Oklahoma State wins Bedlam thriller over Oklahoma, 18-16

STILLWATER - The Oklahoma State wrestling team knocked off No. 24 Oklahoma, 18-16, in an exciting dual that came down to the final two matches.
Trailing, 16-10, heading into the final two matches, the Cowboys needed to win the remaining matches at 133 at 141 pounds, and secure bonus points in one of the bouts to defeat the Sooners for the 15th consecutive time. Second-ranked Daton Fix stepped onto the mat and proceeded to earn a 12-4 major decision over Tony Madrigal, which set up true freshman Carter Young to have an opportunity to win the dual for Oklahoma State with a win in his match against Jacob Butler.
The Stillwater native delivered for the Cowboys as he got off to a quick start with three takedowns in the first period. He would add two more takedowns and a riding time point to collect an 11-3 major decision of his own and cap off an exciting Bedlam win for the Pokes.
"You live for those moments, you know? I was ready to put on for my team," Young said. "I wasn't going to go in there and lose that match. It was just awesome having the crowd behind me. It felt really good."
The dual started off with a major decision from Kaden Gfeller at 149 pounds, in what could be the final match of his career in Gallagher-Iba Arena. He defeated No. 18 Willie McDougald, who was previously 12-3 on the season and unbeaten in duals. Gfeller applied forward pressure on McDougald from the start as he forced three stalling calls in the first period, leading to two points. Leading 5-2 heading into the final period, Gfeller quickly escaped and worked for a takedown and four-point turn as time expired that secured a 12-2 major decision.
"Yeah, that was awesome," Gfeller said. "It was a great way to win my last match in Gallagher and for it to be like that was amazing."
Following Gfeller, the Cowboys felt the impact of being without three starters as Wyatt Sheets (157), Travis Wittlake (165) and AJ Ferrari (197) were all out with injuries. Daniel Manibog and Jalin Harper lost decisions to ranked Sooners in place of Sheets and Wittlake, who were injured in Friday's dual versus Bucknell, while Gavin Stika dropped a major decision to No. 17 Jake Woodley at 197 pounds. Top-10 ranked Cowboys Trevor Mastrogiovanni and Dakota Geer were each upset by their Sooner opponents.
The high school teammates from Tuttle stepped up for OSU as Dustin Plott won a 4-3 decision over No. 17 Anthony Mantanona at 174 pounds and heavyweight Luke Surber handed OU's Josh Heindselman his first Bedlam loss in a 4-2 decision. The win moved the Pokes within three in the team score and set up the fireworks as the dual shifted back to the lower weights.
"I was pleased with our performance for the most part," head coach John Smith said. "It was good to see Surber create some action and pick up that win. That was an important win that set the stage for us a little bit, and definitely got us in the driver seat."
With Sunday's victory, Oklahoma State now holds a 147-27-10 series lead over the Sooners and have won 23 straight dual matches between the teams in Gallagher-Iba Arena, beginning with a win on Feb. 15, 1997.
The Cowboys complete the regular season with a 13-4 record and 6-3 mark in Big 12 matches. OSU will aim to capture its 10th consecutive Big 12 tournament title when it begins postseason action on March 5-6 in Tulsa at the Big 12 Championships.
No. 12 Oklahoma State 18, No. 24 Oklahoma 16

Feb. 20, 2022 | Gallagher-Iba Arena | Stillwater, Okla.

Attendance: 7,918

149: No. 13 Kaden Gfeller (OSU) MD No. 18 Willie McDougald (OU), 12-2
157: No. 14 Justin Thomas (OU) dec. Daniel Manibog (OSU), 9-3
165: No. 32 Joe Grello (OU) dec. Jalin Harper (OSU), 3-0
174: No. 12 Dustin Plott (OSU) dec. Anthony Mantanona (OU), 4-3
184: Keegan Moore (OU) dec. No. 8 Dakota Geer (OSU), 9-4
197: No. 17 Jake Woodley (OU) MD Gavin Stika (OSU), 13-3
HWT: No. 31 Luke Surber (OSU) dec. No. 28 Josh Heindselman (OU), 4-2
125: No. 32 Joey Prata (OU) dec. No. 7 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU), 4-1
133: No. 2 Daton Fix (OSU) MD Tony Madrigal (OU), 12-4
141: No. 21 Carter Young (OSU) MD Jacob Butler (OU), 11-3