Piccininni gets 100th win, as No. 9 Oklahoma State looks sharp in 30-10 win over No. 10 Pitt in Stillwater
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by Roger Moore, Special to TheMat.com
Graphic courtesy of @CowboyWrestling Twitter.
STILLWATER, Okla. – Pittsburgh rookie Louis Newell took two-time All-American Nick Piccininni down twice in the opening period of the first match Saturday night inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. Things went downhill from there, however, for the 10th-rated Panthers as No. 9 Oklahoma State rolled to a 30-10 victory.
Piccininni (16-1), in picking up his 100th collegiate win, quickly rallied and scored a fall at the 4:16 mark. Moments later, OSU freshman Reece Witcraft tossed Micky Phillippi to his back and built a 7-0 lead. Phillippi (16-1), however, countered a Witcraft shot in the second period with a spicy leg cradle out of the Pennsylvania wrestling funky playbook and scored a fall at 4:06.
That was the last thing that went right for the visitors until heavyweight Demetrius Thomas’ 14-3 major decision in the finale. In between, in improving to 7-1, the Cowboys won all the close battles and were the better team in most areas.
“Definitely some surprises, Nick (Piccininni) getting taken down a couple of times early,” said OSU head coach John Smith, whose squad travels to Iowa next weekend for duals with Northern Iowa and Iowa State. “I kind of liked what I saw; he didn’t get rattled and came back to get a takedown, then another and into the pin.
“A good effort from a number of our guys tonight.”
Piccininni picked up collegiate win No. 100. The two-time All-American from New York improved to 16-1 this season, and since going 50-13 over his two original campaigns, is 50-3.
“It’s special,” Piccininni said. “Putting your name next to a bunch of greats who came before me, legends in the sport. It’s something to be proud of, a good milestone in this program.”
For Pittsburgh (5-2) head coach Keith Gavin, it was not the dual he anticipated.
“It was disappointing,” Gavin said. “Couple of toss-ups we felt like we could win, but we got out-worked. You get beat, you get beat, but to get out-worked is unacceptable. At 133, we had a good example of staying tough, staying in it and working hard to get back.
“There are always technical things to work on this time of year, but staying the course. When you give up a takedown, you have to bounce back, stay the course, continue to work.”
The biggest surprise, for both coaches perhaps, came at 184 pounds where OSU rookie Anthony Montalvo used a four-point, feet-to-back neck-wrench in the first period, plus a third-period ride-out to beat Nino Bonaccorsi, 6-4.
“I knew I could do it, it’s just a matter of going out like I do every day,” said Montalvo (13-4). “It’s a buzz in my headgear (hearing the crowd) that helps me pick up the pace. I want to separate the score against these guys, wrestle at a high pace.”
Following Phillippi’s pin, OSU strung together seven straight wins, including Dusty Hone’s 7-1 win over Cole Matthews at 141; Boo Lewallen’s dominant 19-4 technical fall of Luke Kemerer at 149; and Wyatt Sheets’ thrilling 9-8 win over Taleb Rahmani at 157 pounds. Lewallen moved to 12-0, while Sheets, now 12-4, has won eight of his last nine.
The fantastic 157-pound bout came down to a Sheets takedown with 30 seconds remaining and 1:02 of riding time for the one-point victory. Both men battled throughout in a back-and-forth action-packed bout that gave the hosts a 17-6 lead on the scoreboard.
Travis Wittlake’s (18-1) second-period headlock was the difference in a 9-2 win over Jake Wentzel. It gave the Cowboys a 20-6 lead and provided the first nail. Seven minutes later, Andrew Shomers’ dominant, 10-0, major decision of Gregg Harvey, all but ended the Panthers’ chances of beating the Cowboys for a second time in seven all-time meetings.
Dakota Geer bounced back from getting pinned Friday night against West Virginia with a solid 6-2 decision of Kellan Stout at 197 pounds.
Saturday night marked just the seventh time the two old mat programs wrestled – Pitt started wrestling in 1914, OSU two years later. In 2014, the Panthers beat the Cowboys, 19-18, in Pittsburgh.
OSU’s Kaden Gfeller and Joe Smith continue their inactivity. The duo, both ranked inside the Top 10 at their respective weight classes in the preseason, have hit the mat a combined 10 times this this season. Hone and Shomers are a combined 25-11 in their absence, with Hone winning nine of his last 10 starts.
No. 9 Oklahoma State 30, No. 10 Pittsburgh 10
125 – Nick Piccininni (OS) pin Louis Newell, 4:16
133 – Micky Phillippi (P) pin Reece Witcraft, 4:06
141 – Dusty Hone (OS) dec Cole Matthews, 7-1
149 – Boo Lewallen (OS) tech fall Luke Kemerer, 19-4 (6:38)
157 – Wyatt Sheets (OS) dec Taleb Rahmani, 9-8
165 – Travis Wittlake (OS) dec Jake Wentzel, 9-2
174 – Andrew Shomers (OS) maj dec Gregg Harvey, 10-0
184 – Anthony Montalvo (OS) dec Nino Bonaccorsi, 6-4
197 – Dakota Geer (OS) dec Kellan Stout, 6-2
285 – Demetrius Thomas (P) maj dec Austin Harris, 30-10
STILLWATER, Okla. – Pittsburgh rookie Louis Newell took two-time All-American Nick Piccininni down twice in the opening period of the first match Saturday night inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. Things went downhill from there, however, for the 10th-rated Panthers as No. 9 Oklahoma State rolled to a 30-10 victory.
Piccininni (16-1), in picking up his 100th collegiate win, quickly rallied and scored a fall at the 4:16 mark. Moments later, OSU freshman Reece Witcraft tossed Micky Phillippi to his back and built a 7-0 lead. Phillippi (16-1), however, countered a Witcraft shot in the second period with a spicy leg cradle out of the Pennsylvania wrestling funky playbook and scored a fall at 4:06.
That was the last thing that went right for the visitors until heavyweight Demetrius Thomas’ 14-3 major decision in the finale. In between, in improving to 7-1, the Cowboys won all the close battles and were the better team in most areas.
“Definitely some surprises, Nick (Piccininni) getting taken down a couple of times early,” said OSU head coach John Smith, whose squad travels to Iowa next weekend for duals with Northern Iowa and Iowa State. “I kind of liked what I saw; he didn’t get rattled and came back to get a takedown, then another and into the pin.
“A good effort from a number of our guys tonight.”
Piccininni picked up collegiate win No. 100. The two-time All-American from New York improved to 16-1 this season, and since going 50-13 over his two original campaigns, is 50-3.
“It’s special,” Piccininni said. “Putting your name next to a bunch of greats who came before me, legends in the sport. It’s something to be proud of, a good milestone in this program.”
For Pittsburgh (5-2) head coach Keith Gavin, it was not the dual he anticipated.
“It was disappointing,” Gavin said. “Couple of toss-ups we felt like we could win, but we got out-worked. You get beat, you get beat, but to get out-worked is unacceptable. At 133, we had a good example of staying tough, staying in it and working hard to get back.
“There are always technical things to work on this time of year, but staying the course. When you give up a takedown, you have to bounce back, stay the course, continue to work.”
The biggest surprise, for both coaches perhaps, came at 184 pounds where OSU rookie Anthony Montalvo used a four-point, feet-to-back neck-wrench in the first period, plus a third-period ride-out to beat Nino Bonaccorsi, 6-4.
“I knew I could do it, it’s just a matter of going out like I do every day,” said Montalvo (13-4). “It’s a buzz in my headgear (hearing the crowd) that helps me pick up the pace. I want to separate the score against these guys, wrestle at a high pace.”
Following Phillippi’s pin, OSU strung together seven straight wins, including Dusty Hone’s 7-1 win over Cole Matthews at 141; Boo Lewallen’s dominant 19-4 technical fall of Luke Kemerer at 149; and Wyatt Sheets’ thrilling 9-8 win over Taleb Rahmani at 157 pounds. Lewallen moved to 12-0, while Sheets, now 12-4, has won eight of his last nine.
The fantastic 157-pound bout came down to a Sheets takedown with 30 seconds remaining and 1:02 of riding time for the one-point victory. Both men battled throughout in a back-and-forth action-packed bout that gave the hosts a 17-6 lead on the scoreboard.
Travis Wittlake’s (18-1) second-period headlock was the difference in a 9-2 win over Jake Wentzel. It gave the Cowboys a 20-6 lead and provided the first nail. Seven minutes later, Andrew Shomers’ dominant, 10-0, major decision of Gregg Harvey, all but ended the Panthers’ chances of beating the Cowboys for a second time in seven all-time meetings.
Dakota Geer bounced back from getting pinned Friday night against West Virginia with a solid 6-2 decision of Kellan Stout at 197 pounds.
Saturday night marked just the seventh time the two old mat programs wrestled – Pitt started wrestling in 1914, OSU two years later. In 2014, the Panthers beat the Cowboys, 19-18, in Pittsburgh.
OSU’s Kaden Gfeller and Joe Smith continue their inactivity. The duo, both ranked inside the Top 10 at their respective weight classes in the preseason, have hit the mat a combined 10 times this this season. Hone and Shomers are a combined 25-11 in their absence, with Hone winning nine of his last 10 starts.
No. 9 Oklahoma State 30, No. 10 Pittsburgh 10
125 – Nick Piccininni (OS) pin Louis Newell, 4:16
133 – Micky Phillippi (P) pin Reece Witcraft, 4:06
141 – Dusty Hone (OS) dec Cole Matthews, 7-1
149 – Boo Lewallen (OS) tech fall Luke Kemerer, 19-4 (6:38)
157 – Wyatt Sheets (OS) dec Taleb Rahmani, 9-8
165 – Travis Wittlake (OS) dec Jake Wentzel, 9-2
174 – Andrew Shomers (OS) maj dec Gregg Harvey, 10-0
184 – Anthony Montalvo (OS) dec Nino Bonaccorsi, 6-4
197 – Dakota Geer (OS) dec Kellan Stout, 6-2
285 – Demetrius Thomas (P) maj dec Austin Harris, 30-10
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