (Woodley and Geer) go back, so that is a tough win.
“Are we better than when we started? Yes. At some weights. Where we want to be? Still work to do.”
Following Piccininni’s drama at 125, Sooner back-up Tommy Hoskins tried to put the visitors right back in it when he tossed Reece Witcraft to his back for six to start the 133-pound festivities. But Witcraft (16-7) quickly returned the favor and it was 7-7 after three minutes. A two-minute ride-out, third-period takedown, an 11-7 win and OSU went up 15-5.
Dom Demas (21-3) beat Dusty Hone for the second time this season, scoring takedowns in the first and third periods of a 4-3 win and the Sooners had a brief heartbeat with three bouts left. But Boo Lewallen (18-1) turned it on late and rolled to a 14-1 major decision at 149; Wyatt Sheets (17-6) broke a 2-2 tie with a big third period to beat Justin Thomas at 157; and Wittlake fashioned the final score.
“This was really the first time I had to expect that unexpected,” Piccininni said. “I got better today; wasn’t what I expected, but I found a way to get the win. And to get that pin was big for the team at the time.
“Next week is going to be fun, that Iowa crowd, another match (with Spencer Lee) … really looking forward to it.”
No. 10 Oklahoma State 27, Oklahoma 8
174 – Anthony Mantanona (O) dec Joe Smith, 10-5
184 – Anthony Montalvo (OS) dec Darrien Roberts, 4-0
197 – Jake Woodley (O) dec Dakota Geer, 10-9
285 – Austin Harris (OS) maj dec Collin McCoy, 13-5
125 – Nick Piccininni (OS) pin Christian Moody, 5:54
133 – Reece Witcraft (OS) dec Tommy Hoskins, 11-7
141 – Dom Demas (O) dec Dusty Hone, 4-3
149 – Boo Lewallen (OS) maj dec Jacob Butler, 14-1
157 – Wyatt Sheets (OS) dec Justin Thomas, 8-3
165 – Travis Wittlake (OS) tech fall Elijah Joseph, 19-4
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